Satellite monitoring of fire hazard of mining facilities (on the example of waste heaps in the L’viv-Volynskii coal basin)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36023/ujrs.2025.12.2.282Keywords:
Landsat, thermal band, LST, monitoring, coal spoil heaps, fire hazard, fire forecasting, Chervonohrad mining districtAbstract
The article considers the methodological and technological approach to studying the fire hazard of coal mining facilities (in particular, burning/smoldering of coal spoil heaps) based on the study of satellite data in the thermal spectral range. The research was carried out in a monitoring mode on the example of studying the temperature regime of the waste heaps of the Chervonohrad mining district of the L’viv-Volynskii coal basin in the period 1980-2024. The most active burning / smoldering process, which united almost all the waste heaps of the Chervonohrad region, occurred in the period from the 1980s to the end of the 1990s. Since the beginning of the 2000s, the areas of burning/smoldering spoil heaps have become smaller, which is obviously a consequence of the implementation of fire protection measures. An outbreak of fire activity on the waste heaps in the district (the appearance of a number of highly contrasting temperature anomalies within the waste heaps) occurred in 2015-2017. Today, according to satellite imagery, there are no burning waste heaps in the Chervonohrad mining district. According to the research results, the high efficiency of using space imagery materials in monitoring and controlling the occurrence, development and dynamics of fire hazardous situations at the local and regional levels is noted. At the same time, the monitoring mode of research makes it possible to predict the most likely areas of spontaneous combustion in the absence of obvious (visible) burning centers and determine the direction of smoldering/burning of waste rock. The results obtained make it possible to target fire-fighting activities, more efficient strategies for the management of mining facilities to apply and to minimize their negative impact on the environment.
Author Contributions: Conceptualization – A.G.Mychak; methodology and analysis – V.Ye. Filipovych, A.G.Mychak; systematization, visualization – A.G.Mychak, V.Ye. Filipovych; preparation of the text of the article: the author's manuscript – A.G.Mychak; reviewing and editing – V.Ye.Filipovych. All authors read and agreed with the published version of the manuscript.
Funding: This study has not received external funding.
Data Availability Statement: Not applied.
Acknowledgments: The authors are grateful to the reviewers and editors for their valuable comments, recommendations and attention to work.
Conflicts of Interest: Authors declare no conflict of interest.
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