Assessment of Environmental Changes of Valley of the Undytkan River in Impact Zone of the Elginsky Coal Complex and the Railway Track “Ulak- Elga” with Use of Ground and Remote Methods

Abstract

Environmental monitoring studies are of primary importance to assess the characteristics of anthropogenic changes in the environment on the territory of the Elginsky coking coal deposit, which is one of the largest resource potential of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). Due to the inaccessibility and territorial remoteness of the field, remote research methods are a valuable tool for environmental monitoring. The article shows the experience of using the satellite image analysis method for assessing anthropogenic impact and spatial detection of changes in the components of the natural environment in conjunction with field study. On the territory of the Elginsky deposit there is a complex of production, infrastructure and linear structures: coal mine, processing plant, hydraulic structures, shift camp, power transmission lines, roads and railways, as well as a railroad bridge under construction. Technical structures interact with the components of the natural environment and modify them, forming geotechnical (geotechnical) systems. Two geotechnical systems were considered in the article: (a) ‘Elginsky coal mining complex - natural environment’ and (b) ‘River – Bridge’ on the Undytkan River, formed as a result of interaction of the valley of the Undytkan River and a complex of linear road structures of railway track “Ulak – Elga”. And the analysis of high-resolution satellite images, as well as data from expeditionary ground-based studies, made it possible to establish that the formation and functioning of the transport geotechnical system led to a change in a number of components of the natural environment — mesorelief, hydrological parameters of surface waters, inhibition of vegetation cover, and changes in soils associated with increased water level, as well as with icing processes.