Effect of the Rock Properties on Mining-induced Seismicity Around the Ventersdorp Contact Reef, Witwatersrand Basin, South Africa

—?The Ventersdorp Contact Reef is characterised by a variety of different rock types that are found above and below the reef in different mining areas. These variations in the host rock type have been classified into six main geotechnical areas. Knowledge of the difference in seismicity related to these geotechnical areas could influence the design of deep level stopes and optimise the support systems.¶In this study, the total seismicity was evaluated using the relationship between the cumulative seismic moment and volume of convergence. In total 300,000 seismic events, occurred at Deelkraal, Elandsrand, East Driefontein, Kloof and Leeudoorn mines. Kloof and Leeudoorn gold mines were divisions of Kloof Gold Mine Co. Ltd. Mponeng was previously called Western Deep Levels Ltd.-South Mine.¶The seismicity generated in areas with different mining conditions and geology has been compared. Special attention was paid to evaluate the difference in seismicity associated with different geotechnical classifications. The following variations were found: (i) geotechnical areas with soft (Westonaria) lava hangingwall and quartzite-conglomerate footwall are less active than the geotechnical areas with hard (Alberton) lava hangingwall and quartzite-conglomerate footwall at East Driefontein, Kloof and Leeudoorn Mines, (ii) geotechnical areas with soft lava hangingwall and Jeppestown Shale footwall are less active than geotechnical areas with soft lava hangingwall and quartzite-conglomerate footwall at East Driefontein Mine, (iii) geotechnical areas with hard lava hangingwall and quartzite-conglomerate footwall and hard lava hangingwall and Booysen's Shale footwall at Western Deep Levels-South Mine do not indicate differences in the associated seismicity, (iv) the variations in the properties of the different types of quartzite forming the footwall at Deelkraal, Elandsrand, Mponeng, East Driefontein and Kloof Gold Mines do not appear to influence the level of seismicity.     

Mining-related and tectonic seismicity in the East Mountain area Wasatch Plateau,Utah, U.S.A.

As part of a larger multi-institutional seismic monitoring experiment during June–August 1984 in the eastern Wasatch Plateau, Utah, data from a subarray of 20 portable seismographs were used to investigate seismicity in the East Mountain area, an area of active underground coal mining and intense microseismicity. Eight stations of the subarray were concentrated on top of East Mountain, about 600 m above mine level, at an average spacing of 2 to 3 km. The primary objective was the accurate resolution of hypocenters and focal mechanisms for seismic events originating at submine levels. Data from high-resolution seismic reflection profiles and drill-hole sonic logs yielded a detailed velocity model. This model features a strong velocity gradient in the uppermost 1 km, which has a significant effect on takeoff angles for first-arrivingP-waves from shallow seismic events. Two hundred epicenters located with a precision of ±500 m cluster within an area about 5 km in diameter and show an evident spatial association with four sites of longwall mining during the study period. A special set of foci rigorously tested for focal-depth reliability indicates submine seismicity predominating within 500 m of mine level and extending at least to 1 km, and perhaps to 2 km, below mine level. Continuous monitoring for a 61-day period (June 15–August 15) bracketed a 16-day mining shutdown (July 7–22) during which significant seismicity, comparable to that observed before the shutdown, was observed. Ten focal mechanisms for seismic events originating at or down to 2 km below mine level nearly all imply reverse faulting, consistent with previous results and the inferred tectonic stress field. Enigmatic events recorded with all dilatational first motions can be fit with double-couple normal-faulting solutions if they in fact occurabove mine level, perhaps reflecting overburden subsidence. If these events are constrained to occur at mine level, their first-motion distributions are incompatible with a double-couple source mechanism.     

Clustering of mining-induced seismic events in equivalent dimension spaces

High energy release during seismic events induced by mining operation is one of the major dangers perturbing production in underground mines. In this work, temporal changes of seismic event parameters for one of the Rudna Mine (Poland) panels are investigated. The study aim was to find whether the temporal clustering of smaller events in different parameters can be observed before and after the high energy events (M_l?≥?3) in the mining panel. The method chosen for analysis was the study of temporal variation of fractal dimension of the seismic events parameter sets composed from: the interevent epicentral distance (dr), logarithm of seismic energy (lE), and interevent energy coefficient (dlE), which is the absolute difference between logarithms of energy of two consecutive events. Temporal variations study was performed in equivalent dimension (ED) space. The transformation of the seismic source parameters into ED space allowed to estimate and compare the temporal changes of the fractal dimension of different parameter spaces using the same method—correlation fractal dimension, and then easily compare the obtained temporal changes of fractal dimension of different parameter sets. The effect of grouping is expressed by decrease of fractal dimension, which is connected with the similarity of events parameter values. The temporal changes of the fractal dimension of seismicity before the strong induced events would indicate some initiation phase of the process leading to the high energy release. In the case of the studied Rudna Mine panel, the temporal behavior of the fractal dimension values in different parameter spaces before seismic events showed significant changes before three out of four events with CLVD dominant source mechanisms.     

关于阜新矿震活动的初步研究

本文依据地震学分析预报方法，对1990～2004年阜新矿震资料进行了统计分析。结果认为，矿震活动主要由煤矿开采引起，同时与区域构造也有一定的关联。适当地选择地震活动性参数来描述矿震的活动特征，对监测区域地震活动有一定帮助。     

Estimation of Mining Tremor Occurrence by Using Neural Networks

—Changes of the primary strain-stress state (caused by interaction between natural conditions and mining activity) can result, under special circumstances, to the origin of seismic induced events. The question of induced seismic activity prediction was treated as a problem of time series extrapolation of maximum cumulative amplitudes and numbers of seismic events recorded per day. The treatment was carried out by means of Multilayered Perceptron Neural Networks (MLP NN). The application to mining tremor prediction has been tested and methodological conditions have been obtained. It was proved that the prediction of the number of mining tremors per day is more precise than the prediction of future energy (maximum amplitudes). Further advance, based on the processing of seismo-acoustic activity series, is introduced.     

Earthquake detection probability within a seismically quiet area: application to the Bruchsal geothermal field

In applications such as oil and gas production, deep geothermal energy production, underground storage, and mining, it is common practice to implement local seismic networks to monitor and to mitigate induced seismicity. For this purpose, it is crucial to determine the capability of the network to detect a seismic event of predefined magnitude in the target area. The determination of the magnitude of completeness of a network is particularly required to properly interpret seismic monitoring results. We propose a method to compute the detection probability for existing local seismic networks, which (i) strictly follows the applied detection sequence; (ii) estimates the detection capability where seismicity has not yet occurred; and (iii) delivers the results in terms of probabilities. The procedure includes a calibration of a local magnitude scale using regional earthquakes recorded by the network and located outside the monitored area. It involves pre‐processing of the seismograms recorded at each station as performed during the triggering sequence, which is assumed based on amplitude thresholds. Then, the calibrated magnitude–distance–amplitude relations are extrapolated at short distances and combined to reproduce the network detection sequence. This generates a probability to detect a seismic event of a given magnitude at a specified location. This observation‐based approach is an alternative to a fully theoretical detection capability modelling and includes field conditions. Seismic wave attenuation by geometrical spreading and intrinsic attenuation, site effect, and instrumental responses are partly accounted for by the calibration. We apply this procedure on the seismic network deployed in the Bruchsal geothermal field (Germany). Although the system was in good working order, no induced seismicity was identified in the area between June 2010, when monitoring started, and November 2012. The recording of distant seismicity during this time period, however, allowed the application of the proposed procedure. According to the applied network detection parameters, the results indicate that the absence of seismicity can be interpreted as a 95% probability that no seismic event with M_L ≥ 0.7 occurred below the network at 2.4‐km depth, i.e., in the geothermal reservoir.     

Hazard mapping of normalized peak strain in soils during earthquakes: microzonation of a metropolitan area

Seismic hazard maps of the Los Angeles metropolitan area are illustrated for normalized peak strain and for 50 years of exposure. The strain estimates are based on scaling in terms of peak ground velocity. The proportionality factor is the phase velocity with which the wave energy is propagating. A simplified seismicity model is used in which all earthquakes occur on faults represented by buried lines and in one zone of diffused seismicity. Poissonian model of earthquake occurrence is assumed. The same model was used in the 1980's to illustrate a method for microzoning of the same area for response spectral amplitudes. Maps of logarithms of normalized peak strain, cε_max, are presented for probabilities of at least one exceedance p = 0·99, 0·9, 0·5, 0·1 and 0·01. These can be used to construct site specific probability distribution functions of the normalized peak strain, cε_max. Such maps are useful for design of new and for retrofit of existing structures, sensitive to strain and differential ground motions (bridges, tunnels, pipelines, etc.).     

Sustained long-period seismicity at Shishaldin Volcano,Alaska

From September 1999 through April 2004, Shishaldin Volcano, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, exhibited a continuous and extremely high level of background seismicity. This activity consisted of many hundreds to thousands of long-period (LP; 1–2 Hz) earthquakes per day, recorded by a 6-station monitoring network around Shishaldin. The LP events originate beneath the summit at shallow depths (0–3 km). Volcano tectonic events and tremor have rarely been observed in the summit region. Such a high rate of LP events with no eruption suggests that a steady state process has been occurring ever since Shishaldin last erupted in April–May 1999. Following the eruption, the only other signs of volcanic unrest have been occasional weak thermal anomalies and an omnipresent puffing volcanic plume. The LP waveforms are nearly identical for time spans of days to months, but vary over longer time scales. The observations imply that the spatially close source processes are repeating, stable and non-destructive. Event sizes vary, but the rate of occurrence remains roughly constant. The events range from magnitude ∼ 0.1 to 1.8, with most events having magnitudes < 1.0. The observations suggest that the conduit system is open and capable of releasing a large amount of energy, approximately equivalent to at least one magnitude 1.8–2.6 earthquake per day. The rate of observed puffs (1 per minute) in the steam plume is similar to the typical seismic rates, suggesting that the LP events are directly related to degassing processes. However, the source mechanism, capable of producing one LP event about every 0.5–5 min, is still poorly understood. Shishaldin's seismicity is unusual in its sustained high rate of LP events without accompanying eruptive activity. Every indication is that the high rate of seismicity will continue without reflecting a hazardous state. Sealing of the conduit and/or change in gas flux, however, would be expected to change Shishaldin's behavior.     

Space-time variations of the frequency-energy relation for mining-induced seismicity in the Ostrava-Karviná mining district

The values of parameters of the relation logN=a–b logE characterize in general the level of seismicity of individual regions. In the present paper, a detailed analysis ofb values of the frequency-energy distributions was carried out with the aid of a database of seismic events recorded by the seismological networks in the Ostrava-Karviná Coal Mine District (Czech Republic), using the least squares regression and maximum likelihood method, as well. The determination ofb value was performed for a relatively large number of regions investigated and for different time series of observations. Special attention has been paid to induced seismic events statistics for the vicinity of one of the coalfaces in the Lazy Mine. It could be generally stated that lowerb values correspond to a higher level of induced seismic activity, while the higher ones correspond to a low and a moderate seismic activity.     

Tectonic earthquakes of anthropogenic origin

The enhancement of seismicity induced by industrial activity in Russia in the conditions of present-day anthropization is noted. In particular, the growth in the intensity and number of strong tectonic earthquakes with magnitudes M ≥ 3 (seismic energy 10⁹ J) due to human activity is revealed. These man-made tectonic earthquakes have started to occur in the regions of the East European Platform which were previously aseismic. The development of such seismicity is noted in the areas of intense long-term mineral extraction due to the increasing production depth and extended mining and production. The mechanisms and generation conditions of man-made tectonic earthquakes in the anthropogenically disturbed medium with the changed geodynamical and fluid regime is discussed. The source zones of these shallow-focus tectonic earthquakes of anthropogenic origin are formed in the setting of stress state rearrangement under anthropogenic loading both near these zones and at a significant distance from them. This distance is determined by the tectonic structure of the rock mass and the character of its energy saturation, in particular, by the level of the formation pressure or pore pressure. These earthquakes occur at any time of the day, have a triggered character, and are frequently accompanied by catastrophic phenomena in the underground mines and on the surface due to the closeness to the source zones.     

A Review of Seismicity in 2009

<正>1 SURVEY OF GLOBAL SEISMICITY IN 2009 A total of 20 strong earthquakes of MS≥7. 0 occurred in the world in 2009 according to the Chinese Seismic Station Network ( Table 1). The strongest earthquake was the Samoa Islands     

Machine learning-based automatic construction of earthquake catalog for reservoir areas in multiple river basins of Guizhou province,China

Large reservoirs have the risk of reservoir induced seismicity. Accurately detecting and locating microseismic events are crucial when studying reservoir earthquakes. Automatic earthquake monitoring in reservoir areas is one of the effective measures for earthquake disaster prevention and mitigation. In this study, we first applied the automatic location workflow (named LOC-FLOW) to process 14-day continuous waveform data from several reservoir areas in different river basins of Guizhou province. Compared with the manual seismic catalog, the recall rate of seismic event detection using the workflow was 83.9%. Of the detected earthquakes, 88.9% had an onset time difference below 1 s, 81.8% has a deviation in epicenter location within 5 km, and 77.8% had a focal depth difference of less than 5 km, indicating that the workflow has good generalization capacity in reservoir areas. We further applied the workflow to retrospectively process continuous waveform data recorded from 2020 to the first half of 2021 in reservoir areas in multiple river basins of western Guizhou province and identified five times the number of seismic events obtained through manual processing. Compared with manual processing of seismic catalog, the completeness magnitude had decreased from 1.3 to 0.8, and a b-value of 1.25 was calculated for seismicity in western Guizhou province, consistent with the b-values obtained for the reservoir area in previous studies. Our results show that seismicity levels were relatively low around large reservoirs that were impounded over 15 years ago, and there is no significant correlation between the seismicity in these areas and reservoir impoundment. Seismicity patterns were notably different around two large reservoirs that were only impounded about 12 years ago, which may be explained by differences in reservoir storage capacity, the geologic and tectonic settings, hydrogeological characteristics, and active fault the reservoir areas. Prominent seismicity persisted around two large reservoirs that have been impounded for less than 10 years. These events were clustered and had relatively shallow focal depths. The impoundment of the Jiayan Reservoir had not officially begun during this study period, but earthquake location results suggested a high seismicity level in this reservoir area. Therefore, any seismicity in this reservoir area after the official impoundment deserves special attention.     

Mining seismicity, gas outburst and the significance of their relationship in the study of physics of earthquake source

This paper presents an overview of mining seismicity, gas outburst and their origin. The internal relation of mining seismicity and gas outburst in the dynamic process is studied on the basis of the fact that these disasters sometimes occur simultaneously. The examples show a close relationship between mining seismicity and gas outburst in high gassy coal mines. It is proposed that strong mine shocks plus the response of low value and delay time are early warning signals. The mechanism of the relationship between mining seismicity and gas outburst is analyzed by using the location of mining shocks, focus mechanism, cause of mining shocks and conditions of gas outburst. The trigger action of gas fluid on mining shocks, especially the effect of the anomalous property of supercritical fluid on the preparation and occurrence of mining shocks is discussed. According to the similarity between min-ing-induced earthquakes and tectonic earthquakes in terms of mechanism, the significance of the above results in the study of physics of earthquake source is also discussed.     

矿山地震与瓦斯突出的相关性及其在震源物理研究中的意义

介绍了矿山地震与瓦斯突出等煤矿灾害及成因, 并通过若干煤矿瓦斯突出和矿山地震的同震现象,论述了这些灾害在动力过程中的内在关系.这些震例表明,在高瓦斯煤矿, 矿山地震与瓦斯突出存在密切的相关.认为较大矿震伴随瓦斯的低值延时响应可能是瓦斯突出的预警信号.从矿震定位、震源机制、矿震成因、瓦斯突出条件等分析了矿震与瓦斯突出相关的机理. 进一步介绍了瓦斯流体对矿震的触发作用,尤其超临界流体的特殊性质在矿震发生中的重要作用.依据矿震与构造地震在机制方面的相似性, 讨论了上述结果在震源物理研究中的意义.      

Fault density,earthquakes, and the topography of crustal stratification interfaces: Central Magadan Oblast

This study is concerned with quantitative estimation of the relationship between earthquakes and tectonic crustal fragmentation based on a correlation analysis of fault density with seismicity parameters (the number and energy of earthquakes per unit area) for the Sredne-Yamskoi seismic junction and adjacent area. The highest level of seismic activity and the highest probability of earthquake occurrence with energy classes K ≥ 12 within areas that have a continental crust with a well-pronounced granite layer occur in those areas with the mean fault density. Within areas with a thinner granite layer in the crust, the most likely seismic events are K ≥ 12 earthquakes that occur in areas with lower fault density. We estimated the relationship between the degree of crustal fragmentation and the topography of stratification interfaces in the crust as identified by new interpretative gravimetry. Zones with the lowest degree of fragmentation tend to be areas where the top of the crystalline basement lies deeper.     

Regional seismicity triggered by the Hyogo-Ken Nanbu, Japan, M =7.2 earthquake on January 17, 1995

The time and spatial feature of the regional seismicity triggered by the Hyogo-Ken Nanbu, Japan, M=7.2 earthquake on January 17,1995, was studied. The concerned region is about several hundred kilometers in length and breadth surrounding the epicenter (33°～37°N, 133°～138°E). It is divided into 16 subregions. The seismicity of these subregions from January of 1976 to June of 1996 has been analyzed. It is showed that,① there were significant seismicity changes in 10 subregions triggered by the Hyogo-Ken Nanbu, Japan, M=7.2 earthquake on January 17, 1995. These changes passed a Z statistic test exceeding 0.95 confidence level and the greatest epicenter distance of these subregions was 280 km;②seismicity changes were triggered within 1～5 days in three subregions near the main shock while in other subregions the seismicity changes were triggered within several ten days after the main shock;③ the greatest triggered event is 5.4, which is about the same size as the greatest aftershock;④the regional stress change resulted from the main shock may be the triggered mechanism of the regional seismicity.     

Multifractal of spatial distribution of seismicity in Liaoning area

Making use of multifractal theory and corresponding computational method and according to the feature of evolution of spatial distribution with respect to seismicity by earthquake data in Liaoning area, earthquake activity of the area has been studied in detail. The results show that the evolution of increase in seismicity and distributive process in space are a multifractal structure. Whole characteristic of evolution in fractal increasing process of seismicity is described by obvious variation in regard toτ(q)-q curve,f(α) spectrum and other parameters before and after moderate and strong earthquakes.     

Coal Mining Induced Seismicity in the Ruhr Area, Germany

Over the last 25 years mining-induced seismicity in the Ruhr area has continuously been monitored by the Ruhr-University Bochum. About 1,000 seismic events with local magnitudes between 0.7 ≤ M _L ≤ 3.3 are located every year. For example, 1,336 events were located in 2006. General characteristics of induced seismicity in the entire Ruhr area are spatial and temporal correlation with mining activity and a nearly constant energy release per unit time. This suggests that induced stresses are released rapidly by many small events. The magnitude–frequency distribution follows a Gutenberg–Richter relation which is a result from combining distributions of single longwalls that themselves show large variability. A high b-value of about 2 was found indicating a lack of large magnitude events. Local analyses of single longwalls indicate that various factors such as local geology and mine layout lead to significant differences in seismicity. Stress redistribution acts very locally since differences on a small scale of some hundreds of meters are observed. A regional relation between seismic moment M ₀ and local magnitude M _L was derived. The magnitude–frequency distribution of a single longwall in Hamm was studied in detail and shows a maximum at M _L = 1.4 corresponding to an estimated characteristic source area of about 2,200 m². Sandstone layers in the hanging or foot wall of the active longwall might fail in these characteristic events. Source mechanisms can mostly be explained by shear failure of two different types above and below the longwall. Fault plane solutions of typical events are consistent with steeply dipping fracture planes parallel to the longwall face and nearly vertical dislocation in direction towards the goaf. We also derive an empirical relation for the decay of ground velocity with epicenter distance and compare maximum observed ground velocity to local magnitude. This is of considerable public interest because about 30 events larger than M _L ≥ 1.2 are felt each month by people living in the mining regions. Our relations, for example, indicate that an event in Hamm with a peak ground velocity of 6 mm/s which corresponds to a local magnitude M _L between 1.7 and 2.3 is likely to be felt within about 2.3 km radius from the event.     

Seismic quiescence precursory to a past and a future Kurile island earthquake

A systematic search was made for seismicity rate changes in the segment of the Kurile island arc from 45°N to 53°N by studying the cumulative seismicity of shallow (h100 km) earthquakes within 11 overlapping volumes of radius 100 km for the time period 1960 through beginning of 1978. We found that in most parts of this island arc and most of the time the seismicity rate as obtained from the NOAA catalogue and not excluding any events is fairly constant except for increased seismicity in the mid 1960s in the southern portion due to the great 1963 mainshock there, and for seismicity quiescence during part of the time period studied within two well defined sections of the arc. The first of these is a volume of 100 km radius around a 1973 (M _s =7.3) mainshock within which the seismicity rate was demonstrated at the 99% confidence level to have been lower by 50% during 2100 days (5.75 years) before this mainshock. The second volume of seismic quiescence coincides with the 400 km long north Kuriles gap. In this gap the seismicity rate is shown (at the 99% confidence level) to be lower by 50% from 1967 to present (1978), in comparison with the rate within the gap befor 1967, as well as with the rate surrounding the gap. We propose that the anomalously low seismicity rate within the Kuriles gap is a precursor to a great earthquake, the occurrence time of which was estimated by the following preliminary relation between precursory quiescence time and source dimensionT=190L ^0.545. We predict that an earthquake with source length of 200–400 km (M>8) will occur along the north Kurile island arc between latitude 45.5°N and 49.2°N at a time between now and 1994.