APPLICATION OF LINEAMENT ANALYSIS TO ASSESS THE KARST HAZARD IN THE DESIGN OF THE MAIN GAS PIPELINE IN SOUTH YAKUTIA

Abstract

Relevance of the work is caused by construction of the main gas pipeline in southern Yakutia. The area is characterized by complex natural and climatic conditions, poor geological engineering study, and extensive development of karst rocks. Taking into consideration the insufficiency of karst observation data, lineament analysis of satellite images has great importance for studying rock fracture zones. A lineament on a satellite image is a linear-banded image texture that reflects the features of the geological structure on the ground, such as zones of discontinuities, cracks and rock crushing, which are associated with the maximum permeability of the earth's crust for heat and mass transfer and migration of gas and liquid solutions. The latter circumstance opens the way to assess and forecast not only the prospects of the territory for the presence of natural resource, but also the danger of the development of exogenous geological processes, such as linear erosion, karst, landslides. The physical nature of the relationship between lineaments and karst manifestations allows us to use lineament analysis in assessing the conditions of construction of structures on karst territories. The main aim of the study is to understand the spatial distribution of lineaments, their orientation, density, as a factor affecting the development of the karst process. Methods. The main focus of the study is on extraction of lineaments within the route of the main gas pipeline, using a digital terrain model. The lineaments were extracted and analyzed in the Geomatica and ArcGIS programs, respectively. Results. The use of modern technologies for selecting lineaments on satellite images opens up new opportunities for studying the geological structure of the territory. Maps of distribution of lineaments and their density in the studied area are made. Information on the structural and tectonic conditions of the territory and the obtained results of lineament analysis were used to assess the karst hazard of the route area.

Keywords

• main gas pipelines
• risk assessment
• lineament
• geoinformation systems
• karst