An evaluation of processing InSAR Sentinel-1A/B data for correlation of mining subsidence with mining induced tremors in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin (Poland)

Abstract

The Satellite Radar Interferometry is one of the common methods that allow to measure the land subsidence caused by the underground black coal excavation. The interferometry images processed from the repeat-pass Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) systems give the spatial image of the terrain subjected to the surface subsidence over mining areas. Until now, the InSAR methods using data from the SAR Systems like ERS-1/ERS-2 and Envisat-1 were limited to a repeat-pass cycle of 35-day only. Recently, the ESA launched Sentinel-1A and 1B, and together they can provide the InSAR coverage in a 6-day repeat cycle. The studied area was the Upper Silesian Coal Basin in Poland, where the underground coal mining causes continuous subsidence of terrain surface and mining tremors (mine-induced seismicity). The main problem was with overlapping the subsidence caused by the mining exploitation with the epicentre tremors. Based on the Sentinel SAR images, research was done in regard to the correlation between the short term ground subsidence range border and the mine-induced seismicity epicentres localisation.