Journal of Environmental & Earth Sciences

Geo-Electro Systems in the Subsurface: Integrating Engineering Geology, Geotechnical Engineering, and Electrical Power Infrastructure

Yuping Liu, Xiaoxiang Chen — Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0800

Underground electrical infrastructure is gaining significance in response to urbanization and network densification, climate resilience requirements, and the broader energy transformation. However, even underground power systems are still regularly discussed within disciplinary silos, and there is little integration among engineering geology, geotechnical engineering, and electrical power engineering. This review establishes the concept of geo-electro systems for characterizing the subsurface environment where geological media, geotechnical behaviour, and electrical infrastructure are coupled and mutually dependent. The article is a synthesis of existing research on the geological and geotechnical constraints that influence buried cables, grounding, duct banks, cable tunnels, and underground substations, and pays special attention to the thermal behavior, ampacity, electrical resistivity, groundwater effects, deformation, corrosion, and lifecycle reliability. It also discusses the thermo-hydro-mechanical-electrical-chemical coupling mechanisms, system interfaces, strengths, and weaknesses of analytical, numerical, and data-driven models. It is based on this that the review argues that subsurface electrical infrastructure can no longer be considered a stand-alone resource buried in the ground, but rather a dynamic, coupled system in which performance changes with environmental and operational variations. This review proposes an integrative framework that links previously fragmented literature and enables more consistent design, risk assessment, monitoring, and future investigations. The review finds that subsurface power infrastructure needs to be resilient, efficient, and sustainable, which is only attainable through system-level integration.

Detection Technology and Application of Borehole Radar in Complex Coal Mine Geology

Mao Lin Yang — Wed, 23 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0800

During coal mining and underground engineering, concealed structures such as fractured zones, abandoned roadways, mined-out spaces, and water-bearing disturbed zones pose significant safety risks. This study investigates a single-hole impulse borehole radar method for refined detection of such anomalies. A 20–200 MHz impulse radar probe is used for continuous acquisition during advancement along the borehole. Reflection travel time and reflection-event geometry are used to constrain the axial positions and approximate radial distances of off-hole reflectors, while Hilbert-derived instantaneous amplitude, phase, and frequency are jointly analyzed to characterize complex radar responses. Field tests were conducted at a tunnel in Yunnan Province and at a coal mine. In the tunnel test, radar attenuation zones generally corresponded to fractured intervals and lithological variations revealed by borehole television. Four of five severely fractured intervals showed corresponding weakened or disturbed radar responses, while inclined reflections at radial distances of approximately 4.0–5.6 m indicated off-hole structural features. In the coal-mine application, anomalies detected in four exploration and drainage boreholes showed clear spatial correspondence with known roadways, abandoned mining spaces, and water-bearing fractured zones. The results demonstrate that single-hole borehole radar can identify both near-borehole structural variations and off-hole geological anomalies, extending geological information from the borehole trajectory into the surrounding rock mass and providing an effective means for refined underground structural investigation.

Some Approaches to Measuring Environmental Safety

Sergey Grigoryevich Kharchenko, Dmitry Evgenievich Kucher — Tue, 22 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0800

The article is devoted to the measurement of environmental safety. The differentiation between the methodological concepts of safety and danger is carried out. The requirements for measures of environmental safety are substantiated. The correlation between safety and development, safety and danger is revealed. A quantitative approach to the environmental safety assessment is proposed. The objectives of environmental safety as a science and practical activity, along with the criteria for achieving these objectives, are substantiated. In the article, life expectancy is analyzed as an indicator of environmental safety as well as its dependence on other state development priorities, such as the costs of giving birth and raising children, supporting pregnant and lactating mothers, caring for pensioners, costs of ensuring industrial and transport safety, etc. It is substantiated that the mortality rate of the population at different ages, from different reasons, in different conditions, will represent the state of safety in a given place. The article considers the indicators that determine the quality (state) of the environment as the maximum permissible environmental load and the degree of proximity of the ecosystem state to the border of its sustainability. The possibilities and advantages of using the assessment of the photosynthetic organisms’ state as the indicator of environmental safety are substantiated.