Reflection seismic mapping of an abandoned coal mine, Belleville, Illinois

Conference · Wed Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1997

OSTI ID:526111

Anderson, N; Hinds, R; Roark, M ^[1]

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1. Univ. of Missouri, Rolla, MO (United States); and others

Old mine location maps (1958 vintage) indicate that the northwestern part of an undeveloped property near the town of Belleville, St. Clair County, Illinois, is situated above an abandoned and now water-filled, room-and-pillar type coal mine. The central and southeast parts of the Belleville property are shown as overlying intact (non-mined) coal. The coal unit mined at the Belleville site, the Herrin No. 6 is Pennsylvanian in age and about 2.5 m thick at a depth of around 40 m. The current owners of the Belleville property want to construct a large building on the central and southeast parts of the site, but have been concerned about the accuracy of the old mine location maps because of recent mine-related surface subsidence in areas designated on the maps as not mined. To ensure that the proposed new development is located on structurally stable ground, a grid of ten high-resolution reflection seismic lines was acquired on-site. On these reflection seismic data, mined-out areas can be visually identified and differentiated from non-mined areas. The interpretation of the reflection seismic data was constrained and validated by 15 test boreholes. These seismic and borehole data confirm that the central and southeast parts of the property have not been mined extensively. Development of the Belleville site has proceeded with confidence.

• OSTI ID: 526111
• Report Number(s): CONF-970344--
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
58 GEOSCIENCES
COAL DEPOSITS
COAL MINES
COAL MINING
ILLINOIS
MAPPING
RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
SEISMIC SURVEYS