Characteristics of changes in the moisture content of the tundra cover in the area of the Bovanenkovo field using Landsat satellite data

Abstract

By the case of the area of a long-term technogenic load of the Bovanenkovo oil and gas condensate field, the possibility of monitoring the moisture content of the tundra cover near technical objects according to the Landsat 5 and Landsat 8 satellites is shown. The work used multispectral images from 1990, 1994, 2013 and 2020. The analysis was carried out on images characterizing the Earth’s surface temperature, surface moisture (NDWI index) and chlorophyll content in the canopy (NDVI index). Characterization and mapping of changes in the moisture content of the cover were carried out according to the difference between the images of 1990 and 2020. Variations in the NDVI index allow us to identify the reasons for these changes. The technogenic impact is shown to lead to an increase in the surface temperature and a decrease in the NDWI and NDVI values, which indicates the predominance of drainage processes and a decrease in the volume of living phytomass near technical objects. Such transformations are less dangerous for objects in comparison with waterlogging of the cover, however, they contribute to an increase in the emission of carbon-containing gases, since an increase in temperature and a decrease in surface moisture, as a rule, lead to degradation of the permafrost and an increase in the depth of the thawed layer.

Keywords

• monitoring
• surface moisture
• landsat satellites
• temperature
• ndwi index
• ndvi index
• tundra cover
• technical objects
• bovanenkovo field