Using images from Landsat satellites to characterize the transformations of the ground cover at the Bovanenkovo–Baydaratskaya Bay section of the route of the Bovanenkovo–Ukhta gas pipeline

Abstract

By the case of the Bovanenkovo–Baydaratskaya Bay section of the route of the two underground gas pipelines located on the Yamal Peninsula, the possibility of using images from Landsat 5 and Landsat 8 satellites to characterize the transformations of the ground cover associated with the laying of pipelines is shown. The studies were carried out using seven summer time images (July, August) for the period from 2009 to 2020 based on parameters characterizing the chlorophyll content in the vegetation cover – the vegetation index (NDVI), the moisture index (NDWI) and the albedo (Alb) of the surface. In the year of laying the pipelines, directly above them, the average values of these parameters sharply decrease, and after 5–7 years, the values of the NDVI and NDWI indices stabilize to the initial values. During the same period, the average values of Alb increase by 13–15% relative to the initial level. According to the analyzed parameters, signs of disturbance and restoration of the ground vegetation cover are not recorded at a distance of more than 70–90 m from the central axis of each of the pipelines. In general, by the end of the analyzed period, no dominant changes in the NDVI, NDWI and Alb parameters are observed, indicating the transformations of the biophysical properties of the surface, which increase the likelihood of degradation of permafrost and destabilization of the state of pipelines.