The Mechanism of Mine-collapse Deduced from Seismic Observations

Abstract

On May 2, 1993 more than 200 seismic events from an underground mine in Tyrol/Austria were recorded with short-period seismometers of a local seismic network which was introduced in the late 1980s to monitor the tectonic seismicity in Tyrol in greater detail. The cause of this series of mining-associated events has become the subject of intensive investigations—as it was associated with a subsidence affecting an area of 10.000 m². Underground observations revealed a number of discontinuities along which the rock mass was able to move. Seismic recordings of the close-by seismic stations revealed two types of mechanisms: One mechanism seems to be associated with pure block-sliding along several discontinuities, while other signals indicate additional collapse. The consideration and combination of several seismological principles made possible the construction of a model of the mine collapse.