Anthropogenic debris flows in Sakhalin

Abstract

The problem of the interaction between human activity and mudflow processes is currently important for the Sakhalin Island, where debris flow occurrences have been repeatedly observed in recent decades. At the present time, this interaction increases due to the extension urban territories into debris flows transit and accumulation zones, including rock spoil heaps in debris flow prone areas. This paper describes several debris flow occurrences associated with human activity in Sakhalin, as well as the characteristics of anthropogenic debris flows and consequent damage. An evaluation of changes in debris flow activity in flow prone zones was carried out based on field observations and satellite image analysis. It is suggested that the most serious damage is caused by debris flows occurences from quarries because of the large sizes of rock spoil heaps.

The first results of the seismic monitoring system of the Solntsevsky open pit coal mine area (on Sakhalin Island)

“…The stations of the new network make it possible to register and assess not only earthquakes and explosions, but also other geophysical processes in the monitoring area, for example, such as mudflows and landslides typical for dumps of open quarries in coal mining areas on Sakhalin Island [9]. So, interesting results were obtained from the data of records of new stations during an environmental incident that occurred at the Solntsevsky open pit coal mine on the night of July 10 (local time)a landslide from a temporary storage warehouse for overburden of an open pit coal mine, as a result of which, according to expert estimates, in about two to three million cubic meters of rock went down the river valley (figure 3).…”