Abstract
Seismic phenomena threaten land-based buildings, structures, and infrastructure and can transform land topography. There are two basic types of seismic phenomena, namely, tectonic and anthropogenic, which differ mainly in epicenter depth, surface impact range, and magnitude (energy). This article shows how a land surface was changed by a series of seven rock mass tremors of magnitude ML = 2.3–2.6 in March–May 2017. Their immediate cause was the “momentary” acceleration of void clamping, which was activated by local and short-term seismic phenomena caused by human activity. The induced seismic events resulted from the geological structure of the rock mass, which in the specific region of examination was classified as being highly prone to mining tremors. The authors focused on describing vertical surface displacements in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin in the south of Poland. The surface deformations were identified using DInSAR technology, which allows quasi-continuous monitoring of large areas of land surface. The present research used freely available data from the Copernicus Program and seismic data from the European Plate Observing System.
Highlights
The seismic phenomena that occur in nature are associated with geological structure, tectonic-plate movement, volcanism, and human activities
The induced seismic events resulted from the geological structure of the rock mass, which in the specific region of examination was classified as being highly prone to mining tremors
Seismic phenomena of anthropogenic origin are a decline of equilibrium between the external and internal forces that affect rock mass elements and are caused by human activities [1,2]
Summary
The seismic phenomena that occur in nature are associated with geological structure, tectonic-plate movement, volcanism, and human activities. Seismic phenomena of anthropogenic origin are a decline of equilibrium between the external and internal forces that affect rock mass elements and are caused by human activities [1,2]. With favorable geological structure of the overburden, disturbing the force equilibrium in a three-axis stress configuration may cause abrupt cracking and movements of the rock mass toward the post-excavation caverns. TThhee UUSSCCBB iiss cchhaarraacctteerriizzeedd bbyyhhiigghhsseeiissmmiiccaaccttivivitiyty,,wwitithh mmoorereththaann11000000trteremmoorrssppeerryyeeaarrooffmmaaggnniittuuddee MMLL ooff aatt lleeaasstt 11..55 [[3388]] aanndd sseevveerraall tthhoouussaannddmmininoorr trtermemoorsrsrerpepoortretedd. .TThheeUUSSCCBBiissaahhiigghhllyyuurrbbaanniizzeedd rreeggiioonn ooff PPoollaanndd,, wwhheerree sseevveerraallcciittiieess((iinncclluuddiningg KKataotowwiciece, ,SSoossnnoowwieiecc,,GGlilwiwiiccee,,aannddZZaabbrrzzee)) ffoorrmm tthhee UUppppeerr SSiilleessiiaann CCoonnuurrbbaattiioonniinnhhaabbiitteeddbbyymmoorree ththanan22mmililliloionnppeeoopplele. FFigiguurere1.1.AArereaaooffInInteterreesst:t:((AA))llooccaattiioonn ooff tthhee rreesseeaarrcchh aarreeaa ((BB)) mmiinniinngg aarreeaa ((CC)) mmiinniinnggooppeerraattiioonnssinin sesaemam11ananddseseaamm22inin22000011––22001177aannddloloccaalliizzaattiioonnooffggeeoollooggiiccaall ccrroossss sseeccttiioonn. IInnththee cacarbrboonnfoforrmmaatitoionnss((bbeettwweeeenntthheehhaarrddccooaall sseeaammss)),, tthhee tthhiicckknneessss ooff tthheerriiggiiddssaannddssttoonneelalayyeerrssrreeaacchheess aapppproroxximimataetleyly3535mm[39[3].9]I.nItnhethime immemdieadteiartoeorfo(oafbo(avbeotvhee thhaerdhacordalcdoeaplodseitpso),stihtse),htehigehhteoigf hthteosfe tlhayeseers (il.aey.,efirsne(i-.ea.n, dfinmee- dainudmm-gerdaiiunmsa-gnrdasitnonsaen) dresatocnhee)s rmeaocrheetshamno8re mthalnoc8a5llym.
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