Positive and negative impacts of longwall mine subsidence on a sandstone aquifer

Booth, Colin J.; Spande, E. D.; Pattee, C. T.; Miller, Joseph; Bertsch, L. P.

doi:10.1007/s002540050274

Cited by 36 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…They should thus have a greater residual increase in permeability than the inner zone, exhibit anomalous potentiometric levels and increased vertical leakage, and may act as a corridor of preferential groundwater flow. A post-mining groundwater flow model would, therefore, include an approximately rectangular inner area of slightly increased permeability surrounded by a border of more increased permeability (Booth et al 1998).…”

Section: Description Of Longwall Subsidence and Its Hydrological Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of longwall coal mining on overlying aquifers

Booth

2002

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The hydrogeological effects of longwall mines are vertically zoned. The heavily fractured strata immediately above the mine dewater, but they are typically overlain by a zone of low permeability that prevents shallower aquifers from draining to the mine. However, shallow bedrock aquifers experience head changes caused by fracturing during subsidence. New fracture void space takes up water, causing large head drops especially in confined aquifers. Increased fracture permeability affects heads because upper aquifers in high relief areas lose water through fractured aquitards to lower aquifers, and because the higher permeabilities lower hydraulic gradients and up-gradient heads, and increase downgradient discharge. In addition, a secondary drawdown spreads out laterally through transmissive aquifers from the potentiometric low in the subsiding zone. After undermining, water levels may recover due to closure of fractures and to recharge flowing back into the affected area. Studies at two active longwall mines in Pennsylvanian coal measures in Illinois support the conceptual model, with variations. Unconsolidated, unconfined aquifers were not significantly affected by mining. At one site, heads in a moderately transmissive sandstone declined due to mining but recovered fully afterwards. Increased permeability led to enhanced well yields, but water quality deteriorated, probably because of oxidation and mobilization of in situ sulphides during the unconfined and recovery phases. At the other site, heads in a poorly transmissive sandstone fell rapidly during subsidence and did not recover; hydrogeological responses varied at the site scale due to variations in bedrock-drift continuity. Predictions and monitoring schemes can be guided by the general conceptual model, but must consider local hydrogeological variations. Effects in shallow aquifers not in direct contact with the mine can be simulated using readily available flow models.

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Section: Description Of Longwall Subsidence and Its Hydrological Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of longwall coal mining on overlying aquifers

Booth

2002

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“…Although many effects of LMS, for example effects on the built environment (Bell et al 2000(Bell et al , 2005Bell and Genske 2001;Bullock and Bell 1997;McNally 2000;Singh 1992), changing ground water (Booth 2006;Booth and Bertsch 1999;Booth et al 1998Booth et al , 2000Karaman et al 1999Karaman et al , 2001Zipper et al 1997), and surface water hydrology (Bell and Genske 2001;Bell et al 2000;Sidle et al 2000), are generally well understood, the potential effects of LMS on agricultural productivity are not as well understood.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Monitoring the effects of longwall mine-induced subsidence on vineyards

et al. 2010

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This paper reports on the design and implementation of a program to monitor the surface effects of longwall mining-induced subsidence on wine grape yields within vineyards of Australia's Hunter Valley. Implemented in 2003, this five-year project incorporated a multiscale, multi-temporal, sliding window monitoring design synchronised with progression of longwall panels. On the vineyard-block scale, individual vine panels were sampled for grape yield. On the regional scale measures of vine photosynthetically active biomass were obtained from remotely sensed, Quickbird satellite imagery. All data were analysed in conjunction with three identified subsidence ''zones'': minimum subsidence associated with chainpillars, maximum subsidence associated with the longwall, and a zone corresponding to the transition between them. Visual observations conducted throughout the campaign confirmed the occurrence of isolated localised surface cracking, particularly in areas of maximum soil tension. However, both vineyard and block-scale data indicated no obvious, systematic mining-induced viticultural effects in the study site investigated during the study period. Rather, observed trends in vine yields were better explained by vine biophysical responses to climatic factors.

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“…Accidents during coal mining involving an inrush of water and quicksand under an unconsolidated alluvium aquifer, which is caused by fracture channels in the roof, are a severe hazard, causing significant damage, large financial loss, and a large number of casualties each year (Bai and Elsworth 1990;Booth et al 1998;Booth and Bertsch 1999;Zhang and Peng 2005;Huang et al 2012;Yang et al 2014;Chen et al 2014). However, the conditions or mechanism of such a phenomenon are complex, and are thought to relate to factors including the scale and properties of the overlying aquifer, the mining method, thickness and strength of the overlying strata, and structural characteristics of the overlying strata (Miao et al , 2010Bai and Miao 2009;Ding et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanism of water inrush and quicksand movement induced by a borehole and measures for prevention and remediation

Zhang

Wang

et al. 2014

Bull Eng Geol Environ

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In coal mining, a poorly sealed borehole is one of the channels that can lead to an inrush of water and quicksand movement, seriously compromising the safety of the coal mine. In this paper, we used the water inrush and quicksand incident at Longde Coal Mine as an example in order to investigate the mechanism of water inrush and quicksand movement induced by a borehole, as well as to develop measures for the prevention and remediation of such problems. Two sand funnel models and a water inrush outlet model are introduced from which to calculate the flow of the water and quicksand; a comparison of the two shows that the flow predicted by the water inrush outlet model is more consistent with observations from the accident than the sand funnel models. Based on the water inrush outlet model, the aquifer thickness and borehole diameter are the two key factors affecting the flow. The aquifer channel is inferred as tubular, with its diameter gradually decreasing from ground surface to underground, and a time-dependent surface subsidence model is constructed. Finally, we develop a prevention method, ''Prior to mining development, borehole should be investigated and plugged for prevention,'' and propose a remediation method, ''Changing the pipeline flow into fracture flow, followed by changing the fracture flow into pore flow, and finally grouting and plugging.''

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Positive and negative impacts of longwall mine subsidence on a sandstone aquifer

Cited by 36 publications

References 12 publications

The effects of longwall coal mining on overlying aquifers

The effects of longwall coal mining on overlying aquifers

Monitoring the effects of longwall mine-induced subsidence on vineyards

Mechanism of water inrush and quicksand movement induced by a borehole and measures for prevention and remediation

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