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Use of satellite data to identify steppe lands of the Orenburg Trans-Volga Region disturbed by oil development

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Abstract

An attempt is made to identify lands disturbed in the process of oil development and production, based on moderate spatial resolution Landsat images obtained at the growing period. The key study area includes the facilities of three oil fields within the boundaries of steppe landscapes of different types in the Orenburg Trans-Volga Region. The map of territorial units (Land Cover) was generated to give insight into the spatial organization of the zone under study. It is shown that a distinguishing feature of the territories in the process of intensive use of mineral resources is the oppressed vegetation cover or the absence thereof. We selected a number of spectral transformations to be used in interpreting the bare tracts of land surface. Use was made of the Tasseled Cap and SMACC transformations as well as the IrOx, GSI, PDI and NBI spectral indices. Results from using them were compared in order to identify the disturbed lands. Identification of the meaningful range of spectral indices and verification of results were carried out on the basis of data on the control vector layer of objects generated as part of field investigations and complemented by digitizing high resolution satellite images. It is found that the central problem with interpretation of the disturbed areas involves high indicators of agricultural development of the territory. It is established that the SMACC transformation provides the highest accuracy of identification of the lands disturbed by oil extraction operations.

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Correspondence to K. V. Myachina.

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Original Russian Text © K.V. Myachina, A.A. Chibilev, 2015, published in Geography and Natural Resources, 2015, Vol. 36, No. 4, pp. 135-141.

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Myachina, K.V., Chibilev, A.A. Use of satellite data to identify steppe lands of the Orenburg Trans-Volga Region disturbed by oil development. Geogr. Nat. Resour. 36, 383–388 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1875372815040095

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