Diagnostics of the shape and orientation of a rock failure zone based on electrical measurements as an inverse problem of geophysics

Abstract

Exploration geophysics is concerned with the development of methods and techniques for remote search for mineral deposits, solution of various engineering and geological problems, mining monitoring, and diagnostics of zones of rock bursts and natural and technogenic tectonic earthquakes. In this paper, we consider the diagnostic problem of exploration geophysics related to the determination of the shape and inclination angle of a plane source of natural geoelectric field, which, under certain conditions, simulates a rock failure zone, e.g., during the preparation of rock bursts at the sites of developed mineral deposits. This approach may also be useful in determining the shape and size of ore shoots by electrical measurements on the ground surface. Evaluation of the parameters of a rock failure zone is required in the case of accumulation of multiple fractures having charges of the same sign before a catastrophic failure. This problem is formulated as a Fredholm-Urysohn integral equation of the first kind. The solution of the integral equation is sought using the Tikhonov regularization method of the second order.