The article presents an attempt at using synthetic aperture radar interferometry to determine surface displacement in a region affected by a strong earthquake induced by underground mining operations. It was assumed that the satellite radar data obtained from the Sentinel 1A/B satellites may be used to monitor induced seismicity, i.e. mining tremors. Such seismic activity is observed at much shallower depths, and the surface area affected by such activity is much more limited than in the case of natural seismic events. Research was performed in a region located in the southwest part of Poland, where copper ore is extracted using underground methods. The geological structure of the selected area increases the likelihood of induced seismic events. Moreover, the area is one of the most seismically active regions in this part of Europe. The tremor analysed in this paper occurred on November 29, 2016, and had a magnitude of Mw4.2. Calculations showed that the seismic event resulted in the creation of a 2.7 km x 2.5 km subsidence basin. The paper demonstrates that it is possible to use data provided by the Sentinel 1A/B satellites to detect surface displacements caused by a mining tremor.
Underground mining activity in the region of the Upper Silesian Coal Basin (USCB) results in ground displacements scattered on a large area. Both the locations and the velocities of the displacements depend on many factors, such as the current location of the mining front, the mining depth and system, as well as geological conditions. Although SAR interferometry techniques allow the monitoring of such ground displacements, in a regional scale (as is the case of the USCB) SAR images must be appropriately processed (from a number of frames and swaths), and this is the problem addressed in this article. The implementation of algorithms for analyzing time series allows observations of displacements in both time and space. The authors also analyze the influence of mining operations on the road infrastructure and mining waste heaps located in the area and investigate the potential for the monitoring of secondary influence (due to induced seismic tremors). As a result of these investigations, the article presents the quality of the InSAR-SBAS data and the potential for their employment in the measurements.