Remote Sensing and GIS Applications in Environmental Sciences

Investigating the effect of geothermal power plant on vegetation around the site using satellite images processing (Case Study: Geothermal power station of Meshkinshar)

Document Type : Original Article

Author

PhD student, Department of Remote Sensing and GIS, Faculty of Geography, University of Tehran, Iran

Abstract

The life and development of human societies requires energy production and consumption, the need to pay attention to the environment and the fatalities of fossil fuels for energy production has focused on the use of energy from renewable energy sources. New energies are important because they are a good alternative to fossil fuels. Fossil fuels cause environmental pollution and air pollution. Geothermal plants, on the other hand, also have environmental impacts on vegetation around the power plants. In this research, various vegetation indices have been used to investigate the potential damaging effects of Meshkinshahr geothermal power plant on vegetation around the site of the power plant. Investigations using Landsat 7 and 8 satellite images and ETM + and OLI sensors from the target area and extracting the SAVI index in two periods of 2000 and 2017 showed that the vegetation index of the areas around the site of the power plant Geothermal has dropped to 6.68 square kilometers. Residential, soil and water areas also increased 53.69, 14.26 and 0/255% respectively. Comparison of two classified images showed that the lagoon class in 2000 had an area equal to 11.18 km2, down from 95.91 km2 in 2017. In addition, the class of residential areas in 2000 has an area of 95.74 km2, in 2017, it is up to 120.41 km2, the soil class ranges from 219.59 km2 to 405.82 km2 and the water class ranges from 0.43 to 0.69 km2 has risen.The life and development of human societies requires energy production and consumption, the need to pay attention to the environment and the fatalities of fossil fuels for energy production has focused on the use of energy from renewable energy sources. New energies are important because they are a good alternative to fossil fuels. Fossil fuels cause environmental pollution and air pollution. Geothermal plants, on the other hand, also have environmental impacts on vegetation around the power plants. In this research, various vegetation indices have been used to investigate the potential damaging effects of Meshkinshahr geothermal power plant on vegetation around the site of the power plant. Investigations using Landsat 7 and 8 satellite images and ETM + and OLI sensors from the target area and extracting the SAVI index in two periods of 2000 and 2017 showed that the vegetation index of the areas around the site of the power plant Geothermal has dropped to 6.68 square kilometers. Residential, soil and water areas also increased 53.69, 14.26 and 0/255% respectively. Comparison of two classified images showed that the lagoon class in 2000 had an area equal to 11.18 km2, down from 95.91 km2 in 2017. In addition, the class of residential areas in 2000 has an area of 95.74 km2, in 2017, it is up to 120.41 km2, the soil class ranges from 219.59 km2 to 405.82 km2 and the water class ranges from 0.43 to 0.69 km2 has risen.

Keywords

زندگی و توسعه جوامع انسانی مستلزم تولید و مصرف انرژی است، لزوم توجه به محیطزیست و فناپذیر بودن منابع فسیلی جهت تولید انرژی، توجه بشر را به استفاده از منابع تجدیدپذیر انرژی معطوف کرده است. انرژیهای نو از آن جهت اهمیت دارند که جایگزین مناسبی برای سوختهای فسیلی میباشند. سوختهای فسیلی باعث آلودگیهای زیستمحیطی و آب و هوایی شدهاند. از طرفی دیگر، نیروگاههای زمین گرمایی نیز اثرات زیست محیطی بر روی پوشش گیاهی مناطق اطراف نیروگاه میتوانند داشته باشند. در این تحقیق با استفاده از شاخصهای پوشش گیاهی به بررسی اثرات تخریبی احتمالی نیروگاه زمین گرمایی مشکینشهر بر روی پوشش گیاهی مناطق اطراف سایت نیروگاه پرداخته شده است. بررسیهای انجام شده با استفاده از تصاویر ماهوارهای لندست 7 و 8 و سنجندههای ETM+ و OLI از منطقه مورد نظر و استخراج شاخص SAVI طی دو بازه زمانی سالهای 6999 و 6917 میلادی نشان داد که میزان شاخص پوشش گیاهی مناطق اطراف سایت نیروگاه به میزان 28/2 کیلومترمربع کاهش یافته است. همچنین مناطق مسکونی، خاک و آب نیز بهترتیب 20/35، 62/10 و 633/9 درصد افزایش یافتهاند. مقایسه دو تصویر طبقهبندی شده نشان داد که کلاس پوششگیاهی در سال 6999 مساحتی برابر با 10/118 کیلومترمربع داشته که در سال 6917 به 03/01 کیلومترمربع کاهش یافته است. و همچنین کلاس مناطق مسکونی در سال 6999 مساحتی برابر با 70/03 کلیلومترمربع داشته که این مقدار در سال 6917 به 05/169 کیلومترمربع، کلاس خاک از 32/601 کیلومترمربع به 86/093 کیلومترمربع و کلاس آب از 05/9 به 20/9 کیلومترمربع افزایش یافته است .

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Remote Sensing and GIS Applications in Environmental Sciences
Volume 2, Issue 4 - Serial Number 4
October 2023
Pages 117-101
  • Receive Date: 17 December 2022
  • Revise Date: 22 December 2022
  • Accept Date: 23 December 2022