MAPPING THE CENTRALIA MINE FIRE IN PA USING INFRARED AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY

Infrared aerial photography was successfully used to map the regions affected by a mine fire that has been burning out of control in Centralia, PA (Western Middle Synclinorium), for the past 45 years. The Buck Mountain coal bed (No. 5), which is located near the base of the Llewellyn Formation (Middle Pennsylvanian), is the source of fuel for the fire, and is located approximately 100 to 150 feet in the subsurface through much of the affected area. The variable dip of the coal seam controls the location and depth of penetration of the mine fire.

Several transects at 1000, 3500, 7500 ft altitude were made along northeast-southwest orientations which coincide with the general strike of the bedrock and geologic structures of the region. Photographs were taken during the day for visual reference as well as at night for the infrared aerial survey. The images are both black and white and color enhanced.

The infrared aerial digital photographs show the 2 fronts of the fire, which follow the northern and southern limbs of the eastward plunging Locust Mountain Anticline. These photographs also allow for the identification of the aerial extent of the region affected by the fires, identification of new vents, provides a visual identification of heat gradation, and a comparison with ground surface temperature maps.

This is not the first time that infrared photography has been used to examine coal mine fires, however, it is the first time that the aerial extent of the mine fire at Centralia has been mapped and captured. Infrared photography may provide a better understanding of the future movement and geothermal history of a coal mine fire.