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Arid Land Geography ›› 2025, Vol. 48 ›› Issue (9): 1521-1530.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000-6060.2024.571

• Hydrology and Water Resoures • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Quantitative research on the impact of coal mining on water resources of the three main coalfields in northern Shaanxi

YANG Anle(), JIANG Xiaohui(), CHEN Xingchi, ZHANG Lin, XU Fangbing   

  1. College of Urban and Environmental Science, Northwest University, Xi’an 710127, Shaanxi, China
  • Received:2024-09-22 Revised:2024-12-22 Online:2025-09-25 Published:2025-09-17
  • Contact: JIANG Xiaohui E-mail:anleyang@outlook.com;xhjiang@nwu.edu.cn

Abstract:

High-intensity coal mining accounts for exacerbated water-resource depletion and ecological vulnerability in arid and semi-arid regions. Therefore, investigating coal-mining-induced surface water and groundwater depletions is pivotal to sustainable water-resource utilization. To address this, static, dynamic, and depletion methods are employed to quantitatively identify water resources depleted by coal mining in 2022 in mining sites within the Jurassic, Carboniferous-Permian, and Triassic coalfields in northern Shaanxi, China. The results reveal the following: (1) Different coalfields exhibit significantly varying hydrogeological characteristics, with the aquifer thickness and coalfield type influencing the variations in the goaf area, water supply degree, and groundwater-damage modulus. (2) Coal mining already accounts for the depletion of 5782.761×105 m3 of static groundwater reserves, specifically facilitating the depletion of 2171.952×105 m3 dynamic reserves in 2022 (mainly in the Salawusu formation aquifer and burned-rock area of the Jurassic coalfield). (3) The total water influx of the mine was 2507.800×105 m3 in 2022, and coal mining triggered the depletions of 486.889×105 m3 and 335.848×105 m3 surface water and groundwater, respectively, with coal mining exerting regional-type impacts on water resources. Overall, these results reveal the quantitative impact of coal mining on water resources, offering a scientific basis for the synergistic management of water-resource protection and development in arid areas.

Key words: coal mining, water resources, static reserve, dynamic reserve, northern Shaanxi