Qualitative Relationship of Seismic Activity with Vertical Displacements of Terrain After Mine Closure with the Use of Dinsar Technology Cover Image

Qualitative Relationship of Seismic Activity with Vertical Displacements of Terrain After Mine Closure with the Use of Dinsar Technology
Qualitative Relationship of Seismic Activity with Vertical Displacements of Terrain After Mine Closure with the Use of Dinsar Technology

Author(s): Paweł Sopata, Violetta Sokoła-Szewioła
Subject(s): Geography, Regional studies
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
Keywords: satellite radar interferometry; seismicity; rockmass tremors; post-mining areas; monitoring of ground surface movements; mining

Summary/Abstract: The liquidation process of mines is very complex and long. It relates to various hazards, including post-mining seismicity and deformations of ground surface. The above issues are the subject of the research project under which the monitoring of ground surface movements is carried out in the area of the closed coal mine “Kazimierz-Juliusz”, which is currently being flooded. The monitoring is carried out using the GNSS technique and satellite radar interferometry (InSAR). The project makes use of radar data from the Copernicus project, which is being implemented by the European Commission in cooperation with the European Space Agency (ESA). InSAR monitoring started in December 2020. Additionally, we analyzed the impact on ground surface of 5 rock tremors of the energy not exceeding 6.5E + 05 J (tremor magnitude Mw = 2.1), which were reported in the investigated area in 2018–2020. The article presents the results of qualitative analysis involving the relationship between seismic activity and vertical movements of ground surface. To investigate potential changes in altitude, DInSAR technology was applied. On the basis of interferometric images generated from radarograms in the periods before and after the tremor, in January 2019, it was found that vertical movements of ground surface were possible to occur. Altitude changes can be characterized with the values in the range of single millimeters, which are only slightly beyond the accuracy range of the InSAR method. The analysis of interferograms, comprising wider time databases, indicated that the impact of the tremor on the deformations of ground surface is incidental.

  • Issue Year: 2022
  • Issue No: 21
  • Page Range: 83-93
  • Page Count: 11
  • Language: English