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REMOTE SENSING AND MOUNTAINTOP MINING
Citation:
Slonecker, E T. AND M J. Lacerte. REMOTE SENSING AND MOUNTAINTOP MINING. REMOTE SENSING REVIEWS 20(4):293-322, (2001).
Impact/Purpose:
The objectives of this task are to:
Assess new remote sensing technology for applicability to landscape characterization; Integrate multiple sensor systems data for improved landscape characterization;
Coordinate future technological needs with other agencies' sensor development programs;
Apply existing remote sensing systems to varied landscape characterization needs; and
Conduct remote sensing applications research for habitat suitability, water resources, and terrestrial condition indicators.
Description:
Coal mining is Appalachia has undergone dramatic changes in the past decade. Modem mining practices know as Mountaintop Mining (MTM) and Valley Fills (VF) are at the center of an environmental and legal controversy that has spawned lawsuits and major environmental investigations. MTM techniques efficiently extract coal seams by removing entire tops of mountains through the use of explosives and massive earth-moving equipment. Overburden material is often deposited in nearby valleys that are also ephemeral headwater streams. These mining practices have drawn criticism from residents and the environmental community but are also supported by unions and the mining industry. This type of mining operation is a major source of efficient extraction of low-sulphur, less-air-polluting coal, which is required for much of the energy production in the United States. Although MTM techniques will continued to be debated from legal and environmental perspectives, one fact is clear to both sides; the long-term ecological effects are unknown and this is an area of needed scientific inquiry. Remote sensing technology, used in concert with other sources of scientific data, can provide much of the technical information necessary to address this scientific information shortfall. Although there has been little or no remote sensing research directly addressing Mountaintop Mining, there has been decades of remote sensing application directed at surface mining in general. This paper reviews remote sensing research with respect to surface mining and the application of these techniques to the study of the effects of Mountaintop Mining.