Abstract
The high-resolution seismic reflection method was conducted at an abandoned coal mine site located in the Benoni area, near the city of Johannesburg, South Africa, with the aim of investigating the subsidence- and sinkhole-related features that are commonly observed in the area. Like many old abandoned coal mine sites, the study area lacks adequate mine records that show the extent of the underground coal mining activities that took place in the area in the late 1930s. The preliminary geotechnical investigation conducted in the study area using percussion drilling had also confirmed the existence of underlying weathered dolomitic rocks that may give rise to dolomite-related sinkholes and subsidence. The seismic survey has revealed the occurrence of subsidence and sinkhole features in the area to be due to the collapse of the colliery roof into subsurface voids caused by coal extraction that took place at the depth between 7 and 13 m, as well as the dissolution cavities that exist within the underlying dolomite formation at the depth of about 50 m below the surface. The size of the coal-mining-related voids varies between 10 and 15 m and corresponds to the size of the room and pillar mining technique employed in the coal extraction, while the size of the dissolution cavities that exist within the underlying dolomite formation varies from 2 to 10 m.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baker, G. S. (1999). Processing near-surface seismic reflection data: A primer. Society for Exploration Geophysicists, 9, 77.
Bear Geoconsultants. (2012). Preliminary Geotechnical Assessment of Portion 62 Vlakfontein, Benoni Agricultural Holdings: Unpublished Report.
Branham, K. L., & Steeples, D. W. (1988). Cavity detection, using high-resolution seismic reflection methods. Mining Engineering, 40, 115–119.
Breytenbach, I. J., & Bosch, P. J. A. (2011). Application, advantages and limitations of high-density gravimetric surveys compared with three-dimensional geological modeling in dolomite stability investigations. Journal of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering, 53, 7–11.
Brink, A. B. A. (1984). Engineering geology of South Africa. Building Publications, 4, 512.
Butler, D. K. (1984). Microgravimetric and gravity gradient techniques for detection of subsurface cavities. Geophysics, 49, 1084–1096.
Button, A. (1973). A regional study of the stratigraphy and development of the Transvaal Basin in the eastern and north-eastern Transvaal, Ph.D. Thesis, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 352 (unpublished).
Buttrick, D. B., Van Shalkwyk, A., Kleywegt, R. J., & Watermeyer, R. B. (2001). Proposed method for dolomite land hazard and risk assessment in South Africa. Journal of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering, 43(2), 27–36.
De Bruyn, I. A., & Bell, F. G. (2001). The occurrence of sinkholes and subsidence depressions in the Far West Rand and Gauteng Province, South Africa, and their engineering implications. Environment and Engineering Geoscience, 7, 281–295.
Department of Water and Sanitation. (2009). Tshwane and Ekurhuleni Dolomite Compartments, Republic of South Africa.
Eriksson, P. G., & Altermann, W. (1998). An overview of the geology of the Transvaal Supergroup dolomites (South Africa). Environmental Geology, 36, 179–188.
Eriksson, P. G., Hattingh, P. J., & Altermann, W. (1995). An overview of the geology of the Transvaal sequence and Bushveld complex, South Africa. Mineralia Deposita, 30, 98–111.
Eriksson, K. A., & Reczko, B. F. F. (1995). The sedimentary and tectonic setting of the Transvaal Supergroup floor rocks to the Bushveld Complex. Journal of African Earth Science, 21, 487–504.
Johnson, M. R., Van Vuuren, C. J., Hegenberger, W. F., Key, R., & Shoko, U. (1996). Stratigraphy of the Karoo Supergroup in Southern Africa: An overview. Journal of African Earth Science, 23, 3–15.
Martini, J. E. J., Eriksson, P. G., & Snyman, C. P. (1995). The early proterozoic Mississippi Valley-type Pb–Zn–F deposits of the Campbellrand and Malmani Subgroups, South Africa. Mineralia Deposita, 30, 135–145.
Miller, R. D. & Millahn, K. (2006). High-resolution seismic reflection investigations of dissolution sinkholes (extended abstract): European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers (EAGE) 68th Conference and Exhibition, Viena, Austria, 4.
Miller, R. D., & Steeples, D. W. (1991). Detecting voids in a 0.6 m coal seam, 7 m deep using seismic reflection. Geoexploration, 28, 109–119.
Miller, R. D., Villella, A., Xia, J. & Steeples, D. W. (2005). Seismic investigation of a salt dissolution feature in Kansas: Society of Exploration Geophysicists. Investigations in Geophysics, Buttler, D. K. (ed.), Near-Surface Geophysics, 13, 681–694.
Sheriff, R. E., & Geldart, L. P. (1995). Exploration seismology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Steeples, D. W., Knapp, R. W., & McElwee, C. D. (1986). Seismic reflection investigation of sinkholes beneath interstate Highway 70 in Kansas. Geophysics, 51, 291–301.
Van Schoor, M. (2002). Detection of sinkholes using 2D electricity resistivity imaging. Journal of Applied Geophysics, 50, 393–399.
Van Schoor, M., & Fourie, C. J. S. (2015). A guide for applying geophysics to coal mining problems in South Africa (p. 136). South Africa: COALTECH.
Van Shalkwyk, A. (1998). Legal aspects of development on dolomitic land in South Africa. Environmental Geology, 36, 167–169.
Widess, M. B. (1973). How thin is a thin bed? Geophysics, 38, 1176–1180.
Yilmaz, O. Z. (2001). Seismic data analysis. Tulsa: Society of Exploration Geophysicists.
Zhou, W., Beck, B. F., & Adams, A. L. (2002). Effective electrode array in mapping karst hazards in electrical resistivity tomography. Environmental Geology, 42, 922–928.
Zhou, B., Urosevic, M., & Baotang, S. (2015). Subsidence assessment using 3-D seismic data at Collingwood Park. Brisbane, Journal of Environmental and Engineering Geophysics, 20, 257–272.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the Bear Geoconsultant for making the borehole geotechnical data available to us, and the staff of Ripple Creek Nursery, Benoni for granting us the permission to use their site. We also wish to appreciate the Council for Science and Industrial Research (CSIR) for granting us the access to the seismic processing software that was used for the processing of the seismic data. Finally, we acknowledge the funding provided by the following organizations: Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Nigeria through the TETFUND, the Julian Baring Fund (JBF), United Kingdom, and the Seismic Research Center of the School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Isiaka, A.I., Durrheim, R.J. & Manzi, M.S.D. High-Resolution Seismic Reflection Investigation of Subsidence and Sinkholes at an Abandoned Coal Mine Site in South Africa. Pure Appl. Geophys. 176, 1531–1548 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-018-2026-3
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-018-2026-3