| Description |
Differential Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (DInSAR), a satellite-based remote sensing technique, is a practical method for measuring deformation of the earth's surface. In this investigation, the application of DInSAR for monitoring mine subsidence was evaluated for active underground mining regions in the Green River Basin in southwest Wyoming and the Wasatch Plateau in central Utah. Interferograms were generated using X-band (3-cm wavelength) Synthetic Aperture Radar data from the TerraSAR-X mission and L-band (24-cm wavelength) Synthetic Aperture Radar data from the Advanced Land Observing Satellite. In general, the DInSAR data have high spatial and temporal resolutions and show gradual, progressive subsidence. In the Green River Basin, displacements were estimated using both L-band and X-band data. In the Wasatch Plateau, displacements were only estimated using L-band data; areas affected by subsidence are identifiable in the X-band data, but precisely quantifying subsidence magnitudes is difficult as a result of significant phase noise. In the Green River Basin, the maximum subsidence magnitude was 150 cm over 690 days, estimated using L-band DInSAR. In the Wasatch Plateau, the maximum subsidence magnitude was 180 cm over 414 days. In both regions, as a result of low coherence in the areas with large displacements, the maximum displacements may be underestimated by tens of centimeters. Additionally, relationships between surface deformations measured by DInSAR and mining-induced seismicity (MIS) in the Green River Basin and the Wasatch Plateau were explored. Both regions exhibit large magnitude, relatively rapid subsidence, but the characteristics (rates and magnitudes) of MIS in the Wasatch Plateau study region and the Green River Basin are significantly different. In the Wasatch Plateau study region, surface displacements tend to precede seismicity, event rates tend to be high, and event magnitudes tend to be relatively low. In the Green River Basin, seismicity spatially correlates with surface displacements, but only over long periods. Seismic events tend to be relatively large in magnitude and the event rate tends to be low. Further investigations of differences in the seismic characteristics in the Wasatch Plateau and the Green River Basin and of the dependence of MIS and subsidence on regional geologic and mining parameters are warranted. |
