Acta Geodynamica et Geomaterialia

Title: APPLICATION OF SATELLITE RADAR INTERFEROMETRY (PSINSAR) IN ANALYSIS OF SECONDARY SURFACE DEFORMATIONS IN MINING AREAS CASE STUDIES FROM CZECH REPUBLIC AND POLAND
Authors: Blachowski Jan, Jiránková Eva, Lazecký Milan, Kadlečík Pavel and Milczarek Wojciech
DOI: 10.13168/AGG.2018.0013
Journal: Acta Geodynamica et Geomaterialia, Vol. 15, No. 2 (190), Prague 2018
Full Text: PDF file (3.7 MB)
Keywords: subsidence, uplift, coal mining, satellite radar interferometry, Czech Republic, Poland
Abstract: Secondary deformations are ground movements occurring in areas of ceased underground mining. These are associated with delayed readjustment of rock mass resulting in subsidence, discontinuous deformations (sinks, cracks, etc.) due to destruction of underground, usually shallow, workings, and elevation of ground surface in response of rock mass to rising groundwater levels following the end of mine water drainage. Comparative analysis of secondary deformations in two former mining areas in the first period after cessation of underground hard coal mining is the subject of this study. We used ERS-1/2 and Envisat satellite radar interferometry data processed with PSInSAR technique and GIS to map vertical (in satellite’s line of sight, LOS) movements of the surface and analyse them in relation to location of coal fields and underground water table rise. In the study, two areas have been compared, the Ostrava city in the Czech part of the Upper Silesian Basin and the Wałbrzych Coal Basin in Poland. The results of analyses based on the results of PSInSAR processing between 1995 and 2000 for the Wałbrzych site indicate uplift (up to +12 mm/year) in closed parts of coal fields and subsidence (up to –8 mm/year) in areas of declining mining. Results of PSInSAR analysis over the Ostrava site indicate decaying subsidence after mine closures in the rate of up to -6 mm/year during 1995-2000. Residual subsidence and gentle uplift have been partly identified at surroundings of closed mines in Ostrava from 2003-2010 Envisat data. In Wałbrzych gentle elevation has been determined from 2002 to 2009 in areas previously subsiding.