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Remote Sensing for Monitoring Mine Lands and Recovery Efforts

Circular 1525
Land Management Research Program
By: , , , , , , and 
https://doi.org/10.3133/cir1525

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Abstract

Under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Ecosystem Restoration Program, the U.S. Department of the Interior has invested in assessing and recovering degraded ecosystems to promote healthy human communities and wildlife habitats. One priority established by the program is the need to address degraded ecosystems associated with mine lands, including active, inactive, and abandoned mines. Mine lands occur in every State of the United States and present a range of environmental hazards and safety risks to human communities and wildlife habitats. However, limited information compiled across the United States exists on the whereabouts of mining activities and their potential environmental effects on landscapes. Remote sensing is the process of acquiring information about the landscape from ground platforms, aircraft, or satellites to assess surface characteristics such as topography, vegetation, and soil properties and can therefore provide important cost-effective methods for identifying mining sites and assessing their environmental effects. Based on a literature review of remote sensing applications that assessed land health conditions and monitoring of mine lands, this report highlights important approaches, capabilities, considerations, and case studies using a breadth of techniques. The report identifies considerations for setting appropriate vegetation recovery targets and demonstrates how remote sensing can inform the prioritization, recovery design, and long-term assessments of recovery to help support decision makers and land managers. Applications of remote sensing to mine recovery will be most effective when recovery targets are clearly defined and quantifiable from data collected before mining activity, per the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 and similar laws. Additionally, the collected data would need to be accessible and maintained in databases for baseline references used to establish these recovery targets.

Suggested Citation

O’Donnell, M.S., Whipple, A.L., Inman, R.D., Tarbox, B.C., Monroe, A.P., Robb, B.S., and Aldridge, C.L., 2024, Remote sensing for monitoring mine lands and recovery efforts: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1525, 34 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/cir1525.

ISSN: 2330-5703 (online)

Study Area

Table of Contents

  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Mining Background
  • Remote Sensing Supporting Mine Land Recovery
  • Recovery Targets and Performance Indicators
  • Methods for Literature Review and Examples of Studies Using Remote Sensing for Monitoring Mine Land Recovery
  • Summary
  • References Cited
  • Glossary
  • Appendix 1. Eight Example Studies and Literature Review References
  • Appendix 2. Selected References and Remote Sensing Tools and Data for Monitoring Mine Lands
Publication type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Title Remote sensing for monitoring mine lands and recovery efforts
Series title Circular
Series number 1525
DOI 10.3133/cir1525
Year Published 2024
Language English
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Publisher location Reston VA
Contributing office(s) Fort Collins Science Center
Description v, 34 p.
Country United States
Other Geospatial continental United States
Online Only (Y/N) Y
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
Additional publication details