EARTH OBSERVATION KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER: THE EXAMPLE OF ITC’S COAL FIRE PROJECT 
P.M. van Dijk?, H.Y. Wang" and J.L. van Genderen ** 
“ITC, Dept. of Earth System Analysis, P.O. Box 6, 7500 AA Enschede, the Netherlands, vandijk@itc.nl 
° Xiaolei Technology Development Corporation, No. A23 Zhichunli, Haidian District, Beijing, P.R. China 100086, 
* ITC, Dept. of Earth Observation Science, P.O. Box 6, 7500 AA Enschede, the Netherlands, genderen(æéite.nl 
KEYWORDS: Education, training, developing countries, environment, multisensor, thermal 
ABSTRACT: 
For over 50 years, the ITC has practiced knowledge transfer of geoinformation and earth observation technology and applications by 
means of education and training, joint applied research, and in the form of institutional support projects. This paper describes the 
methods and results of earth observation knowledge transfer for ITC’s project on the detection, measurement, monitoring and 
management of underground coal fires. 
The following phases of the knowledge transfer process are described in this paper: 
Knowledge transfer inside ITC, to tap the expertise in the different departments, and to build up the research team. 
= 
e Knowledge transfer inside the Netherlands, to access expertise not available within ITC, but required to solve the problem. This 
is done through ITC's network of Dutch Universities, research institutes and private sector. 
* . Knowledge transfer internationally, from experts in other countries with similar problems, or with expertise in tackling the 
problem, as well as knowledge transfer within the recipient partner organizations in the developing country. 
e Education and training of researchers, professionals, managers, etc., at all levels, from short management workshops/seminars to 
MSc and PhD studies, as well as Post Doctoral and visiting scholar schemes. 
e 
Publication and promotion of the results via scientific papers in refereed journals, at international conferences, in professional 
and popular magazines and newsletters, as well as via the media, in terms of local, national, and international newspapers, radio 
and TV-interviews, and TV-documentaries. 
The above phases and activities then result in additional funding from other donors, and as the remote sensing research results in 
more and more practical benefits, a critical mass of expertise is built up in the country to ensure the knowledge transfer is sustainable 
in the long term. Furthermore, this knowledge transfer approach of applied earth observation also results in many spin-off benefits to 
other applications and transfer of the developed methodologies to other important problems in developing countries. The paper is 
illustrated by ITC's 15 year coal fire project in China. 
1. INTRODUCTION 
1.1 The problem of coal fires 
Underground coal fires occur in many countries of the world 
(USA, Australia, Germany, Spain, Poland, Czech Republic, 
India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Venezuela, China, etc.) and cause 
serious environmental damage (Genderen, J.L. van and Guan, 
H.Y., 1997). Among the environmental hazards produced by 
coal fires are: 
Loss of coal resources and loss of mining productivity: 
In China it is estimated that 100 to 200 million tons of high 
quality coal are lost every year! (Genderen, 1999). This 
amounts to 5 to 10 times total coal exports from China, the 
world's largest producer and exporter of coal (China 
Statistical Year Book, 1993). 
Very high CO; emission: The CO, emission of the 
Chinese coal fires is estimated at 1% of the total CO, 
production by combustion of fossil fuels in the world. This 
emission is approximately 2 times as high as the total 
annual production of CO, in the Netherlands (Rosema et 
al, 1995), 
Very high air pollution: Besides the high contribution to 
the greenhouse effect of CO, many other harmful 
pollutant gases are released by the coal fires such as CO, 
SO», CH, H5S, N, etc. 
Degradation of the environment: The burnt-out coal 
layers cause subsidence, landslides, rock falls, etc. causing 
extensive physical and economic damage to infrastructure 
a) 
b) 
  
d) 
  
  
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(roads, railways, power lines, settlements, other 
engineering structures) and to vegetation (forest fires) and 
soil quality degradation. 
Safety and health risk for the miners and population: 
Many miners are working under dangerous conditions and 
many lives are lost each year as a result of the coal fires. 
e) 
Coal is the most important source of energy in the People's 
Republic of China (PRC). China is the largest producer and 
exporter of coal in the world. Where coal layers reach the 
surface they are in contact with oxygen and prone to oxidation. 
Particularly in mining areas situated in arid and semi-arid 
regions, exploitation creates conditions which favour 
spontaneous combustion in coal litter. All over northern China 
there are a large number of coal fires, which cause an estimated 
yearly coal loss of between 100 and 200 million tons. 
1.3 The role of earth observation 
The extent of the area affected by coal fires in China is very 
large, stretching 5.000 km from W to E and 500 km from N to S 
(see figure 1). It is almost impossible to obtain an overview of 
the coal fire problem in such a large area by conventional 
means. Satellite and airborne remote sensing data are essential 
to provide this overview (Zhang et al, 2003). Repeated 
observations introduce a time dimension, thus allowing to 
monitor the development and spread of coal fires as well as the 
success of coal fire fighting measures. The introduction of the 
satellite information and other spatial data in a Geographic 
Information System (GIS), facilitates the accessibility and easy