Monitoring Terrain Deformations Caused by Underground Mining Using Uav Data

Abstract

Abstract. Underground mining causes terrain surface deformations that lead to various threats to the environment and people, thus a systematic deformation monitoring needs to be performed. This monitoring mainly focuses only on the vertical part of the deformation and remote sensing techniques are currently very often used for this purpose. The development of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs) open new possibilities in this context. Most commonly, the mapping UASs are equipped with RGB cameras but also other lightweight sensors are utilized. In this work, the usefulness of UAS photogrammetry and LiDAR data is investigated in the context of detection and measurement of terrain deformations caused by underground mining. The accuracy of the methods was compared in reference to TLS data. The UAS and TLS measurements were performed in 2018 and 2019 but the subsidence was also evaluated in regards to ALS data acquired in 2011. The standard methodology based on Digital Terrain Models of Difference (DoDs) was applied to detect the subsidence. The DoD analysis was restricted to the hard surfaces. The profiles along the roads were also analysed to validate the accuracy of the data. The analysis showed that the UAS photogrammetry enables to obtain less noisy data and more accurate results of the terrain subsidence measurement than the UAS LiDAR sensors. The comparison of the DoDs showed about 33 cm subsidence between 2011 and 2018, which gives a subsidence rate of about 5 cm/year. The observed subsidence between years 2018 and 2019 was equal to about 5 to 15 cm depending on the measurement technique and investigated area.

The potential of UAV-based Laser Scanning for Deformation Monitoring – Case Study on a Water Dam

“…In addition, several studies are evaluating the use to monitor land deformations that may result from mining activities, for example. In combination with TLS and UAV photogrammetry, deformations in the range of several dm can be detected (Jóźków et al, 2021). For land deformation detection, the digital elevation model (DEM) is usually derived to detect deformations from different epochs.…”

Comparative analysis of surface deformation monitoring in a mining area based on UAV‐lidar and UAV photogrammetry

“…Jóźków et al. (2021) evaluated the potential of UAV‐lidar and UAV photogrammetry in monitoring vertical deformation of terrain caused by underground mining. Zheng et al.…”