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Mapping of Coal Fire in Jharia Coalfield, India: a Remote Sensing Based Approach

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Abstract

In India, Jharia Coalfield (JCF) has one of the densest congregations of surface-subsurface coal fires known worldwide. Systematic investigation and quantification of actual scenario of coal fires in JCF is always necessary to plan sustainable mining, industrial growth and environmental remediation on a long term basis. The present approach involves evaluation and mapping of coal fire using ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection) data. Mapping reveals that the area located around western, eastern and south-eastern parts of JCF covering territories of Shatabdi opencast, Barora; Sijua opencast; Godhar colliery; Kusunda; Bokapahari; Kujama and Lodna are under intense fire with cumulative coverage of 6.23 km2. The ASTER derived Land Surface Temperature (LST) of the anomalous areas have been subsequently validated by the field observations, carried out in JCF in February, 2010. The methodology adopted in the present study would provide precise evaluation and monitoring of coal fire in Jharia.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the USGS Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Centre (USGS LP DAAC) for providing ASTER L1A data product through online https://lpdaac.usgs.gov/data_access. We also thank Dr. Sonal Srivastava (Assistant Professor, Institute of Engineering and Technology, Lucknow) and reviewer’s for their valuable suggestions to improve the language and quality of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School for Environmental Sciences, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow, 226025, India

    Anjali Singh & Narendra Kumar

  2. Geological Survey of India, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, 482003, India

    Ashwani Raju

  3. Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee, Uttarakhand, 247667, India

    Pitambar Pati

Authors
  1. Anjali Singh
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  2. Ashwani Raju
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  3. Pitambar Pati
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  4. Narendra Kumar
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Correspondence to Ashwani Raju.

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Singh, A., Raju, A., Pati, P. et al. Mapping of Coal Fire in Jharia Coalfield, India: a Remote Sensing Based Approach. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 45, 369–376 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12524-016-0590-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12524-016-0590-5

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