Atacama Salt Flat (Chile)
Interactive 3D Map
The interactive 3D map shows the details of Atacama Salt Flat, which is a global lithium-brine extraction site in Chile. It is convenient for you to interactive with than 2D maps. The map contains the topography, terrain, water lines, main surrounding communities, lithium mining areas, national protection areas, lagoons and other water bodies. What is more useful is that the users can zoom in and rotate the 3D model to get the information they want by clicking anything in the model, then you can get the information such as the area, coordinates, names, length or the environmental analysis of our case study.
Mining expansions from 1975-2019
From the video, we can see the mining expansions fro 1984-2019.
NDWI Analysis
For Laguna Tebenquiche, from 1975 to 2019, the water content in the region has been relatively stable and generally showed a slow downward trend. According to the NDWI data formula, the water content in the region reached its peak in 1975, and most of the water content exceeded 0.2. After 1975, the water content in the region showed a downward trend over time. After 2011, the area of the water body decreased rapidly and the downward trend reached its peak in 2015 (2015, the region's water content was the lowest). The water content in the region in 2019 has picked up compared to 2015. In a special case, in 2000, the area with the largest water content in this area (0-0.2).
For Laguna Chaxa, from 1975 to 2019, the overall trend of water content in the region has fluctuated relatively irregularly. Among them, in 2000, the area containing water in this area was the largest (0-0.2). In 2015, the area's water content was significantly reduced (the water-bearing area has changed less than other times). In addition, from 1975 to 2019, the area of the water-saturated part of the southwestern part of the region has decreased with time.
Laguna Chaxa
Laguna Tebenquiche
Regression Analysia
For Laguna Chaxa in Atacama Salt Flat of Chile, the value of R² of the Laguna Yikede is 09177 and the correlation line is shown as the blue line in the below diagram of figure 22, which shows the expansion of lithium operations has strong negative correlations with NDWI. But the correlation between expansion of lithium operations with Tebenquiche is not obvious, of which the R² value is just 0.0123 and the correlation line is shown as the orange line in the below diagram of figure 22. The result also meets the regular that the closer area is more affected by the lithium mining than the one far away.
