Simultaneous impact of opencast and underground coal
mining on the Earth¢s crust and
induced seismicity
A.A. Emanov1,
1 Altay-Sayan Branch of
2 Trofimuk
Abstract. In the
fourth quarter of 2016, the monitoring system of the induced seismicity of
Kuzbass began to record increasing seismic activity in the Kaltan quarry area.
A series of seismic events that were felt in the cities and towns of Kuzbass
occurred here. In addition to the existing monitoring network, a temporary
network of stations was deployed, which significantly increased the accuracy and
decreased the magnitude of completeness of the recording system of the man-made
earthquakes. The significant seismic activation near open mine workings (the
Kaltan quarry) has been revealed. Seismically activated area covered several
open mine workings and their surroundings. The strongest earthquakes occur
outside the quarry at the boundary of the heap. Inside the activated area, in
the area of the operating underground mining (mine "Alardinskaya"),
local seismic activation, represented by technogenic earthquakes of low energy,
was recorded. The largest number of felt earthquakes occurred in the fourth
quarter of 2016. According to monitoring data, the number of earthquakes with
magnitudes 2.5-4 decreased in early 2017, but since February 2017, seismic activity
has been increased around the underground mine. It was manifested as a
significant increase of the number of technogenic earthquakes of low energies.
In fact, displacement of anthropogenic seismic hazard from open mine workings
to the area of the operating underground mine has been detected.
Key words: induced seismicity, Kuzbass, earthquakes,
industrial explosions
About the authors
EMANOV Aleksey A. – Ph.D.,
deputy director, Altay-Sayan Branch of Federal Research Center «United
Geophysical Survey of the RAS»; senior researcher, Trofimuk Institute of
Petroleum Geology and Geophysics SB RAS.
EMANOV Aleksandr F. – Ph.D.,
director, Altay-Sayan Branch of
FATEEV Aleksandr V. –
researcher, Altay-Sayan Branch of Federal Research Center «United Geophysical
Survey of the RAS»; senior engineer, Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology
and Geophysics SB RAS.
LESKOVA Ekaterina V. – Ph.D.,
senior researcher, Altay-Sayan Branch of
Cite this article as: Emanov
A.A., Emanov A.F., Fateev A.V., Leskova E.V. Simultaneous impact of opencast
and underground coal mining on the Earth’s crust and induced seismicity, Voprosy Inzhenernoi Seismologii
(Problems of Engineering Seismology), 2017, vol. 44, no. 4, pp. 51–62. [in Russian]. DOI: 10.21455/VIS2017.4-3
English
translation of the article will be published in Seismic Instruments, ISSN: 0747-9239 (Print) 1934-7871 (Online),
https://link.springer.com/journal/11990), 2018, Volume 54, Issue 4.