Integrated environmental impact assessment of the Sasa tailing dam failure using remote sensing techniques

• Autorzy: Adjiski Vancho , Zubíček Václav

Identyfikatory

DOI

10.24425/ams.2025.156297

• Języki publikacji: EN

Abstrakty

EN

Failures of tailings dams represent a critical environmental hazard, releasing mining by-products that cause long-term damage to nearby ecosystems. This research presents a detailed analysis using remote sensing techniques of the 2003 Sasa tailing dam disaster in North Macedonia. By utilising Landsat 5 imagery and Google Earth Engine (GEE), multiple spectral indices — including the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Normalised Difference Moisture Index (NDMI), Normalised Difference Water Index (NDWI), Modified NDWI (MNDWI), and a turbidity proxy — were integrated to examine the immediate and spatial impacts on vegetation health, soil moisture, water presence, and sediment levels. The findings indicated significant ecological fluctuations along the river path, including vegetation stress, changes in soil moisture, water pooling, and turbidity. These effects displayed spatial gradients, diminishing further from the contamination pathway and forming distinct zones of influence. Certain intermediate areas showed anomalous disturbances, where sediment and hydrological changes impeded vegetation recovery. Pixel-level, buffer-based, and zone-based analyses - combined with Z-scores and correlation studies — revealed a complex post-disaster landscape. Weak correlation with topographic features suggested that localised conditions, rather than large-scale gradients, governed short-term ecological recovery. The study provides a framework for integrated, multi-index and multiscale environmental impact assessment, contributing to improved remediation strategies, disaster response planning, and sustainable management of post-mining landscapes.

Słowa kluczowe

EN

tailings dam failures; remote sensing; environmental impact assessment; multi-index analysis; mining-related disasters

PL

tama osadowa; teledetekcja; katastrofa górnicza

• Wydawca: Instytut Mechaniki Górotworu PAN
• Czasopismo: Archives of Mining Sciences
• Rocznik: 2025
• Tom: Vol. 70, no. 3
• Strony: 525--556
• Opis fizyczny: Bibliogr. 44 poz., rys., tab., wykr.

Twórcy

autor

Adjiski Vancho

• Faculty of Natural and Technical Sciences, Goce Delcev University, Stip, North Macedonia

• https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6401-6835

autor

Zubíček Václav

• Department of Mining Engineering and Safety, VSB – TUO, Ostrava Poruba, Czech Republic

• https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2998-2530

Bibliografia

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Uwagi

Opracowanie rekordu ze środków MNiSW, umowa nr POPUL/SP/0154/2024/02 w ramach programu "Społeczna odpowiedzialność nauki II" - moduł: Popularyzacja nauki (2025)