Fast-growing regions are the areas around major urban centers, which are generally
characterized by high exploitation rates of the geological resources (mineral raw
materials, groundwater, and soil) as well as by increasing competing demands towards
the use of the available land, if not supported by information on the availability,
quality and vulnerability of the geological resources, serious environmental impacts
are likely to occur such as groundwater overuse, loss of fertile soil, destruction
of the landscape as well as soil and groundwater pollution, etcThe Department of
Mineral Resources have been emphatically carrying out environmental geology work
since 1996 with support of the Federal institute A project called "Environment Geology
for Regional Planning” was established to provide relevant geological information
and its application for land use planning and development in fast-growing regions
of Thailand.
Activities
Groundwater extraction for Irrigation
Groundwater Protection
Water consumption for domestic use, irrigation, and industrial purposes is high
and is expected to grow rapidly in the future. Overexploitation and pollution are
major threats to groundwater resources.
The project has set up a hydrogeological database that stores detailed information
from groundwater wells. Thematic maps display: "Exploitation Potential”, "Basic
Quality Assessment”, "Vulnerability”, "Protection Demands” and "Pollution Hazard”.
Areas for Waste Disposal Sites
The disposal of domestic and industrial waste under environmentally sustainable
conditions has become a matter of high priority for many places in Thailand, Operating
and abandoned waste sites have increasingly developed into sources of serious environmental
pollution.
Nong Harn Landfill In Chiang Mai
Rocks and Sediments can act as a natural and efficient barrier against toxic lea
hates originating from waste disposal sites. Important criteria for such a geological
barrier are high clay content, a thickness of at least 5 m, and sufficient lateral
extension. A geological barrier will block or retard the spread of pollutants to
the groundwater if the man-made barrier of a waste disposal site proves insufficient
or fails.
The search for geological barrier rocks is supported by a database application querying
the lithological information from groundwater wells. GIS overlay techniques are
used for further data processing and presentation. Thematic maps display the distribution
of "Potential Barrier Rock” and outline "Recommended Areas for Site investigation”.
Construction Raw Materials
High demand for construction raw materials has led in the project area to widespread
and largely uncontrolled mining activities from various clay sand and gravel pits
as well as from quarries and riverbed sand-sucking sites, serious environmental
impacts are frequently visible. The project database provides an inventory of mining
sites including information for environmental impact assessment. The thematic map
"Prospective Areas for Construction Raw Materials” displays proven and potential
exploitation sites for sand/gravel, brick clay, and aggregates.
Uncontrolled Mining of Filling material
Soils
Soils have a key function in the geological environment. Agricultural use, fertility,
natural vegetation, readability, groundwater storage capacity, and aspects of soil
protection are all closely related to distinct soil types and their physical and
chemical parameters. The project has compiled in close cooperation with the Department
of Land Development (DLD) all relevant soil information. The DLD’s Soil Information
System (SIS) stores soil data on a countrywide scale. GIS-based thematic maps from
the project area provide information on soil classes, natural vegetation, and agricultural
use as well as on potential soil fertility and soil texture.
Sustainable agriculture depends on Preservation of fertile soil
Natural Hazards
Assessment of the risk potential of natural hazards (e.g.: flooding, active faults,
earthquakes, landslides, land subsidence) is an important aspect of environmental
geology. Human life and property can be protected if adequate information and risk
prevention measures are taken into account. Flood events occur most commonly in
the low lying basin parts close to the major river systems. This hazard information
is especially important for flood sensitive land use like infrastructure, settlement,
waste disposal sites.
GIS / Database Development
The project has set up a GIS (Geographical Information System) using Arc/Info and
Arc View for the storage, processing, and display of spatial data. The main GIS
task includes the compilation and production of thematic maps by using various overlay
techniques. Since the system is linked to other DMR databases, request oriented
GIS applications can also access, analyze, and display additional geo-information.