A Statistical Method to Assess the Data Integrity and Reliability of Seismic Monitoring Systems in Underground Mines

Data integrity and reliability during seismic event detection are the main factors limiting the effectiveness of seismic monitoring systems in underground mines. As it is impossible for current seismic monitoring systems to record all mining-induced seismic events, the incomplete seismic dataset may cause significant bias during data analyses and interpretation processes. Evaluation of seismic data integrity in mine seismology and eliminate its impact on seismic analyses is a critical issue that needs to be addressed. Therefore, this paper presents the results of a study that investigated the characteristics of seismic data and its integrity by assessing the event detection probability of the seismic monitoring system in an underground coal mine. The wave picking capacities of individual geophones are first evaluated, and the detection probabilities for seismic events within a specific monitoring area are then calculated. The results showed that geophones presented different wave picking capacities for seismic events at various locations and energy magnitudes: a larger event detection probability and a broader detection range is observed for higher energy seismic events. A method to correct seismic data is also proposed to improve the completeness of the recorded seismic data, which provides more information on the frequencies of seismic events than the raw data. This paper enhances the method of assessing seismic data reliability and improving the accuracy of seismic analyses in underground mines.