Utilizing Vegetation Indices as a Proxy to Characterize the Stability of a Railway Embankment in a Permafrost Region
Degrading permafrost conditions around the world are posing stability issues for infrastructure constructed on them. Railway lines have exceptionally low tolerances for differential settlements associated with permafrost degradation due to the potential for train derailments. Railway owners with tra...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:acb2213de51241e3a43e958502617a6f 2023-05-15T16:35:29+02:00 Utilizing Vegetation Indices as a Proxy to Characterize the Stability of a Railway Embankment in a Permafrost Region Priscilla Addison Pasi Lautala Thomas Oommen 2016-11-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3934/geosci.2016.4.329 https://doaj.org/article/acb2213de51241e3a43e958502617a6f EN eng AIMS Press http://www.aimspress.com/geosciences/article/1080/fulltext.html https://doaj.org/toc/2471-2132 2471-2132 doi:10.3934/geosci.2016.4.329 https://doaj.org/article/acb2213de51241e3a43e958502617a6f AIMS Geosciences, Vol 2, Iss 4, Pp 329-344 (2016) Site characterization permafrost remote sensing track geometry electrical resistivity degradation susceptibility NDVI Geology QE1-996.5 article 2016 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3934/geosci.2016.4.329 2022-12-31T16:00:53Z Degrading permafrost conditions around the world are posing stability issues for infrastructure constructed on them. Railway lines have exceptionally low tolerances for differential settlements associated with permafrost degradation due to the potential for train derailments. Railway owners with tracks in permafrost regions therefore make it a priority to identify potential settlement locations so that proper maintenance or embankment stabilization measures can be applied to ensure smooth and safe operations. The extensive discontinuous permafrost zone along the Hudson Bay Railway (HBR) in Northern Manitoba, Canada, has been experiencing accelerated deterioration, resulting in differential settlements that necessitate continuous annual maintenance to avoid slow orders and operational interruptions. This paper seeks to characterize the different permafrost degradation susceptibilities present at the study site. Track geometry exceptions were compared against remotely sensed vegetation indices to establish a relationship between track quality and vegetation density. This relationship was used as a proxy for subsurface condition verified by electrical resistivity tomography. The established relationship was then used to develop a three-level degradation susceptibility chart to indicate low, moderate and high susceptibility regions. The defined susceptibility regions can be used to better allocate the limited maintenance resources and also help inform potentially long-term stabilization measures for the severely affected sections. Article in Journal/Newspaper Hudson Bay permafrost Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Hudson Bay Canada Hudson AIMS Geosciences 2 4 329 344 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Site characterization permafrost remote sensing track geometry electrical resistivity degradation susceptibility NDVI Geology QE1-996.5 |
spellingShingle |
Site characterization permafrost remote sensing track geometry electrical resistivity degradation susceptibility NDVI Geology QE1-996.5 Priscilla Addison Pasi Lautala Thomas Oommen Utilizing Vegetation Indices as a Proxy to Characterize the Stability of a Railway Embankment in a Permafrost Region |
topic_facet |
Site characterization permafrost remote sensing track geometry electrical resistivity degradation susceptibility NDVI Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
Degrading permafrost conditions around the world are posing stability issues for infrastructure constructed on them. Railway lines have exceptionally low tolerances for differential settlements associated with permafrost degradation due to the potential for train derailments. Railway owners with tracks in permafrost regions therefore make it a priority to identify potential settlement locations so that proper maintenance or embankment stabilization measures can be applied to ensure smooth and safe operations. The extensive discontinuous permafrost zone along the Hudson Bay Railway (HBR) in Northern Manitoba, Canada, has been experiencing accelerated deterioration, resulting in differential settlements that necessitate continuous annual maintenance to avoid slow orders and operational interruptions. This paper seeks to characterize the different permafrost degradation susceptibilities present at the study site. Track geometry exceptions were compared against remotely sensed vegetation indices to establish a relationship between track quality and vegetation density. This relationship was used as a proxy for subsurface condition verified by electrical resistivity tomography. The established relationship was then used to develop a three-level degradation susceptibility chart to indicate low, moderate and high susceptibility regions. The defined susceptibility regions can be used to better allocate the limited maintenance resources and also help inform potentially long-term stabilization measures for the severely affected sections. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Priscilla Addison Pasi Lautala Thomas Oommen |
author_facet |
Priscilla Addison Pasi Lautala Thomas Oommen |
author_sort |
Priscilla Addison |
title |
Utilizing Vegetation Indices as a Proxy to Characterize the Stability of a Railway Embankment in a Permafrost Region |
title_short |
Utilizing Vegetation Indices as a Proxy to Characterize the Stability of a Railway Embankment in a Permafrost Region |
title_full |
Utilizing Vegetation Indices as a Proxy to Characterize the Stability of a Railway Embankment in a Permafrost Region |
title_fullStr |
Utilizing Vegetation Indices as a Proxy to Characterize the Stability of a Railway Embankment in a Permafrost Region |
title_full_unstemmed |
Utilizing Vegetation Indices as a Proxy to Characterize the Stability of a Railway Embankment in a Permafrost Region |
title_sort |
utilizing vegetation indices as a proxy to characterize the stability of a railway embankment in a permafrost region |
publisher |
AIMS Press |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3934/geosci.2016.4.329 https://doaj.org/article/acb2213de51241e3a43e958502617a6f |
geographic |
Hudson Bay Canada Hudson |
geographic_facet |
Hudson Bay Canada Hudson |
genre |
Hudson Bay permafrost |
genre_facet |
Hudson Bay permafrost |
op_source |
AIMS Geosciences, Vol 2, Iss 4, Pp 329-344 (2016) |
op_relation |
http://www.aimspress.com/geosciences/article/1080/fulltext.html https://doaj.org/toc/2471-2132 2471-2132 doi:10.3934/geosci.2016.4.329 https://doaj.org/article/acb2213de51241e3a43e958502617a6f |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3934/geosci.2016.4.329 |
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AIMS Geosciences |
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2 |
container_issue |
4 |
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329 |
op_container_end_page |
344 |
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1766025709304676352 |