Abstract
On 17 April 2015, the Wujek/Śląsk underground coal mine in Poland was struck by a strong induced tremor of magnitude M4.0. The event was followed by a massive rock burst and a collapse of tunnels in the vicinity of the hypocentre. The earthquake was widely felt in the densely populated surrounding area. In this paper, we describe a possible connection between seismological parameters, such as the seismic source location and the focal mechanism, and the ground deformation just above the collapsed tunnels a very short time after the event occurred. We have shown that joint seismological and satellite observation can be very valuable and important tools not only to improve the knowledge concerning mining rock bursts and tunnel collapses, but also to find their influences on the ground effects observed on the surface.
Highlights
Underground mining is a human activity associated with several specific anthropogenic hazards
We focus on the strong mining-induced seismic event of M4.0, which occurred on 17 April 2015 in the Wujek/Śląsk coal mine Upper Silesian Coal Basin (USCB), Poland (Fig. 1)
Prior studies have shown that satellite radar interferometry (SAR) is a tool that has a wide range of applications in numerous scientific disciplines: from digital elevation models (DEM) through the monitoring of landslides, glaciers, floods and land settling to the study of natural phenomena and vegetation
Summary
Underground mining is a human activity associated with several specific anthropogenic hazards. Since seismic sources are very shallow (usually not more than 3 km and very often less than 1 km), the vibration caused by even small sources (i.e. magnitudes approximately M3.0 and below) must be considered as potentially hazardous for both surface facilities and mining infrastructures Another common feature observed on the surface above underground mines is small-to-moderate ground subsidence. The ground response and subsidence formed above the mine can last from months to years after the panel has been excavated These specific issues were widely observed in two seismically active mining areas in Poland: the Upper Silesian Coal Basin (USCB)—hard coal mine area (Stec 2007)—and the Legnica Głogów Copper District (Lasocki 2005). We found a very rapid—less than 12 days—ground
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