Development of remote sensing methods for assessment of heavy metal soil pollution near the city of Kajaran

Numerous ecological problems are based on the disturbance of natural equilibrium of chemical elements which finally brings to pollution of major environmental components. Among pollutants, priority is given particularly to the heavy metals (HM). A complex investigation of pollution of territories with HM implies application of diverse methods that include the assessment of the state of major components of the ecosystem and a multi-factor analysis of the obtained data. Using remote sensing techniques can notably reduce the process of assessment of pollution levels of natural and man-made landscapes and is an essential tool when indicating pollution. This work highlights the outcomes of an attempt to obtain spectral signatures of pollution of territories with heavy metals (HM) through collation of geochemical maps and remote sensing data. The research was performed in the southern part of Armenia, where the largest mining centers are located, including the study object of this research – the city of Kajaran. Collating geochemical data on soil pollution with HM and multi-zonal satellite images of a satellite Landsat ETM+ of 28m spatial resolution allowed indicating direct features of different levels of summary HM pollution of Kajaran's soils and adjacent tailing repositories. Determined were Spectral Irradiance Values (SIV) of summary pollution in 2 bands (red (R), near infra-red (NIR)) of a multi-zonal satellite imagery.