On November 5th 2015, two dams of an iron mining reservoir collapsed in Marina, federal state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Subsequently, a mudslide burst out into Rio Doce, killing at least a dozen people and causing severe damage to nearby villages. The toxic components of the mining wastewaters are likely to harm the ecosystems along Rio Doce. Two weeks after the incident, the polluted waters reached the Brazilian Atlantic Ocean coast.

Using its proprietary, sensor-independent water quality processors, EOMAP was able to track the propagation of the mudslide in Rio Doce on its 650 km journey to the ocean. The arrival of the plume at the estuary was observed in near real time using daily MODIS data – at 500m resolution. The satellite-retrieved turbidity measures provided a good indication on the dynamic impact of the dam collapse.

Higher resolution products, from 30 to 2 m horizontal resolution, are available upon request.

Fig.: Example of 30 m horizontal resolution product (Landsat 7/8, data ©USGS, processing ©EOMAP)

References:

• Brazilian dam burst
• Mining waste reaches Brazilian coast

Further reading:

• eoapp™ AQUA
• EOMAP Water Quality Information Booklet