Determination of underground mining induced displacements using GPS observations in Zonguldak-Kozlu Hard Coal Basin

Mining activities cause horizontal and vertical movements on the earth's surface as well as in underground, which give rise to environmental, economical, judicial and urbanization problems. These movements or displacements – the results of collapsing, vertical displacement, swelling, slope change, bending and cracking – are referred to as mining subsidence which depends on the depth and dimension of mined area, production methods, underground operating speed, time and geological structure of area. The mining subsidence eventually affects the development of cities and city life by causing damages and destruction on buildings and structures on the surface. In order to study the displacements caused by on-going mining activities, City of Zonguldak, its town Kozlu and its near surroundings are chosen since they constitute the center for hard coal basin in Turkey for 160 years with a population of 300 000 and an area of 80 km2.This study details the results from a GPS Network conducted in the basin to determine the horizontal displacements on the surface created by the mining activities. The displacement results obtained from this study have been found to range from 10 to 78 mm with 4.4 to 7.9 mm RMSE values. These results indicate that the surface of the basin is under these effects today.

► Mining activities cause movements on the earth's surface and in the underground.
► This study gives to results from a GPS Network in the Zonguldak Coal Basin.
► The displacement results ranging from 10 to 78 mm with 4.4 to 7.9 mm RMSE values.
► Moreover, mining subsidence problems have been explained with their causes.