Practical Observations of US Mining Practices and Implications for CTBT Monitoring,
Abstract
Man made and man induced seismic events associated with surface and underground mining operations produce seismic signals that might have to be identified when monitoring a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). The importance of these sources to the monitoring process depend on the size of the seismic signal they generate and the degree of similarity these signals have to that expected from a contained nuclear explosion. Under the CTBT Research and Development Program sponsored by the DOE, an experimental task has been developed with the goal of identifying the seismological characteristics of sources associated with mining operations. The complete experimental program consists of three distinct components that include: (1) Characterization of mining explosions in hard and soft rock; (2) Investigation of source depth of burial effects; and (3) Characterization of rockbursts and collapses. Items 1 and 3 in this list relate directly to signals generated by mining and compose the topic of this review. Currently, seven experiments are planned under this program with initial results from a number of these reported in other presentations at this meeting (Pearson et al., 1995; Stump et al., 1995). This paper will focus on mining operations in one of the largest coal producing basins in the US, The Powder River Basin. This review is intended to illustrate the magnitude and complexity of mining operations that might produce seismic signals of large enough magnitude to be of interest to CTBT verification.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 14, 1995
- Accession Number
- ADP204475
Entities
People
- Brian W. Stump
Organizations
- Los Alamos National Laboratory