ASTER‐derived emissivity and coal‐fire related surface temperature anomaly: a case study in Wuda, north China

Abstract

Subsurface and surface coal fires form serious environmental, economic and safety problems in coal-producing countries like China and India. Remote sensing offers the possibility of detecting and studying thermal anomalies due to coal fires. Emissivity plays an important role in determining the surface temperature of a body using remotely sensed data. In the present study an attempt is made to use satellite-derived emissivity to estimate the surface temperature in Wuda, north China. With the use of multispectral thermal Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) data (five bands in 8.125-11.65 mm region) in combination with a Temperature/ Emissivity Separation (TES) algorithm, the anomalous pixels due to coal fires can be extracted from the background to achieve a qualitative study of coal fires. In the present study, during night-time overpass of ASTER, satellite images have been recorded and simultaneous field measurements were collected. These field measurements were used to process the satellite thermal data and to validate the results obtained. Using the TES approach, satellite-based temperature corresponded well with actual field measurements at selected locations.

Analysis of coal fire dynamics in the Wuda syncline impacted by fire-fighting activities based on in-situ observations and Landsat-8 remote sensing data

“…They are mainly distributed along the northern coal belt of China (Song and Kuenzer, 2014), particularly, in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (Kuenzer et al, 2007b, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (Shao et al, 2014;Zhang et al, 2004a,b), Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (Huo et al, 2014;Kuenzer et al, 2007b;Litschke, 2005;Tetzlaff, 2004), Shanxi Province (Querol et al, 2008(Querol et al, , 2011Shao et al, 2015;Zhao et al, 2008), Shaanxi Province, Heilongjiang Province , Qinghai Province and Guizhou Province. Coal fires in Wuda coalfield of Inner Mongolia belong to the largest coal fires in China and have been most extensively investigated (Gangopadhyay, 2003;Gangopadhyay et al, 2005;Kuenzer et al, 2007bKuenzer et al, , 2008Liang et al, 2014;Lindner et al, 2010;Litschke et al, 2008;Schloemer et al, 2008;Stracher et al, 2012;.…”

Remote Sensing, Fuzzy Logic and GIS in Petroleum Exploration

“…These different factors will influence each other and finally appear as an anomaly or background with a certain pixel integrated temperature value over the existing oil fields of the study area. Based on case studies it is proven that ASTER based temperature measurements correspond well with the actual field measurements [12] 3. Methodology…”

Self-Adaptive Gradient-Based Thresholding Method for Coal Fire Detection Based on ASTER Data—Part 2, Validation and Sensitivity Analysis

“…Subsurface and surface coal fires have been widely linked to pollution and loss of coal resources [1], making the identification and mapping of burning coal areas a critical component in understanding coal fire contributions to environmental degradation and to the economy. The occurrence and spatial distribution of coal fires are a function of coal properties, including microstructure, chemical constituents, and minerals (e.g., particle sizes and surface areas, rank, petrography, and pyrites) [2].…”