Variability and Trends in Selected Seismological Parameters During Longwall Mining of a Coal Seam Disrupted by a Rockburst

Seismic tremors provide valuable insights into stress redistribution and accumulation, often serving as indicators of these processes within the rock mass, which can precede or accompany rockburst occurrences. Consequently, seismic monitoring is implemented in mines endangered by rockbursts to systematically assess the hazard conditions of mining openings. This study examines the variability and trends of selected seismological parameters, primarily the seismic energy of tremors observed during the longwall mining of the top layer of thick coal seam under challenging geological and mining conditions in an underground mine located in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin, Poland. The longwall mining operation was interrupted by a rockburst and subsequently discontinued. The analysis highlights both the cyclic variability and trends of seismological parameters, considering their dependence on extraction progress and temporal dynamics. The results indicate that mining progress is a significant factor influencing the stationarity of the seismic energy release process. It has been proposed that cumulative Benioff strain release is evaluated solely as a function of longwall face advancement. This illustrates the correlation between excavation progress and seismic energy accumulation. The trend analysis of this parameter, both over time and in relation to longwall face advancement, has also been conducted.