Remote Sensing Analysis of Environmental Changes in a Post-Mining Area: A Case Study of the Olkusz Region – Preliminary Results

Continuous environmental monitoring of post-mining areas is essential, even years after the end of mining activity. Olkusz-Pomorzany mine closure in 2020 included shutting down the water pumps (2022), which resulted in the restoration of the underground water table and subsequent water appearing on the surface. The aim of this study is to analyse spatio-temporal water and vegetation changes in the post-mining and adjacent areas in Olkusz region, Poland, using remote sensing techniques on open-access satellite imagery data. The study uses nine Sentinel-2 images (2022-2024) and spectral indices (Modified Normalized Difference Water Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) to identify and calculate the area of surface water and vegetation condition changes. Indices revealed a total water area of almost 400,000 m2 and a substantial vegetation cover decrease. Using selected indices on open-access data allows the detection of surface water bodies and can provide preliminary results of spatio-temporal analysis of environmental changes in selected post-mining area.