Pre-failure operational anomalies of the Kakhovka Dam revealed by satellite data

Yang, Qing; Shen, Xinyi; He, Kang; Zhang, Qingyuan; Helfrich, Sean; Straka, William; Kellndorfer, Josef M.; Anagnostou, Emmanouil N.

doi:10.1038/s43247-024-01397-5

i

Pre-failure operational anomalies of the Kakhovka Dam revealed by satellite data

2024
By Yang, Qing ; Shen, Xinyi ; He, Kang ; ...

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Journal Title:

Communications Earth & Environment
Personal Author:

Yang, Qing ; Shen, Xinyi ; He, Kang ; Zhang, Qingyuan ; Helfrich, Sean ; Straka, William ; Kellndorfer, Josef M. ; Anagnostou, Emmanouil N.
NOAA Program & Office:

NESDIS (National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service) ; STAR (Center for Satellite Applications and Research) ; CIMSS (Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies) ; OAR (Oceanic and Atmospheric Research)
Description:

On June 6, 2023, the Kakhovka Dam in Ukraine experienced a catastrophic breach that led to the loss of life and substantial economic values. Prior to the breach, the supporting structures downstream of the spillway had shown signs of being compromised. Here, we use multi-source satellite data, meteorological reanalysis, and dam design criteria to document the dam’s pre-failure condition. We find that anomalous operation of the Kakhovka Dam began in November 2022, following the destruction of a bridge segment, which led to persistent overtopping from late April 2023 up to the breach, contributing to the erosion of the spillway foundation. Moreover, our findings also highlight safety and risk-reduction measures pivotal in avoiding such scenarios. To help prevent future disasters, we advocate for greater transparency in the design parameters of key water structures to enable risk management, and conclude that remote sensing technology can help ensuring water infrastructure safety.
Source:

Communications Earth & Environment, 5(1)
DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01397-5
ISSN:

2662-4435
Format:

PDF
Publisher:

Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Document Type:

Journal Article
Funding:

Grant no. NA22OAR4050676I ; Grant no. NA22OAR4320150 ; Grant no. NA20OAR4600288 ; Grant no. NA22NES4050009I ; Grant no. NA22NES4050012D ; Grant no. NA19NES4320002
License:

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Rights Information:

CC BY
Compliance:

Submitted
Main Document Checksum:

urn:sha-512:ccc27bcb3f6a6e7d76f1030c508dc580af7e5e21d4e5ed6f81e7e103663b5848b8f4a520b982ac6e7f60f32a4add28d79bf61a11a7c6a99b4d1dd3956154b1f8
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https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/65976/noaa_65976_DS1.pdf
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