Sovremennye problemy distantsionnogo zondirovaniya Zemli iz kosmosa, 2016, Vol. 13, No. 1, pp. 61-69
Remote studies of gas flaring impact on forest cover in oil-producing areas using vegetation index
Yu.M. Polishchuk
1 , V.A. Khamedov
1 , V.V. Rusakova
1 1 Ugra Research Institute of Information Technologies, Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia
Accepted: 25.12.2015
DOI: 10.21046/2070-7401-2016-13-1-61-69
Research on the impact of gas flaring in oil fields on forest vegetation was conducted using vegetation index NDVI determined from satellite data. Methodical problems of remote studies of gas flaring impact on forest vegetation were addressed on the basis of NDVI. Studies were carried out in the Priobskoe Field in Western Siberia. A collection of cloudless Landsat images for the period of 1988–2014 was created for the research purposes. In the study area, three test sites with 8 torches were selected. On the territory of each test site, 15 to 24 control points (total 57) were defined for calculating NDVI. Analysis of the dependence of the index on the distance to the torch on the average showed a decrease of index values near the torch, which can be an evidence of forest vegetation oppression due to the effect of gas flaring products. In order to study the dynamics of changes in the state of forest cover, linear NDVI trends depending on the distance to the torches were studied in all investigated test sites. It was found that the trend coefficients are greater in the years of intensive oil production accompanied by larger volumes of gas flaring in the oil field.
Keywords: Remote studies, environmental impact, gas flaring, oil-producing areas, vegetation index, Western Siberia
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