Mining-triggered seismicity governed by a fold hinge zone: The Upper Silesian Coal Basin, Poland

Mendecki, Maciej Jan and Szczygiel, Jacek and Lizurek, Grzegorz and Teper, Leslaw (2020) Mining-triggered seismicity governed by a fold hinge zone: The Upper Silesian Coal Basin, Poland. Engineering Geology, 274. p. 105728. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2020.105728

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2020.105728

Abstract

Mining tremor mechanisms and principal stress directions were analysed in order to compare characteristics of seismic events and stress regimes with tectonic settings in the Bytom Syncline, located in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin. The results of seismic moment tensor inversion calculated for 41 events with magnitudes > M2.0 were used to trace changes in types of mechanism (normal, strike-slip, reverse) with the progress of mining from Panel 3, coal seam 503, Bobrek Mine. The data was sourced from the IS-EPOS Platform, an open data infrastructure for the study of anthropogenic hazards linked to georesource exploitation. The foci were located below the seam and followed a longwall excavation. The computed mechanisms and distribution of spatial-temporal events enabled three clusters representing three different stages of stress regimes to be distinguished. The calculated principal stress axes indicated the main stress directions present in the studied area, enabling a local model of the derivative pattern of neotectonic deformation to be described. The regime changed from horizontal extension in the syncline limb (first cluster) to transpression (second cluster) to dominating compression in the hinge (third cluster), resulting in reverse fault production. Finally, the results revealed the causes of seismicity in the studied area and showed that the studied events had been mostly triggered.

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Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Stress inversion, Focal mechanisms, Triggered seismicity, Upper Silesian Coal Basin, IS-EPOS Platform
Subjects: Methodology > Method and procesing > Source parameter estimation
Methodology > Method and procesing > Stress field modeling
Region > Poland > Upper Silesia
Inducing technology > Underground mining
Project: IS-EPOS project > BOBREK MINE: Seismicity linked to longwall mining
EPOS-IP > BOBREK MINE: Seismicity linked to longwall mining