REMOTELY SENSED SPATIAL ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS DURING EXTRACTION OF MINERAL AND ENERGY RESOURCES: Case Studies of Fuxin Coal Mine and Paishanlou Gold Mine, China

The main purpose of this study was to apply remote sensing techniques in assessing spatial environmental effects caused by extraction of mineral and energy resources, with two case studies of the Fuxin Coal Mining Group and Paishanlou Gold Mine, in China. Landsat MSS, TM and ETM+imageries were used in this study. The used image enhancement and processing techniques were contrast stretching, density slicing, spatial altering and color composites. With enhanced imageries, different surficial materials were recognized. It was found that, as a result of the rated spatial resolution for Landsat TM data, areas over 900 m² (30×30 m) in size could be detected with high accuracy, but those under that threshold could hardly be detected. Following the fact that the dimensions of almost all of features were above the 900 m² threshold, Landsat TM and ETM+data were judged suitable in this study. This observation indicates that Landsat TM and ETM+imageries can adequately be used for mapping and assessing environmental changes at PGM and FCMG. Furthermore, the use of satellite data in environmental studies is effective, quick and less labor intensive.