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Application of remote sensing in environmental impact assessment: a case study of dam rupture in Brumadinho, Minas Gerais, Brazil

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Abstract

The collapse of mining tailing dams in Brumadinho, Minas Gerais, Brazil, that occurred in 2019 was one of the worst environmental and social disasters witnessed in the country. In this sense, monitoring any impacted areas both before and after the disaster is crucial to understand the actual scenario and problems of disaster management and environmental impact assessment. In order to find answers to that problem, the aim of this study was to identify and analyze the spatiality of the impacted area by rupture of the tailing dam of the Córrego do Feijão mine in Brumadinho, Minas Gerais, by using orbital remote sensing. Land use and land occupation, phytoplankton chlorophyll-a, water turbidity, total suspended solids on water, and carbon sequestration efficiency by vegetation (CO2Flux) were estimated by orbital imagery from the Landsat-8/OLI and MSI/Sentinel-2 sensors in order to assess the environmental impacts generated by the disaster. Data were extracted from spectral models in which the variables that best demonstrated the land use variation over the years were sought. Mean comparison by t-test was performed to compare the time series analyzed, that is, before and after the disaster. Through the analysis of water quality, it was observed that the environmental impact was calamitous to natural resources, especially water from Córrego do Feijão.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This research was carried out with the support of the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel—Brazil (CAPES)—Financing Code 001. I would also like to thank the Professional Program in National Network on Water Resources Management and Regulation—ProfÁgua, CAPES/ANA Project AUXPE Nº. 2717/2015, for the scientific technical support provided to date.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Post-Graduate Program in Water Resources Management and Regulation (ProfÁgua), State University of Mato Grosso (UNEMAT), Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, Brazil

    Ana Paula Damasceno Souza

  2. Federal University of Mato Grosso Do Sul (UFMS), Chapadão Do Sul, Mato Grosso Do Sul, Brazil

    Paulo Eduardo Teodoro, Larissa Pereira Ribeiro Teodoro, Aline Cordeiro Taveira & Fabio Henrique Rojo Baio

  3. Federal University of Alagoas (UFAL), Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil

    José Francisco de Oliveira-Júnior

  4. Post-Graduate Program in Environmental Sciences (PPGCAM), Federal University of Mato Grosso (UFMT), Sinop, Mato Grosso, Brazil

    João Lucas Della-Silva

  5. State University of Mato Grosso (UNEMAT), Alta Floresta, Mato Grosso, Brazil

    Mendelson Lima

  6. Department of Geography, State University of Mato Grosso (UNEMAT), Sinop, Mato Grosso, Brazil

    Carlos Antonio da Silva Junior

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Souza, A.P.D., Teodoro, P.E., Teodoro, L.P.R. et al. Application of remote sensing in environmental impact assessment: a case study of dam rupture in Brumadinho, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Environ Monit Assess 193, 606 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-021-09417-z

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