REPRESENTATIVENESS OF CRATER COUNTING AS AN INDICATOR OF WARFARE IMPACTS ON THE ENVIRONMENT: METHODOLOGICAL LIMITATIONS FROM THE CASE OF UKRAINE
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32782/geotech2026.40.05Keywords:
environmental consequences of hostilities, agricultural lands, soil contamination, soil degradation, explosive ordnance, incomplete detonation, crater analysis, mine actionAbstract
The article investigates the representativeness of using crater counting as an indicator of the environmental impact of hostilities, particularly on agricultural lands. It is shown that the traditional practice of assessing environmental consequences through the analysis of explosion traces has limitations. It does not reflect the hidden processes leading to the toxic contamination of agricultural landscapes and soil degradation. A significant portion of the chemical contamination of arable lands is formed as a result of incomplete detonation of ammunition, deflagration burning of powder mixtures, or the failure of explosive devices. These processes occur mostly without crater formation, yet they pose a serious threat to soils and agricultural product safety. The mechanisms of detonation and deflagration of explosives and their impact on the accumulation of ecotoxicants in the pedosphere are analyzed. A model for assessing the potential number of toxic substances entering the environment under various ammunition activation scenarios is proposed. Based on the analysis of satellite data and field studies of agrocenoses, it is proven that the main share of pollutants enters the soil from partially or completely unexploded ordnance. Field studies conducted on lands in the Mykolaiv region confirmed the localized nature of chemical contamination without crater formation. The results indicate the need to revise the assessment of the environmental consequences of warfare and to integrate the chemical aspects of contamination into the risk management system for the safe return of lands to agricultural use. It is proven that for the planning of land reclamation, the most informative source of data on contamination is the reporting documentation of mine action operators. They contain geospatially verified information on the types and quantities of explosive ordnance removed. This provides a much more accurate understanding of the scale and spatial structure of environmental contamination compared to the remote analysis of craters.
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