Zoning of undermined urban territories in the area of the Berezovsky town

Abstract

Zoning of undermined urban territories since the beginning of observations over disruption of undermined ground surface in the form of subsidence or sinking, in the worst case, yet remains critical for the population clusters nearby or within mineral mining areas. The problem is of the special concern for industrial towns in the Ural where historically manufacturing communities developed alongside with mining and metallurgical industries, and in the same territory. After decades and sometimes ages have passed, safe and efficient use of these areas remains problematic in view of the disembodied or missing information about their condition. One of such residential areas is the town of Berezovsky with the major portion of its territory being undermined. Closure and subsequent flooding of a once-urban gold mine necessitated the territorial research. During the research using the geotechnical, geodetic and other type information provided by the mine engineering service, the zoning procedure was developed and implemented in the geoinformation environment, and the consequences of the flooding were defined. The research results are unique in view of the singularity and diversity of characteristics of underground excavations and induced ground surface sinks clustered inside the study territory.