Impact of open-pit coal mining on wind erosion

Quantifying the impact of open-pit mining activities on wind erosion processes through terrain changes is of great significance for soil erosion control and ecological restoration in open-pit coal mines. This study, based on multi-source remote sensing data from 2015 to 2024, focuses on the Hongshaquan Mining Area in the Zhundong Coalfield, Xinjiang. Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry（InSAR） technology is used to retrieve interannual elevation changes in the study area, precisely characterizing terrain disturbances caused by mining activities. This information is then incorporated into a wind erosion model to improve the timeliness and accuracy of wind erosion simulations. Based on this, a comparative perspective between a natural control area and the mining area is established to systematically analyze the evolution characteristics of wind erosion modulus in terms of spatiotemporal patterns and trend changes. The results show that: over the past decade, the overall wind erosion level in the study area shows a fluctuating upward trend, with the wind erosion modulus in the mining area（147.42 t/hm²） significantly higher than that in the natural control area（13.15 t/hm²）. Hongshaquan Mine 1 forms large, continuous patches of high-intensity wind erosion during the study period, expanding outward with the expansion of mining activities, with the average soil erosion increasing from 84.78 t/hm² to 163.25 t/hm²; Hongshaquan Mine 2 is in the early stages of construction with a lower wind erosion level, but shows an upward trend with increasing disturbance, with its average wind erosion increasing from 29.61 t/hm² in 2023 to 38.12 t/hm² in 2024. Variations in wind erosion intensity are primarily governed by topographic factors（q = 0.815 8）, and are further enhanced through their synergistic interactions with surface roughness. Overall, open-pit mining strengthens wind erosion processes by continuously altering the surface structure, resulting in wind erosion in the mining area being far higher than the natural background in terms of intensity, spatial extent, and variability, posing potential risks to regional ecological security and surface stability. This study’s dynamic wind erosion simulation method based on InSAR technology for calculating interannual elevation changes can provide scientific support for mine disturbance monitoring, ecological restoration, and wind erosion control strategies in the Zhundong Coalfield, Xinjiang.