Assessment of heavy metal pollution of Yakutia's water bodies by spectral characteristics of satellite images

The article is a continuation of studies assessing the impact of anthropogenic spills on the water quality in the river. The possibility of using remote sensing data to assess the pollution of water bodies on the territory of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) with heavy metals is considered, using the example of large-scale pollution of the rivers Irelyakh, Malaya Botuobia Vilyui after the breakthrough of the dams of the drainage pits at the Irelyakhskaya Placer deposit. The damage caused to aquatic ecosystems, according to the assessment of the Ministry of Ecology of the Republic, is about 30 billion rubles. In general, almost all production facilities in the area of ALROSA's activity belong to objects of increased environmental risk, containing tens of millions of cubic meters of highly mineralized brines and process waters used in the diamond enrichment process. Based on the synthesis of channels of the processed images of the Sentinel-2 satellite, an assessment of the degree of contamination of the water stream with heavy metals was made. The proposed methodology can be used for rapid assessment of damage from pollution, determining the size of pollution foci and the speed of its spread, timely notification of the population about the deterioration of the environmental situation and preventive and mitigating measures, will significantly reduce the number of samples taken and expeditionary research in hard-to-reach areas of the North.

1Tikhonova S. A., Struchkova G. P., Krupnova T. G., Kapitonova T. A., Rakova O. V. Assessment of heavy metal pollution of Yakutia's water bodies by spectral characteristics of satellite images. MIAB. Mining Inf. Anal. Bull. 2024;(7-1):83-92. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.25018/0236_1493_2024_71_0_83.  

The work was carried out within the framework of the state assignment of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (reg. No. 121032200040-5, scientific topic FWRS-2021-0018) and the project of the Russian Science Foundation 24-27-20095.

S.A. Tikhonova¹, Leading Engineer, e-mail: sardankobeleva@gmail.com, ORCID ID: 0000-0002-5737-2409, 
G.P. Struchkova¹, Cand. Sci. (Eng.), Leading Researcher, e-mail: pandoramy8@list.ru, ORCID ID: 0000-0002-5161-979X,
T.G. Krupnova², Cand. Sci. (Chem.), Assistant Professor, e-mail: krupnovatg@susu.ru, ORCID ID: 0000-0003-0862-710X,
T.A. Kapitonova¹, Cand. Sci. (Phys. Mathem.), Leading Researcher, e-mail: kapitonova@iptpn.ysn.ru, ORCID ID: 0000-0001-5502-0998,
O.V. Rakova², Cand. Sci. (Chem.), Assistant Professor, e-mail: rakovaov@susu.ru, ORCID ID: 0000-0002-5788-5933,
¹ FRC «The Yakut Scientific Centre of SB RAS», Larionov Institute of the Physical-Technical Problems of the North, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Yakutsk, 677980, Russia,
² Chemistry Department, South Ural State University, Chelyabinsk, 454080, Russia.

G.P. Struchkova, e-mail: pandoramy8@list.ru.

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