Integrated assessment of anthropogenic contamination of oil-producing territories in Western Siberia

Abstract

Hard-to-reach, vast wetlands areas of Western Siberia oil-producing companies allow neither timely assessing the scale of pollution nor planning remediation measures. We have developed a technique of mapping and evaluating anthropogenic transformation of vegetation cover in oil-polluted areas on the basis of satellite images. To assess environmental oil pollution and revegetation dynamics, the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) calculated on the basis of satellite images has been used. The index values obtained have been confirmed by the results of instrumental and microbiological analyses of samples collected in the contaminated area. Using topographic maps and Landsat satellite images for inaccessible wetland areas of oil producing companies in Western Siberia, a network of pipelines that pose special risk to environmental resources has been highlighted.