Landslide microseismic observation with nodal seismometers and Distributed Acoustic Sensing

Abstract On February 22, 2023, a large-scale landslide involving 10 million cubic meters of material occurred at the Xinjing Coal Mine in Inner Mongolia, China, resulting in significant casualties and property damage. To investigate the secondary effects of this landslide, microseismic activity was monitored one week after the event using Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) and nodal seismometers. The instruments successfully recorded microearthquakes, which were then located using double-difference earthquake location techniques. The analysis revealed that the microseismic activity was concentrated near the underground goaf, correlating with the primary cause of the landslide — an excessively steep slope in the surface coal mine. This suggests that the landslide remains in an unstable state.