IAPRS & SIS, Vol.34, Part 7, "Resource and Environmental Monitoring", Hyderabad, India,2002 
  
  
filling up of mine pit, failure of slope along dump, overburden- 
a landuse feature under mining environmental dynamic. 
Bicholim mining area covers 3596 space of iron ore belt in Goa. 
Dempo has been quarrying it since 1956-57 in association with M/S 
Swarna. Dempo group was established during 1941 in Goa as 
multipurpose Industrial entrepreneur and reorganized its mining 
activities since 1975 as Dempo Mining Corporation Limited 
(DMCL). Bicholim mining area is associated with different land use 
changes and selected for utilization of sequential aerospace data 
towards their monitoring. 
METHODOLOGY 
Visual interpretation of aerospace data has been carried out. The 
major Remote sensing keys for visual interpretation are topography, 
drainage and tonal contrast towards identification of mining activity 
and associated landuse changes. The developed Remote sensing 
keys through visual interpretation are summarized in Table 1 
(Gupta, 1978). 
Table 1. Remote Sensing keys for identification of landuse changes 
associated with Bicholim Iron ore mining activity 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
S. Name of ; ; 
No | Landuse Identification Remarks 
features Criteria 
Land associated 
IV : Dark sons, Shape Best on TM, Aerial 
egetation | and associated 
feature photograph 
Best on TM, Aerial 
) Paddy Medium tone photograph followed by 
field shape better over Landsat MSS 
and poor on IRS 1C 
1ght t ; 
3 ony ae Aerial photograph 
Iron ore Dark tone, shape : 
4 | ridge with | and associated Best on TM, Aerial 
quarrying feature photograph 
Dwelling Linearity tone Best on TM, Aerial 
5 and road shape photograph 
Water Associated 
Sediment- ; Best on aerial 
6 ation Drainage tone photograph Landsat MSS 
Pond with Visible on all kinds of 
7 water Tode shape aerospace data 
Better on aerial 
8 Muddy Medium tone photograph Landsat TM 
and IRS 1C 
9 Estuary Tone shape Benet ses MSS 
  
  
  
The digital interpretation methodology could not be utilized on 
account of unavailability of different kinds of aerospace data in their 
digital format as well as lack of relevant hardware and software. 
However the digital product along with stereo pair interpretation of 
modern sensor system of orbiting satellite may provide information 
upto maximum level of ground resolution. Such study is not only 
helpful for demarcation of different land use with their 
560 
quantification over land portion, but also sedimentation process in 
adjoining Arabian sea. This may provide status on sub-aquatic 
vegetation towards fisheries resource as additional asset for 
management of coastal resources. 
DATA USED 
The used temporal aerospace data for Goan iron ore are: Landsat 
MSS data (December 1972 & March 1975), Aerial photographs 
(February 1978), Landsat TM (January 1987) and IRS 1C 
(November 1989, February 1997). The information collected 
through aerospace data has been correlated with standard Survey of 
India toposheet 48 I/3 (1963-65) of scale 1: 50,000. The details of 
used aerospace data are summarized in Table 2. 
RESULT AND DISCUSSION 
Geo-morphology, mining, drainage and dwellings influence the 
land use in and around Goan iron ore mining area. All these 
influencing factors are deciphered on the basis of visual 
interpretation of aerospace data in conjunction with relevant ground 
truth. The temporal nature of aerospace data helps in detecting the 
changes occurred towards individual land use along with its 
primary quantification. The broad characteristics in terms of 
regional Goa to local Bicholim iron ore mining for each influencing 
factors are summarized as follows. 
Geomorphology 
The regional geomorphology of Goa is classified in two categories 
namely coastal area and Inland area. The coastal area occurs along 
Arabian sea and characterised by beach deposit, coastal plain over 
land and long shore drift over seawater portion respectively. 
Landsat 2 MSS Band 4 of March 1975 identifies two sets of beach 
deposit representing erosional activity with presence of chimney 
and stake over Calugute beach as well as retrograding nature by 
dominance of littoral drift at Kolva beach. The Inland area occurs 
along western portion of Western ghat and characterised by two sets 
of lineament namely NNW-SSE and NW-SE. The NW-SE 
lineament controls iron ore mineralization and by large belongs to 
Banded Haematite Quartzite BHQ ridge. The ridge is partly 
associated with intensive weathering cover and Lateritic capping. 
The NW-SE lineament is identical over landsat II MSS Band 6 & 7. 
BHQ is associated with sparse vegetation as landuse feature. The 
regional geo-morphology as interpreted through landsat II MSS 
data is illustrated as Figure 3 (Anand, 1982). 
The geo-graphic area around Bicholim is 4.8 km?. The landuse 
pertaining to iron ore mining was about 2 km’ during 1974-75 
towards east of Bicholim ridge. The landuse due to iron ore 
quarrying has been extended to 15 km? during 1997-98 with in the 
span of 23 years as per correlation through temporal aerospace data 
and ground truth. 
Geology 
The materialization for iron ore reveals that ore minerals have 
dominancy of Haematite, Magnetite with occasional presence of 
Limonite and Geothite. The gangue minerals are ferrogenous 
phyllite, shale, clay, magniferrous clay and silica. These minerals