Impact Of Coal Mining Research Articles

Impact of Coal Mining on Ambient Air in Respect of Global Warming: A Critical Approach

Coal mining is the prime reason behind climate change and has a great impact on global warming as coal produces 39℅ global CO2 emissions. At the same time, coal production is the chief factor of 40% of the world’s electricity including economic development. The purpose of the present study is to the worldwide, national & endemic impact of coal mining on ambient air in respect of global warming. A number of peer-reviewed, research articles, reviews, and reports were collected from 1970 to 2022 employing a keyword-based search. The articles compiled were analyzed globally & indigenously and assorted according to the selected browsers addressed & the methodological approach adopted. Coal mining activities emit toxic gases into the atmosphere and hence decline the ambient air quality. The crucial Greenhouse gases contribute to the overall warming of the earth. Coal continues to be the distinctive and long-term resource of the world energy supply hence its mining-related pollution mitigation and the reclaiming of the environment are necessary. In present circumstances, it is obligatory to implement Clean Coal Technologies i.e. sustainability in energy production & its utility. Abandoned mine wasteland restored and converted into vegetative land may also solve numerous major issues like lessening GHGs, GW, and prevention of degraded wasteland.

Quantitative Analysis of the Influence of Coal Mining on the Underflow Zone of Rivers by Using Double Integro-differential Equations

Abstract The global ecological environment is fragile, and large-scale coal mining has accelerated the loss of water resources, but it is difficult to quantify its impact. Studies have found that large-scale coal mining has a particularly large impact on the underflow zone of rivers, but blind mining affects environmental damage and loses the water volume of the river. The lack of a compensation mechanism for water damage caused by coal mining often exacerbates the province’s fragile water environment. This paper analyzes the prediction of the impact of coal mining on the underflow zone of the river. First of all, determine the mining area of the mine and collect and collect data. Then, the lost water volume was calculated as a predicted score using the double integro-differential equation. Finally, the GA-BiLSTM model is proposed to predict the lost water capacity. The experimental results show that the mean absolute error (MAE), root mean square (RMSE), and prediction pass rate are 11.78/%, 24.87/%, and 92/%, respectively, and the average relative error is only 9.98%. Compared with BP, SVM, LSTM, Bi-LSTM neural network model has better prediction accuracy. The experimental results also show that the model has good reliability and practicability, which can provide a new idea and method for the new analysis of the impact of coal mining on the underflow zone of the river.

Detection and mapping of vegetation stress using AVIRIS-NG hyperspectral imagery in coal mining sites

This paper primarily focuses on identifying and mapping vegetation stress caused by the impact of coal mining using airborne hyperspectral image (AVIRIS-NG) at a fine scale level and is validated using spectroscopic field data. In this work, we have calculated and tested vegetation stress-affected narrow banded vegetation indices (VIs) based on Separability (S) and Coefficient of discrimination (R2) statistical tests for the identification of suitable vegetation stress indices. We have considered the highest S and R2 values of stress indices for weighted and vegetation combined pixels’ analysis. The final weighted combination index has been used for vegetation stress detection and mapping in coal mining sites. The outcome has been validated using field-based healthy and stress-affected plant spectral data and compared to ENVI software's agriculture stress tool (AST) based vegetation stress result. Some indices exhibited higher performance for vegetation stress analysis (NDVI, NSI-2, SR-1, SWST-3, SRWI, NWI-2, CSVI, HMSSI, and ARI-1), according to statistical results (S and R2) of VIs. Based on the vegetation stress index, high-stress zones are located in and around the mines whilelow-stress regions are positioned farther from the mines. The findings additionally demonstrated that the VIs-based stress result (AUC-0.69) fits the data more accurately than the ENVI's AST result (AUC-0.61). The VI’s-based stress index had a clearly negative correlation with the distance of vegetation from the mines, which could be verified using the on-field NIR spectral measurements. Therefore, effective vegetation health monitoring and planning in coal mining sites might benefit from these results .

Applied Methodological Approach for the Assessment of Soil Contamination by Trace Elements around Abandoned Coal Mines—A Case Study of the Jerada Coal Mine, Morocco

Previously conducted studies have established that soil contamination by trace elements (TEs) around coal mines affects ecological biodiversity and human health. One of the ways to protect the health of the surrounding population of coal mine sites is through the assessment of contamination impacts by accurate procedures for the establishment of relevant reclamation plan. The aim of the study is to develop an applied methodological approach to easily assess and quantify the impact of coal mining on the surrounding soils. To achieve this goal, a set of relevant geochemical indexes (enrichment factor—EF, geochemical background—GB, and geoaccumulation index—Igeo) and a geostatistical interpolation for mapping soil contamination were applied. It is experimentally established that the process of combining these techniques can be of great interest in highlighting the anomalous areas and revealing the contamination sources. A case study has been carried out on of the abandoned coal Jerada mine site in Morocco. Soils and coal mine waste rocks (CMWR) samples were collected from this site. Soil and CMWR samples were analyzed for their geochemical content. CMWRs were characterized further for their mineralogical composition and environmental behavior. Based on the EF, three TEs (As, Pb, and Zn) were targeted. The results of GB and Igeo calculations have established an evident relationship between the CMWR dump and the occurred soil contamination. TEs distribution pattern has been revealed using the obtained geochemical maps. The developed methodological approach may be in high demand when assessing soil contamination in most of abandoned coal mine sites around the word.

Environmental Impact of Coal Mining on Local Livelihoods in Odisha, India

The study aims to examine the sustainable livelihoods framework (SLF) of local people in Talcher coal mining in Odisha. The study used five types of capital such as human, social, financial, physical and natural. The Herfindahl Hirschman index has been used to differentiate income diversification in mining villages and control villages. The backwards step-wise multiple regression model has been used to show the relationship between expenditure and different socio-economic variables in the mining villages. The Mining has a positive footprint on physical capital. But it has detrimental effects on natural and mixed effects on human, social and financial capital in the mining villages. The Herfindahl index and multiple regression models revealed that mining has a positive influence on the livelihoods of people in the mining area. There is more livelihoods diversification in the mining villages than in the control villages. The standard of living and income has increased in the mining villages. There are some challenges faced by the mining communities such as job insecurity and livelihoods insecurity for their children. The adverse impact of coal mining on livelihoods can be minimised by controlling environmental degradation through rigorous monitoring. Further, there should be proper coordination between the state government and coal mining companies to provide benefits to the affected communities and conduct different training programmes on driving, computer training and tailoring to people who not engaged in mining activities. Institutional farsightedness is required to ensure sustainable livelihoods for local people.

An Overview of Carbon Footprint of Coal Mining to Curtail Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Despite the trend of a transition to “clean” energy, the coal industry still plays a significant role in the global economy. The constant need for raw materials and energy for production leads to an environmental crisis—an increase in the content of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, especially in the mining regions. The purpose of this study was to analyze the impact of the carbon footprint on the environment and to study ways to reduce the negative impact of coal mining enterprises on the ecology. To analyze the chosen topic, the available reviews and research articles on the impact of the carbon footprint of coal mining enterprises, and the ways to reduce it and restore the biodiversity of wastelands, were used. It was found out that a complete ban on the extraction and use of coal in the industry will not lead to the desired result. The main ways to reduce the negative impact of coal mining enterprises on the environment were considered. The most promising direction for reducing the carbon footprint is the restoration of the vegetation cover by phytoremediation methods and the creation of carbon landfills in reclaimed territories in technogenically polluted coal mining regions.

Exploring the last 50 years of Indian research on the impact of coal mining using bibliometric analysis with an overview of water-related impacts.

This paper throws light on the bibliometric review of the impact of coal mining in India over the past 50years, emphasizing environmental, especially water-related impacts. The data were refined from the Web of Science database and analyzed in a bibliometric map visualization software tool, VOSviewer, to grasp the research focus, status quo and analyze the trend and direction of the work being carried out in this area. The methodology was covered in three phases: search and document selection, software and data extraction, and analysis of results and trends. The study results indicated that (i) the publication has increased in the past two decades (2001-2021) with a steep increase in the period from 2010 to 2021 with 74.68% article types documents and a mere 7.74% review documents. (ii) In India, the significant contribution is made by the Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad with Department of Science and Technology as a primary funding agency. (iii) The bibliometric map of co-occurrence of author keywords showed that keywords relating to the "pollution" (connected to air, water) from "Jharia coalfield" have highest occurrences in the relevant published works of literature and topics like "reclamation," "mine spoil," and application of approaches like "remote sensing and GIS" have lower linkage strengths in general. (iv) The result of the co-citation network study has marked the most significant authors and the highly cited sources of the database revealing Ghose M.K. and Singh A.K. as among the most cited authors with citations more than 150 in the field of our interest. (v) The trend of publication in the research area of Water Resources showed a significant increase after 2015. The keyword occurrence map reveals that water quality studies have been extensively studied, but quantifications of the coal mining-induced changes in water regimes at river basin scales are absent.

Impact of coal mining on land use changes, deforestation, biomass, and C losses in Central India: Implications for offsetting CO2 emissions

AbstractDespite the continuous growth in renewable sources of energy, coal remains the primary source of energy security in developing countries and accounted for 1.1 Gt of CO2 annually. The present study was conducted to examine the dynamic land cover changes, deforestation, and carbon (C) emissions in the mined landscape of Central India. Geospatial techniques coupled with field measurements were conjunctively employed for quantifying land use and vegetation changes from the period of 2001 to 2020. The unchecked mining (6.4–30 km2) along with the rapid expansion of agriculture (586.7–642.5 km2) were identified as major drivers of deforestation, which resulted in the net loss of 115.3 km2 area under intact sal (Shorea robusta) dominated forest. The mining and associated activities increased the fragmentation of intact forest that had not only decreased density, basal area, and diversity of vegetation but also a huge loss of biomass of ~2.5 Tg that contributed to a net loss of 1.08 Tg C (~3.98 Tg of CO2) in the past 20 years. The study explored the use of land management options and confirmed that C offset ensued from land use changes without hampering coal production for the next two decades. The scenarios will provide valuable information to the policymakers for devising sustainable coal mining by underpinning the ecological compensation for deforestation while promoting cleaner production technologies through decarbonization to counteract emissions, which could help in achieving ambitious goals set by India for planned C reduction targets as Intended Nationally Determined Commitments under the Paris Agreement (2015).

Coupling of multi-hydrochemical and statistical methods for identifying apparent background levels of major components and anthropogenic anomalous activities in shallow groundwater of the Liujiang Basin, China.

Natural background levels (NBLs) is a prerequisite for distinguishing anthropogenic groundwater pollution and judging the evolution of groundwater quality. However, due to regional differences of hydrogeochemitry and water-rock interaction, coupled with long-term anthropogenic activities, it is no longer accurate to assess NBLs with only statistical methods or without considering human impact. Herein, multi-hydrochemical and statistical methods were examined to identify apparent background levels and anthropogenic anomalous activities of shallow groundwater by selecting Liujiang Basin as a study area. The results showed that the differences in hydrochemical characteristics among each hydrogeological unit (HU) fully illustrated the necessity of rationally dividing HU for background value identification. The application of the concept of apparent background levels (ABLs), that is, incorporating normal human activities into the background levels, efficiently solved the problem of being unable to obtain pristine NBLs due to long-term human activities. The coupling of Hydrochemistry and Grubbs' test (Hydro-Grubbs) was confirmed as the optimal method in identifying and eliminating anthropogenic groundwater anomalies, performing sufficiently superiority when compared with purely statistical methods. It is mainly because the Hydro-Grubbs method not only considers the discreteness of the data itself, but also considers the internal connection and evolution process of the hydrochemical compositions. For the eliminated abnormal points, 91.0-93.6% of which have been effectively explained by pollution percentage index and the impact of coal mining, industrial activities, residents, agricultural activities, and septic tanks leakage, proving the rationality and reliability of Hydro-Grubbs method and ABLs evaluation result. This finding will assist in accurately identifying anthropogenic pollution on a regional scale and guiding future efforts to protect groundwater resources.

Spatial variability of soil moisture in a mining subsidence area of northwest China

The current study investigated the impact of coal mining on deep soil moisture from the perspective of the absolute value of soil moisture. A combined classical statistics and multi-dimensional geo-statistics approach was employed to analyze the temporal and spatial changes in soil moisture from 0 to 10 m in the mining face of the Nalin River No. 2 Mine in Northwest China from the perspective of spatial variability. The results of the study show that compared with the control area, the average value of soil moisture in 1- and 2-year subsidence areas decreased by 1.18% and 0.96%, respectively, whereas the coefficient of variation increased by 17.92% and 3.63%, respectively. Interpolation of soil moisture spatial distribution results showed that the spatial variability of soil moisture in the control area was less than that in the subsidence areas, and the spatial variability of soil moisture in the 2-year subsidence area was less than that in the 1-year subsidence area, indicating that mining increases the spatial variability of soil moisture and that the degree of spatial variability of soil moisture decreases as the subsidence enters the stable period. These results provide evidence for the mechanism by which coal mining subsidence affects soil moisture. Preferential flow caused by surface cracks, soil texture, the soil pore microstructure, and other factors in the coal mining subsidence area are the primary drivers of the increase in spatial variability of soil moisture.

Assessment and Effect of Mining Subsidence on Farmland in Coal–Crop Overlapped Areas: A Case of Shandong Province, China

Farmland protection and food security is highly focused on in China. However, coal mining has caused negative consequences to cropland in coal–crop overlapped areas (COA), especially in eastern China. Thus, revealing the spatiotemporal impact of coal mining on farmland on a large scale is crucial for coordinating coal mining and grainland protection. In this study, Shandong Province, a representative coal–grain composite area, was selected as a research case to evaluate the damage of mining subsidence on farmland. Firstly, the field investigation and mining subsidence prediction revealed the current situation and trend of farmland damage caused by mining in 2021 and 2030. Then, we evaluated the impact of cropland damage on grain yield. Finally, farmland landscape patterns, ecological environment, and social stability due to mining subsidence were discussed. The results show that: (1) the damaged cropland in 2021 was 6.40 × 104 ha, of which 1.40 × 104 ha was non-yield. By 2030, the accumulative area of damaged cropland is estimated to reach 7.52 × 104 ha. (2) By 2025 and 2030, the farmland yield will be reduced by 16.44 × 104 t and 18.45 × 104 t in overlapped areas of Shandong. (3) The subsidence led to cropland fragmentation, and the terrestrial ecosystem became an aquatic ecosystem, further intensifying the contradiction between more people and less land. This study provides a reference for coordinating coal and grain production and formulating cropland protection strategies in similar regions. Meanwhile, it also provides a scientific basis for the government to formulate land reclamation indicators, technology, management, and acceptance standards and establish and implement the reclamation reward and punishment system.

Impact of coal mining on land use dynamics and soil quality: Assessment of land degradation vulnerability through conjunctive use of analytical hierarchy process and geospatial techniques

AbstractCoal is the major source of energy in India, where 66% of the thermal power is generated from different grades of coal. The surging energy demand for domestic and industrial sectors has accelerated coal production through intensive coal mining from existing mines and there is exploration for potential areas across the Country. More than 80% of the coal excavated from open cast mining, which is a damaging form of mining that is often associated with undesirable land use changes, soil degradation, and deforestation and is responsible for other environmental degradation. The present study has been conducted in Manendragarh coal mining area located in northern Chhattisgarh, Central India using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and geospatial tools. LANDSAT‐TM and OLI satellite data from 1990 and 2020 were digitally analyzed applying a maximum likelihood supervised classification technique in ERDAS IMAGINE and Arc‐GIS platforms. Spatial analysis of satellite data revealed that the area under forest, agriculture‐fallow, and waterbodies fell by 14.5%, 12.9%, and 2.52%, respectively, due mainly to conversion into degraded land, while the mining area and built‐up areas were proportionally enhanced by 3.2% and 0.59% between 1990 and 2020. The intense mining resulted in deterioration of soil health, where the organic C, pH, and soil depth were considerably decreased in mined sites and degraded lands, compared to agricultural and forest areas. The major determinant biophysical, topographic, and soil factors were integrated in a GIS platform to derive a land degradation vulnerability index (LDVI), which identified five vulnerability classes. The salient findings of study provides the critical inputs for the policy makers/environmentalists in prioritization and decision‐making for implementing remedial measures for the eco‐restoration of mining degraded landscapes and also the improvement of ecology and environment along with sustainable coal mining.

Social and Occupational Impact of Coal Mining in Dhanbad (Jharkhand) India - A Case Study

The purpose of the study is to assess the impact of mining activities on occupational and social changes in coal mining area of district Dhanbad (Jharkhand). The area affected by mining activities called beneficiaries is compared with the area having no effect from mining activities called non-beneficiaries. Five villages were selected from each area. With the help of a random sampling method, 24 respondents from each village were drawn. Data were analyzed by using two-point scales (dichotomous scale) along with percentages associated with the 'Yes’ response and the all sample tested by the ‘Z’ test. The traditional structure of rural communities in this area was also reduced. Caste hierarchy and dominance were replaced by professional hierarchy and dominance. Due to mining, the people are more educated and aware to make themselves economically strong. It was found that the level of aspiration of villagers had increased as a result of mining. The study will be a valuable addition to the field of social science and policymaker to enhance the coping capacity related to the impacts of coal mining on socio-economic life. This study helpful for researcher/planner to gives a perception regarding the issues of livelihood and social structure of the Dhanbad Coal Field. This study is more inspiring for future research.

Insights into Impact of Coal Mining and Burning on Air Pollution

Insights into Impact of Coal Mining and Burning on Air Pollution

Effects of Underground Coal Mining on Soil Spatial Water Content Distribution and Plant Growth Type in Northwest China.

The impact of coal mining subsidence on surface ecology involves the influence of several ecological elements such as water, soil, and vegetation, which is systematic and complex. Given the unclear understanding of the synergistic change patterns of the water–soil–vegetation ecological elements in the influence of coal mining in the west, this paper investigates the impact of coal mining on the surface ecology, especially the distribution of soil water content (SWC). In 2020, this study collected 3000 soil samples from 60 sampling points (at depth of 0–10 m) and tested the SWC. All samples come from three different temporal and spatial areas of coal mining subsidence in the desert mining area of Northwest China where soil types are mainly aridisols. At the same time, the interactions among deep SWC and surface soil physical and chemical properties, surface SWC and soil fertility, and pH were analyzed. The spatial variability of soil moisture is reflected by kriging interpolation, and SWC values at different depths are predicted as a basis for monitoring the environmental impact of different coal mining subsidence years. The research has shown that the ground subsidence leads to a decrease in SWC value and changes in surface soil pH, physical and chemical properties, and covering vegetation, which have occurred from the beginning of coal mining. The impact of coal mining on the SWC of the unsaturated zone is mainly at the depth of 0–6 m, where SWC is not directly related to the nutrient content of the surface soil. The overall settlement of the ground will stir up simultaneous decline in the quality of deep SWC and topsoil. The findings of this investigation suggest that changes in the soil structure caused by coal mining subsidence are the key factor in SWC loss. Timely monitoring and repairing 0–6 m ground fissures, as well as selecting shrubs on the surface is the best choice for the restoration of the ecological environment and prevention of soil erosion in this area.

Corporate Responsibility For Environmental Protection And Management In Ex-Mining Land

Exploiting natural resources must be based on an environmental approach. This is reasonable because environmental problems are closely related to the process of population growth, which is the high demand for natural resources. One of the most widely used natural resources by humans for various purposes is coal. The negative impact of coal mining is that it triggers deforestation (deforestation) and exacerbates climate change. Therefore, in the exploration and exploitation management process, every mining material, especially coal, requires various AMDAL mechanisms as part of environmentally sound development management. Provisions regarding mineral and coal mining activities oblige mining companies to carry out reclamation and post-mining activities over the mining areas they manage. The scope of the implementation of reclamation activities starts from exploration, land clearing, excavation of topsoil and over burden, coal excavation, land management, revegetation including preparation of nurseries, and maintenance and evaluation of activity results. The implementation of reclamation is carried out no later than one month after there are no more mining business activities on disturbed land. Reclamation and post-mining activities are one of the obligations of mining business activities that should be taken into account.

A Sense of Place with Landmark Judgments: Anthropogenic Justice, Wildlife Extinction, and Climate Change

AbstractIt will be familiar to many that the environmental emergency of our times generates a number of difficulties for our thinking of law and society. It is argued in this essay that the languages of place-making make some sense of these predicaments. The essay proceeds through the close reading of an Extinction Rebellion protest and two landmark judgments. The protests, and their policing, are keyed to specific places and their atmospheres. A first judgment concerns the destruction of habitat and the extinction of native wildlife species; a second concerns the impact of coal mining on greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. A sense of place emerges with the aesthetic reason of judgment. The emblems and topics of legal speech, it is argued, give form and technique to the writing of place. A renewed jurisprudence of topography makes legible the meeting places of law and the environmental emergency.

Attribution of Runoff Decrease at the Guanyintang Station in the Yongding River Considering the Impact of Coal Mining

The Yongding River basin has greatly changed in recent years; its runoff has decreased sharply and has even been cut off. In this study, the Guanyintang station in the upstream Yongding River basin was selected to quantify the impacts of climate change, water use, and coal mining on its runoff. The Mann–Kendall analysis method was used to analyze the climate change trend of the Guanyintang basin from 1956 to 2018. Then, the water and energy transfer processes in large river basins (WEP-L) model was improved to consider the impact of coal mining and applied to quantitatively analyze the impact of meteorological elements and human activities on runoff. The results show that, from 1956 to 2018, the precipitation in the Guanyintang basin decreased slightly, whereas the temperature obviously increased, the potential evapotranspiration changed marginally, and the runoff significantly decreased with a mutation point around 1998. The study period was divided into a calibration period (1956–1976), validation period 1 (1977–1997), and validation period 2 (1998–2018). Compared with the calibration period, the runoff in the validation periods decreased a lot and could not meet the water balance without considering the coal mining impact. After considering coal mining, the simulation accuracy of the model was satisfied. Generally speaking, climate change and coal mining were the main factors for runoff attenuation in validation period 1. In validation period 2, coal mining became the dominant factor, whereas land use change also made certain contributions.

MONITORING THE COAL WASTE HEAPS OF MINES OF DONETS BASIN

In recent years, much attention has been paid not only to the rational extraction of minerals, but also to the ecology of coal-mining regions. Monitoring of man-made landscapes of coal mining enterprises is a topical study from the standpoint of environmental impact of coal mine heaps.
 The impact of coal mining on the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and climate change has become even more relevant with global research on its impact on climate change. All coal basins are characterized by the presence of waste heaps and their significant impact on the soil: the rise of groundwater and the migration of chemical compounds from waste heaps into the soil, the expansion of waste heaps by area. Changes of heaps under the influence of exogenous factors are established. Peculiarities of gas distribution and chemical composition of waste heaps are determined.
 It is expedient to carry out full reclamation on the territory of closed mines, to improve the ecological condition of technogenic-loaded (mining) regions and to give preference to complex ecological-industrial-tourist projects. 

Современные биологические методы восстановления и очистки нарушенных угледобычей земель в условиях Кемеровской области – Кузбасса

Introduction. Coal mining is the main source of anthropogenic impact on the landscapes of the Kemerovo Region – Kuzbass. The current mine reclamation rate lags far behind the annual increase in disturbed lands. A reclamation fund can be a perfect solution to this relevant issue. The present research objective was to analyze and structure the available data on the anthropogenic impact of coal mining in Kuzbass. The article reviews new effic ient methods of reclamation and resoiling.
 Study objects and methods. The study featured ten years of research publications that were registered in the PubMed database of the National Center for Biotechnology Information (USA), Elsevier (Scopus, ScienceDirect), the Web of Science, and the Russian Electronic Library (eLibrary.ru).
 Results and discussion. The research revealed the following Kuzbass districts that experience the greatest mining impact: Novokuznetsk, Prokopyevsk, Kemerovo, Belovo, and Leninsk-Kuznetskiy. The authors also identified the most common pollutants associated with coal mining. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) appeared to be the most dangerous pollutants: as waste coal burns, these substances cover considerable distances with the wind. Biodegradation seems to be the optimal solution because PAHs are known to be carcinogenic, and most mine tips are located near settlements. The article also features mine reclamation laws and introduces a list of plants with a high absorption capacity recommended for biological reclamation, as well as microorganisms and their consortia used for bioremediation.
 Conclusion. The authors identified the most promising methods of mine reclamation in the Kemerovo region, i.e. bioremediation with pollutant-binding microbial consortia and plants.