COMPREHENSIVE SEARCH FOR DAM LEAKAGE USING ELECTROMAGNETIC SENSING TECHNIQUES

Purpose: comprehensive search for filtration sites on protective hydraulic structures using sensing techniques. Materials and methods. The results of a long-term study of the hydraulic structure section – a dam, which is a protective obstacle to water leakage from the ash disposal area of Chita TPP-1 are presented. Radiometers with frequencies of 34 and 13 GHz were installed on a ground carrier. As a result, when crossing the reservoir, route records of the radio brightness temperature of the ice cover, characterizing the power of thermal radiation, which recorded the areas of the outlet of water passing through the embankment, were obtained. To confirm the water leakage sites, a geoelectric section along the profile along the dam section, using the Skala-48 electrical prospecting station, was made. Results. Water filtration through this structure was detected using remote sensing techniques of the object. Satellite images in the visible range were analyzed at the initial moment of the reservoir ice cover formation, which is located near the dam, where the warm water leakage in the form of dark areas of ice was recorded. The rest of the water area of the reservoir ice cover is presented as a whitish area of ice in the images. This is due to the freshly fallen snow frozen into the ice cover, which was captured in it at the time of its formation. In addition, studies of the ice cover's own thermal radiation in the microwave range were carried out. Conclusions. The study confirmed the supposed location of water leakage through the dam. Three years after the study with the help of satellite images, it was shown that water leakage in this place ceased. In addition, the area of the water surface of the man-made reservoir near the dam was reduced by 4.1 times over ten years (2013–2024), while the amount of precipitation in the region increased.