Mira Markovaara-Koivisto

• Doctor of Science in Technology
• Researcher at Geological Survey of Finland

Lineaments, linear structures on the surface of the Earth, often represent the surface expressions of brittle structures, e.g., fault zones and fracture zones, or ductile shear zones. In addition, they may also represent other geological features such as lithological contacts, tectonic boundaries and Quaternary structures, or potentially a superpos...

Fracture studies commonly lack data for the length range between 10 m to 1 km. For this reason, scaling laws are required to extrapolate fracture properties, for example in discrete fracture network models. This study focused on analysis and correlation of topology, orientation and length distribution of multiscale fracture datasets to assess their...

Land-use conflicts can be costly and time-consuming and cause social burden to all parties. In this study, we developed an approach for mapping synergy and conflict potential between land uses and tested it on nature protection, nature-based tourism, forestry and mining. First, we calculated the ecological and socio-cultural values for the study ar...

Glacially triggered faulting describes movement of pre-existing faults caused by a combination of tectonic and glacially induced isostatic stresses. The most impressive fault-scarps are found in northern Europe, assumed to be reactivated at the end of the deglaciation. This view has been challenged as new faults have been discovered globally with a...

Glacially triggered faulting describes movement of pre-existing faults caused by a combination of tectonic and glacially induced isostatic stresses. The most impressive fault-scarps are found in northern Europe, assumed to be reactivated at the end of the deglaciation. This view has been challenged as new faults have been discovered globally with a...

Understanding the local stratigraphy and geometry of sediment units is necessary for successful 3D modelling and the prediction of ground behaviour and engineering-geological properties for urban land use and construction. A detailed 3D model of the main sediment units for the Rastaala basin in southern coastal Finland was constructed, combining a...

A soil moisture estimation method was developed for Sentinel-1 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) ground range detected high resolution (GRDH) data to analyze moisture conditions in a gently undulating and heterogeneous subarctic area containing forests, wetlands, and open orographic tundra. In order to preserve the original 10-m pixel spacing, PIMSAR...

Finland is a Northern country where mineral exploration and mining has significantly increased during the 2000s. At the same time there occurs competition over the right to use land and ecosystem services. Main competitors over land with mineral exploration and mining industry are especially tourism, reindeer herding, and environmental protection....

Cyclic nature of glaciations and related postglacial faulting represents a risk for the deep geological disposal of spent nuclear fuel in areas likely to be affected by future glaciations. Seismic history was therefore studied by the means of detecting geomorphological structures on airborne laser scanning digital elevation models and underground b...

Intraplate fault scarps that cross-cut glacial sediments, often referred to as ‘postglacial faults’ (PGFs), are distinctive features in northern Fen-noscandia. Their existence indicates that the Fennoscandian Shield has experienced high-magnitude (Mw ≈ 6.5–8.2) postglacial earthquakes attributable to the release of lithospheric stresses during or a...

The ages and sizes of landslides occurring in seismically active areas can be used to reconstruct the seismic history of the area and estimate the maximum moment magnitudes of past earthquakes. Here, we present a data set of 121 landslides discovered in northern Finland that were analyzed for their morphometric characteristics. We show that 89 debr...

The development of mining and other resource-based industries are among key drivers of economic development in the Arctic. The fragile environment and the presence of nature-based livelihoods and indigenous communities pose challenges for mining development. Mining operations should be optimized so that the profitability is maintained in changing m...

By detailed analysis of the displacement (D) –length (L) data of postglacial faults from LiDAR-data, we show that the D-L ratios of postglacial faults are much higher than typically observed for surface ruptures of earthquakes. Based on mechanical concepts of earthquakes and observations from trenches made for paleoseismological studies, we propose...

Minerals are natural resources requiring accurate investigation and planning of extraction prior the actual mining stage. National and regional mineral resource inventories would benefit from adding more detail beyond tonnage, grade and location, when evaluating both current and potential future mineral wealth. In this paper, we consider the effect...

The dating of landslide‐buried organic materials potentially indicates non‐stationary seismicity in northern Finland attributable to the release of lithospheric stresses during and after the retreat of Scandinavian Ice Sheet. The landslide age data reveals three episodes of increased slope instability and formation of landslides, from 9000 to 11,00...

Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) was used to locate fractures and distinguish fracture properties at the laboratory and field scales. Laboratory studies were performed to define the effects of fractures on the GPR signal. In the laboratory, a fracture between two blocks of crystalline rock was filled with water or air, and the aperture of the fractur...

The aim of this paper was to study effect of an opening to GPR signal, measured with 800 MHz and 1600 MHz transmitter/antenna. Tests were carried out in laboratory scale using two sawn rock blocks. The opening between them varied from 0 to 10 cm. First GPR signal’s velocity was defined in the blocks by calculating two way travel time, as the thickn...

Understanding the behaviour of uranium is essential when assessing the safety of a spent nuclear fuel repository. The geochemical behaviour of uranium, including its reactive transport chemistry, is also a matter of concern when assessing the environmental impact of uranium mining. Subsurface uranium mobility is believed to be primarily controlled...

Uranium is a major radioactive constituent of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. However, its migration behaviour in crystalline rocks is still inadequately understood. This paper describes the results of controlled laboratory migration experiments and attempts made to simulate them using numerical models. Initial models employing...

Interpretation of trace metal mobility in geological environments is often hampered by conflicting data from alternative experimental protocols and the lack of detailed mineralogical characterization of the host medium. To illustrate this issue, the release of uranium, thorium and the rare earth elements (REE) was investigated in polished rock slab...

Understanding uranium retention processes is essential when assessing the safety of a spent nuclear fuel repository as uranium forms over 95% of the spent fuel. It is crucial to establish whether migration mainly occurs continuously through slow diffusion, as usually postulated, or if groundwater-mediated transport occurs episodically, for example,...