Uncontrolled coal fires and their environmental impacts: Investigating two arid mining regions in north-central China

Uncontrolled coal fires occur worldwide and pose a great threat to the environment. This paper introduces the problem of coal fires referring to two coalfields in north-central China. These areas were regularly investigated during numerous fieldwork campaigns between 2002 and 2005. Emphasis is put on the environmental impacts of the fires, such as atmospheric influences, land subsidence, landscape degradation, as well as the danger for water resources and human health. New approaches for coal fire research are undertaken in numerous national and multi-lateral projects. Research disciplines, addressing the problem of coal fires, include geography, geology, geo-physics, mining-engineering, and remote sensing. In combination, they lead the direction towards a holistic approach to detect, monitor, quantify, and finally extinguish the coal fires.