Suitability of aquifer-protection mining in ecologically fragile areas in western China

• Published in: Environmental earth sciences 2020-07, Vol.79 (14), Article 356
• Main Authors: Liu, Jiawei, Zhang, Dingyang, Yang, Binbin, Liu, Shuo, Wang, Yong, Xu, Ke
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analytic hierarchy process; Aquifers; Biogeosciences; Coal mines; Coal mining; Colour; Decision support systems; Disasters; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Ecological effects; Environmental Science and Engineering; Evaluation; Geochemistry; Geographic information systems; Geographical information systems; Geology; Hydrogeology; Hydrology/Water Resources; Information systems; Mining; Original Article; Protection; Remote sensing; Specific capacity; Terrestrial Pollution; Thematic mapping; Weight
• ISSN: 1866-6280; 1866-6299
• DOI: 10.1007/s12665-020-09098-w

Due to the complexity of the geological conditions in the ecologically fragile mining area in western China, water and sand inrush disasters during the mining process are controlled by various factors. Based on the geographic information system (GIS) and analytic hierarchy process (AHP), a suitability analysis system was developed to assess the suitability of aquifer-protection mining in the study area. The system consists of models with 3 criteria and 10 sub-criteria to evaluate the suitability of coal mining. Then, the suitability assessment results are spatially visualized in thematic maps and color-coded maps. A case study of the Mahuang coalfield is conducted, and the geological and hydrogeological conditions are analyzed. An engineering application of the assessment of the suitability of aquifer-protection mining in the ecologically fragile mining area is proposed. Non-dimensional thematic maps for all the indices are constructed. According to the AHP, the weight vector of indices is calculated, which indicates that hydrogeological conditions have the highest weight. In particular, the specific capacity has the greatest influence. The suitability zoning map of the ecologically fragile mining area is obtained by the GIS. The results indicate that half of the study area has the highest suitability degree. The suitability analysis system can successfully enable the evaluation and prioritization of the applicability of aquifer-protection mining in ecologically fragile mining areas. Moreover, the system can provide a better understanding of the distribution of the suitability of aquifer-protection mining and accurately evaluate the suitability levels in ecologically fragile mining areas. Suitability assessment can be a useful decision-support tool for assessing the suitability of aquifer-protection mining in ecologically fragile mining areas.