Earth from Space - Image Information


LOCATION Direction Photo #: ISS057-E-99919 Date: Nov. 2018
Geographic Region: AUSTRALIA-Q
Feature: OIL PADS, DALBY STATE FOREST


 
Coal and Cattle in Southern Queensland


An astronaut on board the International Space Station (ISS) shot this photograph of a mining town in the Surat Basin of Queensland, Australia. The basin is made up of 150 million-year-old sediments and contains more than four billion tons of proven thermal coal resources.

The Wilkie Creek surface mine used to produce low-emission thermal coal. Thermal or "steam" coal is burned to create steam for electricity generation. The deposits in the region contain methane gas, which can present safety risks during mining operations. As a safety precaution, boreholes were drilled from the surface into the deposits to create gas wells, allowing the methane to vent before mining. These gas wells are sprinkled throughout the darker forested areas in the image, where bare squares of land are connected by a grid-like pattern of roads.

Due to the decreased demand for coal, mining operations at Wilkie Creek Mine were suspended starting in 2013 after 18 years of coal production. While the man-made surface changes are still visible from space, land rehabilitation efforts are now underway. According to information from Peabody Energy, the project site is being transformed into grazing land for cattle.



Images: All Available Images Low-Resolution 501k
Mission: ISS057  
Roll - Frame: E - 99919
Geographical Name: AUSTRALIA-Q  
Features: OIL PADS, DALBY STATE FOREST  
Center Lat x Lon: 27.1S x 150.9E
Film Exposure:   N=Normal exposure, U=Under exposed, O=Over exposed, F=out of Focus
Percentage of Cloud Cover-CLDP: 10
 
Camera:: N8
 
Camera Tilt: 21   LO=Low Oblique, HO=High Oblique, NV=Near Vertical
Camera Focal Length: 800  
 
Nadir to Photo Center Direction: NE   The direction from the nadir to the center point, N=North, S=South, E=East, W=West
Stereo?:   Y=Yes there is an adjacent picture of the same area, N=No there isn't
Orbit Number:  
 
Date: 20181115   YYYYMMDD
Time: 224921   GMT HHMMSS
Nadir Lat: 28.3S  
Latitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Nadir Lon: 150.2E  
Longitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Sun Azimuth: 86   Clockwise angle in degrees from north to the sun measured at the nadir point
Space Craft Altitude: 222   nautical miles
Sun Elevation: 49   Angle in degrees between the horizon and the sun, measured at the nadir point
Land Views:  
Water Views:  
Atmosphere Views:  
Man Made Views:  
City Views:  

Photo is not associated with any sequences


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