Catastrophic gas blowout in 2020 on the Yamal Peninsula in the Arctic. Results of comprehensive analysis of aerospace RS data

Abstract

The researchers carried out comprehensive study of the Bovanenkovo C17 object of a catastrophic gas blowout in 2020 based on RS data from space and using UAV. For the first time, based on the UAV data, they created a digital 3D model of a cavity in a ground ice massif, in which gas-dynamic processes developed. The dimensions of the cavity bottom are 14×61.5 m, and its height before the explosion was 25-30 m. The 3D model allows research in virtual space. According to RS data from space, the researchers have proved more than half a century of slow growth of the perennial heaving mound (PHM) C17 and established that its explosion occurred from May 28 to June 9. Based on the analysis of digital elevation models (DEM) ArcticDEM in the period of 2011-2017 they revealed an uneven growth rate of the PHM surface — on average 8 cm/year, maximum up to 20 cm/year. The scientists confirmed the formation features of gas-saturated cavities in the massifs of ground ice under the influence of endogenous processes, gas-dynamic growth of PHMs, powerful blowouts, self-ignitions and explosions of gas with the formation of giant craters. The results make it possible to reduce the risks of emergencies and catastrophic situations at the facilities of the oil and gas industry in the Arctic.

Natural and technogenic catastrophic blowouts and gas explosions in the Arctic and other regions (onshore and offshore)

“…Over the past decade, the authors have annually carried out expeditionary work in the Arctic to study a new dangerous phenomenon associated with the processes of powerful emissions, self-ignition and explosions of gas on land, as well as from the bottoms of thermokarst lakes, rivers and coastal zones of the Kara Sea (Bogoyavlensky et al, 2018;Bogoyavlensky, 2020;Bogoyavlensky et al, 2020a;Bogoyavlensky et al, 2020b;Bogoyavlensky, 2021;Bogoyavlensky et al, 2021c;Bogoyavlensky et al, 2021d;Bogoyavlensky et al, 2022a). Also expeditions have been carried out in the Azov and Black seas, Tatarstan, Tula, Nizhniy Novgorod and Saratov regions.…”

“…They give possibility to receive fundamentally new data on unique objects. The photogrammetric processing of data from UAV Mavic Pro and Mavic Mini (DJI, China) in Agisoft Metashape («Geoscan», Russia) and ArcGIS (ESRI, USA) software allows building 3D-4D models of the investigated objects available for additional study in virtual reality (Bogoyavlensky, 2021;Bogoyavlensky et al, 2021c). The scaled layouts of digital models using additive techno logy are also made on a 3D printer.…”

“…Particular information is Earth remote sensing (RS) data from space, which in many cases provide an opportunity for a retrospective analysis of the features of potentially dangerous objects formation, as well as catastrophic events that have occurred since the first large-scale satellite imagery started in the early 1960s. The ArcticDEM digital elevation models are widely used allowing monitoring the changes of terrain, especially in places of catastrophic gas blowouts and explosions (Bogoyavlensky, 2021;Bogoyavlensky et al, 2021c).…”

“…The Arctic and World Ocean (AWO) GIS was created based on ArcGIS software in 2008 (Bogoyavlensky et al, 2018;Bogoyavlensky, 2020;Bo-goyavlensky et al, 2020a;Bogoyavlensky et al, 2020b;Bogoyavlensky, 2021;Bogoyavlensky et al, 2021c;Bogoyavlensky et al, 2022a). The geospatial data including the authors' and other scientists' information is uploading in it to form continuously developing and systematized data arrays (Big Data), available for complex analysis.…”

“…Oil and Gas Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (OGRI RAS) studies the processes of the Earth degassing in their various geological forms and appearances for more than 30 years, the results were reported on many conferences, including (Earth degassing …, 2002). The studies of the authors are not limited geographically by the north latitudes of the Arctic regions with cryolithogenesis, but expand to other parts of the World related to different forms of natural and technogenic degassing, including mud volcanism, gas hydrate dissociation and behind-the-casing flows (Bogoyavlensky et al, 2018;Bogoyavlensky, 2020;Bogoyavlensky et al, 2020a;Bogoyavlensky et al, 2020b;Bogoyavlensky, 2021;Bogoyavlensky et al, 2021c;Bogoyavlensky et al, 2022a;Bogoyavlensky et al, 2022b).…”