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Mine Seismology: Glossary of Selected Terms
Conference Paper · September 2013

DOI: 10.13140/2.1.1182.7846
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The 8th Rockburst and Seismicity in Mines Symposium, Russia, 2013
Mine Seismology: Glossary of Selected Terms

Aleksander J. Mendecki
Institute of Mine Seismology
This compilation is intended to serve both as reference material and as a primer on selected terms
used in mine seismology. The alphabetical ordering has been sacrificed in favour of a more intuitive
association among various entries. For the most part commonly accepted symbols are reserved for
certain types of variables, but the diversity of subjects imposed exceptions. This is an extract from
a comprehensive “Mine Seismology Reference Book” to be published by the author in April 2015.
1 Seismic Waves in Rock
Term Description
Wave A wave is a disturbance that transports energy from its source through
the rock without the transport of matter. It is the energy of the wave, not
the particles of the medium, that travel through the medium. Wave
motion can be transient, periodic or random. Transient motion is the
response of the medium to a sudden pulse-like excitation. Periodic motion
is repetitive, reoccurring in the same form at fixed time increments, e.g.
harmonic motion. In random motion the instantaneous amplitude can be
predicted only on a probabilistic basis (e.g. random noise).
Amplitude, period, The maximum disturbance in each cycle is known as the amplitude of the
wavelength wave and is determined by its source. The amplitude of a wave is equal to
the maximum displacement, velocity or acceleration of ground motion
Amplitude
T4 T2 T
from the equilibrium position.The number of cycles that pass by a fixed
point per second is called frequency, f , and is expressed in hertz [Hz]. The
frequency is determined by its source. The time in seconds required for a
Time or Period complete cycle to be produced or to pass a given point is the period of the
wave, T , and it is the reciprocal of its frequency, T = 1/f or f = 1/T . The
Amplitude
L4 L2 3L4 L

length of one complete cycle of the wave is called the wavelength, Λ. It
Π2 Π 3Π2 2Π
can be measured from crest to crest, trough to trough, or between
corresponding points on adjacent pulses. Wavelength is affected by both
Distance or Radians the source and the medium.
Homogeneous When the length scale of inhomogeneities is sufficiently smaller than the
medium wavelength.
Phase velocity Phase velocity quantifies how fast crests or troughs travel. The wavefront
associated with any particular phase advances a distance Λ in time T ,
therefore the phase velocity vπ = Λ/T = ω/k, where k is the wave number.
Note that for a given frequency, the wavelength increases with increasing
wave propagation velocity, Λ = vπ /f . In perfectly elastic homogeneous
media all frequencies travel with the same velocity. Attenuating media
are dispersive and allow waves of different frequencies to travel at
different velocities.
Mendecki: Mine Seismology - Glossary of Selected Terms 2
Angular frequency A propagating displacement in a periodic harmonic wave with velocity vπ

and wavenumber is u (x − vπ t) = umax sin [k (x − vπ t)]. Since it repeats itself at 2π
increments k (x − vπ t1 ) = k (x − vπ t2 ) + 2π, therefore vπ kT = 2π, where
the period is T = t2 − t1 or T = (2π) / (kvπ ). Since T = Λ/vπ then k =
(2π) /Λ, which is called the wave number. One complete cycle of the wave
can be related to an angular displacement of 2π radians. The angular
frequency ω of a wave is the number of radians per unit time at a fixed
position. Wave number is the number of radians per unit distance at a
fixed time. In terms of cycles rather than radians the wavelength
Λ = 2π/k, and the frequency f = ω/(2π) or ω = 2πf . Note that the
wavenumber is to the wavelength, Λ = (2π) /k, as the circular frequency is
to the period, T = (2π) /ω. A wave number frequency diagram, or f -k plot,
displays Fourier transform over space vs Fourier transform over time and
can be used to distinguish subsets of data according to their direction and
velocity.
q In 3D the wave number becomes the wave vector with magnitude
k = kx2 + ky2 + kz2 , and orientation in the direction of wave propagation.
Phase, wavefront and Points on a periodic wave that are identically displaced from the
ray trajectory equilibrium position and are moving in the same direction away from the
equilibrium position are said to be in phase. The surface of all points in
space with an equal phase is called a wavefront. The unit vector normal
to the wavefront defines the direction of the ray at that point at that time.
The trajectory followed by the normal of the same element of the wave
front during a certain time defines the ray trajectory. Phase is a measure
of the point within a wave cycle. At a given x and t, the phase indicates
whether or not it is a wave crest, a trough or someplace in between.
Wave speed The speed of any wave depends upon the properties of the medium
through which the wave is traveling. Typically there are two essential
types of properties which effect wave speed – inertial properties and
elastic properties. The greater the inertia, or the mass density, of
individual particles of the medium, the less responsive they will be to the
interactions between neighboring particles and the slower the wave. If all
other factors would be equal a sound wave would travel faster in a less
dense material than a more dense material. Elastic properties relate to
the strength of interaction between particles measured by the tendency of
a material to resist deformation upon applied force, which is called
stiffness. Stiffer the material the faster the wave. Even though the
inertial factor may favor gases, the elastic factor has a greater influence
on the wave speed, therefore: vsolids > vliquids > vgases .
P-wave The dilatational or longitudinal or primary waves, where the elastic
medium expands and contracts and in which pparticles move in the
direction
p of propagation with velocity, v P = Y (1 − ν) / [ρ (1 − 2ν) (1 + ν)]
= [2µ (1 − ν)] / [ρ (1 − 2ν)]. Note the dependence of vP on both, the bulk
and the shear modulus. The reason is that during propagation of
dilatation the medium is subjected to a combination of compression and
shear. The cross sectional area of a small cube element normal to the
direction of propagation will not be changed but its dimension along the
propagation will be altered. There is thus a change in the shape of the
element as well as in its volume, and the resistance of the medium to
shear as well as its compressibility comes into play (Kolsky, 1963).
Institute of Mine Seismology Updated August 5, 2013

S-wave The transverse or shear or secondary waves, where the medium changes
in shape, but not in volume. Particles
p move perpendicular to the direction
of propagation with velocity, vS = µ/ρ. The S-wave particle motion can
arbitrarily be decomposed into horizontal SH and vertical SV components
which, in homogeneous isotropic media, travel with the same speed. The
polarization, i.e. the direction of particle motion relative to the direction
of wave propagation, of both P and S waves, is linear. In an anisotropic
medium, where properties vary with direction, the S-wave splits into a
fast and slow component. These split waves propagate with different
velocities that cause a time delay and related phase shift. Accordingly, the
two split S-wave components superimpose to an elliptical polarization.
The orientation of the main axis and the degree of ellipticity are
controlled by the fast and slow velocity directions of the medium with
respect to the direction of wave propagation and the degree of anisotropy.
An independent propagation of the P and S-waves is only guaranteed for
sufficiently high frequencies where spatial variations in elastic properties
occur over much larger distances than the wavelength of the waves
involved. Fluids and gasses have no shear strength, µ = 0, and thus do
not propagate shear waves.
Elastic constant Since hydrostatic pressure cannot cause an increase in volume and the
volume decrease must remain finite, the bulk modulus κ can only assume
positive values. The shear caused by a state of simple shearing has the
direction of the stress, therefore the shear modulus µ must be positive.
For an incompressible material κ and hence λ (Lamé constant) must
become infinite. These conditions ensure that the strain energy is positive
and they impose the following fundamental inequalities for the elastic
moduli of isotropic materials: ∞ ≥ λ > 32 µ, ∞ > µ > 0, 0 < Y ≤ 3µ,
−1 < ν ≤ 21 , where Y is the Young modulus. A distance between two
q
2 2
elastic media can be measured by d = [log (κ1 /κ2 )] + [log (µ1 /µ2 )] . The
following relations
with
body wave velocities
apply: Y =
ρvS2 3q 2 − 4 / q 2 − 1 ; ν = q 2 − 2 / 2q 2 − 2 ; κ = ρvS2 q 2 − 4/3 ; λ =
ρvS2 q 2 − 2 , where q = vP /vS .
Ratio vP /vS The ratio of the P to S-wave velocity
√ depends onlypon the Poisson ratio ν
and, since −1 < ν ≤ 0.5 we have 2/ 3 < vP /vS = (2 − 2ν) / (−2ν) < ∞.
Thus in a given medium the P-wave is always faster than S-wave. The
ratio vP /vS increases with increasing ν and, for ν = 0.15 the vP /vS =
1.558, for ν = 0.2 vP /vS = 1.633. √
For a Poissonian√solid, where λ = µ, the
Poisson ration ν = 0.25, vP /vS = 3 and vS =vP / 3. For most
consolidated rocks the vP /vS ratio is between 1.5 and 2.0.
Wadati diagrams The Wadati diagram is based on a relationship between the P-wave
arrival time at j-th station, tP j = t0 + Hj /vP , and the S-P arrival time
difference tSj − tP j = Hj (1/vS − 1/vP ), where Hj is the hypocentral
distance and t0 is the origin time (Wadati, 1928). Therefore the ratio
(tSj − tP j )/(tP j − t0 ) = (vP /vS )− 1, and the plot tSj − tP j versus tP j for a
number of stations gives an intercept that is an estimate of t0 and a slope
(vP /vS ) − 1, regardless of location. A better vP /vS ratio can be derived
having data from a number of events. Then, for each event, for a pair of
stations j and k, the ratio (tSj − tSk )/(tP j − tP k ) = (vP /vS ), and the plot of
S-arrival time differences versus P-arrival time differences for each pair
gives a line passing through the origin with a slope vP /vS , regardless of
location.

Love waves If an SH ray hits a reflecting horizon near surface at post critical angle,
all the energy is trapped within the wave guide (Love, 1911). These waves
propagate by multiple reflections between the top and bottom surface of
the low speed layer near the surface. Love waves are similar to S-waves
with no vertical displacement. It moves the ground from side to side
horizontally parallel to the earth’s surface, at right angles to the direction
of propagation, and produces horizontal shaking. The Love wave velocity
is equal to that of shear waves in the upper layer for very short
wavelengths, and to the velocity of shear waves in the lower layer for very
long wavelengths.
Rayleigh waves Surface waves are generated by the constructive interference of incident
P and S-waves arriving at the free surface and propagating parallel to the
surface. Shallow sources tend to excite stronger Rayleigh waves than
deep sources. The particles oscillate in a vertical plane along the direction
of propagation. There are two components to their oscillations: vertical
up and down motion and the horizontal forward and back motion. At the
free surface the initial vertical motion is up, but the initial horizontal
movement is backward. Thus the particle motion at the free surface is
elliptical retrograde (i.e. the particle moves opposite to the direction of
propagation at the top of its elliptical path) and the vertical displacement
is about 1.5 times the horizontal displacement. The penetration into the
ground increases with wavelength Λ. The vertical amplitude of particle
motion decreases exponentially with depth. The horizontal amplitude
becomes zero at depth of 0.19·Λ and below that depth it reverses its
direction and the particle motion becomes forward elliptical. The
Rayleigh wave velocity, vR , varies from 0.9vS , for the media with Poisson
ratio ν = 0.1, to 0.93vS , for ν = 0.4. For a Poissonian solid, ν = 0.25,
Rayleigh waves travel with a phase velocity vR ' 0.92vS . In mines surface
waves are developed as the wave front reaches the tabular excavations
(Cichowicz et al., 2000).
Geometrical The amplitude of a seismic pulse traveling away from the source
spreading decreases due to geometrical spreading, inelasticity, and scattering. In
perfectly elastic media there is no attenuation and the wave energy is
conserved as it propagates. In a spherical body wave of radius R the
energy is spread out over its surface and the energy density is E/ 4πR2 .
Since the energy density is proportional to the square of the measured
amplitude of ground velocity E/ 4πR2 ∝ v2 , it translate to v ∝ 1/R decay
for amplitude with distance. In a surface wave the energy is spread along
the√perimeter of a circle, the energy density is E/ (2πR), which leads to
1/ R decay for amplitude.
√ The difference between 1/R amplitude decay
for body waves and 1/ R for surface waves is significant, specifically at
larger distances, and it results in larger amplitudes of surface waves than
body waves at the same distances from the source.
Scattered waves, Scattered waves are generated by the interaction between primary waves,
coda that constitute the whole seismogram if the inhomogeneities were absent,
and the inhomogeneities. It partitions the high-frequency wave-field into
a sequence of arrivals that are called coda waves. Seismic coda waves are
attributed to backscattering from numerous heterogeneities. One may
consider seismic coda as waves trapped in a random medium. In mines
the main source of scattering observed in waveforms of microseismic
events is the fractured rock surrounding excavations (Cichowicz and
Green, 1989).

Attenuation: inelastic For a given location wave motion is attenuated with time and, for a given
and scattering time, it is attenuated with distance. Amplitude as a function of time is
A (t) = A0 exp (−πf0 t/Q), whereA0 is the amplitude at source, f0 is the
natural frequency and Q is the fractional loss of energy per cycle of
oscillation. Amplitude as a function of distance travelled is A (x) =
A0 exp [−πf x/ (vQ)] and it shows that for a constant Q a high frequency
wave will attenuate faster than a low frequency wave. This is because for
a given distance the high frequency wave will go through more
oscillations. The result is a decrease in amplitude and broadening of the
pulse width with distance. Larger Q implies lower attenuation. The part
of energy loss due to inelasticity is called the intrinsic attenuation, Qin .
Amplitude can also be decreased by scattering that shifts energy from the
direct arrival back into the coda. This apparent attenuation is called
scattering attenuation, Qsc , which is not a measure of energy loss per
cycle but rather a measure of energy redistribution. For the same
heterogeneities lower intrinsic attenuation produces more coda. The total
1/Q = 1/Qin + 1/Qsc . In general Q my be frequency dependent, the Qsc
more so than Qin . Q for P-waves are larger than for S-waves. For hard
rocks Q varies from 50, for highly fractured, to 500 for relatively solid
rock. In hard rock, for strain larger than 10−6 attenuation is strain
dependent therefore amplitudes decay more rapidly near seismic sources
where strains are of the order of 10−2 to 10−4 .
Coda wave Coda wave interferometry is a technique for monitoring changes in media
interferometry over time using acoustic or elastic waves. Sound waves that travel
through a medium are scattered multiple times by heterogeneities in the
medium and generate slowly decaying, late arriving coda waves. Despite
their noisy and chaotic appearance, coda waves are highly repeatable
such that if no change occurs in the medium over time, the waveforms are
identical. If a change occurs, such as a crack in the medium, the change
in the multiple scattered waves will result in an observable change in the
coda waves. Coda wave interferometry uses this sensitivity to monitor
temporal changes in strongly scattering media.
Anisotropy Seismic anisotropy is a term used for effective material parameters which
depend on the direction of propagation or polarization of seismic waves. It
includes isotropic media with aligned small scale heterogeneities that
may be be anisotropic for seismic wavelengths longer than the
heterogeneity scale. Anisotropy and dispersion are two aspects of the
same phenomena, namely, the dependence of the phase velocity on the
wave vector. The wave vector has the direction perpendicular to the
wavefront and a magnitude proportional to the product of frequency and
slowness (reciprocal velocity). If the velocity depends only on the
magnitude of wave vector, we speak of dispersion. If the velocity depends
only on the direction of the wave vector, we speak of anisotropy.
Converted waves Conversion of P-wave to S-wave and S-wave to P-wave that occurs at a
discontinuity for non-normal incidence. These converted waves
sometimes show distinct arrivals on the seismogram between the P and S
arrivals, and may be used to determine the location of the discontinuity.
Guided waves Guided waves are trapped in a waveguide by total reflections or bending
of rays at the top and bottom boundaries. The fault-zone trapped mode is
a guided wave in the low velocity fault zone. Where they can exist, guided
waves may propagate to considerable distances, because they are
effectively spreading in only two spatial dimensions.

2 Quantification of a Seismic Event
Term Description
Seismic source in A volume of sudden inelastic strain of rock (deviatoric and/or isotropic)
rock that radiates perceptible seismic waves. To be perceptible the velocity of
deformation must be at least a mm/s. An average strain at source is 10−4 .
Four basic Origin time, t0 ; location, (x0 , y0 , z0 ); seismic potency, P ; and radiated
parameters of seismic seismic energy, E.
source
Source location A point, (x0 , y0 , z0 ), within the seismic source that triggered the set of
seismic sensors used to locate it. Frequently it is statistical average of
different parts of the source and the error space.
Arrival times location Seismic event can be located using the first arrivals (or the travel times)
of P-wave, and/or S-wave, and/or S-P arrival differences and/or azimuth
and/or directions (Mendecki and Sciocatti, 1997). The arrival time, or the
travel time, location is associated with the beginning of the rupture
process. The location error here depends on the following factors: the
errors in arrival time determination, inadequate knowledge of the
velocity model, inaccuracy in the station coordinates, the method of
solution and on the spatial distribution of stations with respect to the
event to be located.
Amplitude location Since amplitude decays with distance from the source one can use the
peak ground velocity distance relation for location. It’s called the Strong
Motion Centroid location because it locates the center of strong ground
motion rather than the beginning of rupture (Kanamori, 1993). Since
amplitudes are affected by factors other than the distance, such location
will not be accurate.
Centroid moment The simultaneous inversion of waveform data for the hypocentral
tensor location parameters of the best point source and the six elements of the moment
tensor (Dziewonski et al., 1981).
Brightness location Using trial locations and origin times, this method calculates the
brightness function by summing the absolute normalised amplitudes
observed at all stations at their respective predicted arrival times. The
spatial and temporal distribution of sources is then identified by a
systematic search throughout the model space and time for the maximum
brightness. It exploits waveform information (both arrival times and
relative amplitudes) without the need to calculate high-frequency
synthetic seismograms, and it requires neither pre-assembled
phase-picking data nor any a priori assumptions about the source
geometry (Kao and Shan, 2004).
Time reversal This is based on the principle that the acoustic and elastic wave equations
location are symmetric with respect to time. The three component seismograms
are flipped in time and used as seismic sources. The sources are then
played back into a model using a seismic wave propagation code. The
multiple sources generate seismic waves that propagate through the
model where they interfere constructively and destructively and should
focus on the original source location. The origin time of the event is given
by the time where maximum focussing is observed.

Rupture, slip and Rupture is a propagating pulse that precedes slip at a seismic source. Its
amplitudes speed varies from 0.6vS to 0.9vS for sub-shear rupture and can be higher
than vs for super-shear rupture. Slip follows rupture, it is very fast at the
tip of the rupture and slows dramatically past the rupture front. Slip
velocity is the velocity of one side of the source with respect to the other.
An average slip velocity varies from a few cm/s to a few m/s. Rupture may
be unilateral, propagating in one direction across the source, bilateral,
nucleating at the center of the source and propagating in both directions
or it may be inhomogeneous. If all other factors are equal the amplitudes
of seismic waves radiated from seismic sources increase with an increase
in co-seismic deformation rate, increase with an increase in rock strength
and stress, and the predominant frequencies of these waves decrease with
an increase in source size.
Source time The Source Time Function (STF) defines the deformation u (t), velocity
functions, rise time, u̇ (t) or acceleration ü (t) at source versus time. The rise time at a given
point & finite source point at source is the duration of slip at that point, and the average rise
time hτ i = ū/hu̇i ∼ 1/f0 , where f0 is the corner frequency. In a crack-like
NF Displacement
model the slip duration at a given point is comparable to the overall

duration of the rupture, i.e. slip at a given point continues until
information is received that the rupture has stopped propagating. In
time reality, only a portion of the overall rupture surface is undergoing slip at
any given point in time and therefore there may be larger transient stress
NF Velocity
changes in the vicinity of the propagating slip pulse (Heaton, 1990). The
initial pulse width is the duration between the first break and the first
zero crossing of the seismic signal. For wavelengths much larger than
time
source size and for periods much longer than source duration the source
volume is relatively small and can be approximated as a point
NF Acceleration
concentrated in space with finite potency. Shorter, higher frequency

waves are sensitive to the finite extent and detailed variation of the slip
process at the source and they require finite source models. Source time
time
function can also be presented as seismic moment or potency and their
derivatives in the time domain, e.g. P (t), Ṗ (t), P̈ (t).
Directivity or Unilateral rupture directivity will produce earthquake source pulses and
Doppler effect source spectra that vary with azimuth (Ben-Menahem, 1961). In the time
domain it produces shorter duration, higher amplitude source time
functions in the direction of rupture, and longer duration, lower
amplitude source time functions in the opposite direction. In the
ST2
frequency domain it produces higher spectral amplitudes at higher
ST1 frequencies in the direction of rupture and a lack of such high frequency
* ST3
signal in the opposite direction. Low frequency amplitudes of source
spectra remain unchanged with azimuth. For a circular crack with radius
W0
l/2 rupturing outward from the center with rupture velocity vr the pulse
Disp. Spectrum
ST3 ST2 ST1 width of ground velocity, or equivalently the rise time of the far-field
displacement pulse, is τ (θ) = (l/2)vr − (l/2)sin θ/vP , where θ is the angle
between the normal to the source plane and the ray leaving the source,
and vP is the P-wave velocity. The full pulse width is the duration
Frequency between the first break and the second zero crossing, ∆T = (l/2)/vr +
(l/2)sin θ/vP . The rise time decreases with increasing θ and the full pulse
width increases with decreasing θ. The observed corner frequency at the
angle θ is, f0 (θ) = f0 vP /(vP − vr sin θ), where f0 is the corner frequency at
source.

Radiation pattern A radiation pattern is a geometric description of amplitude and sense of

o
0
initial motion distributed over the P and S wavefronts on the sphere
around the source. If the radius of the sphere is large enough relative to
both the size of the source and to the dominant wavelength, the radiation
pattern represents the far field of a point source. If the radius of the
o
90 o
90 sphere is large compared to the dominant wavelength but comparable
with the size of the source, the radiation pattern represents the far field of
an extended source. The radiation patterns for the displacement and the
velocity are the same since taking the time derivative does not affect the
180
o angular distribution. Since radiation from seismic sources reflects strain
vr = 0.75vS distribution near the source it has a degree of symmetry. The polarity of
0
o the initial P-wave pulse leaving the source may be compressional – away
from the hypocenter, dilatational – towards the hypocenter, or null at the
nodal plane where amplitudes tend to go to zero. For a double couple
point source moving with speed vr along the OX axis the angular
o
90
o
distribution of displacement is uP (θ) = sin (2θ)/[1 − (vr /vP ) cos θ], uS (θ) =
90
cos (2θ)/[1 − (vr /vS ) cos θ], where θ is anticlockwise from OX. It has
elongated lobes in the direction of rupture, and more so for faster rupture
(Ben-Menahem, 1961; Hirasawa and Stauder, 1965), and it is singular for
vr ≥ vP and vr ≥ vS . For vr = 0 it gives the radiation pattern for a single
180o double couple non-moving source (Aki and Richards, 2002). A double
vr = 0 couple radiation pattern is symmetric with respect to nodal planes. In
red S-wave, blue P-Wave mines tunnels and excavations act as strong scatterers of seismic waves
and may modify the radiation patterns of the primary waves. In practice
radiation patterns are observable mainly at lower frequencies.
Seismic potency and Seismic potency P of a single dislocation source is the product of an
seismic moment average slip and source area, P = ūA. For a complex source, potency is
the product of the source strain, ∆ = ∆σ/µ, and the source volume, P =
∆V , where ∆σ is an averaged stress drop and µ is the rigidity of the rock
mass surrounding the source. Seismic moment M = µP = µ∆V = ∆σV .
Seismic potency is an observable parameter at the low frequency
asymptote of the displacement spectrum where corrections are less
difficult and, as a result, its estimate is less uncertain than that of
seismic energy.
Source spectra and A point source at which stress is relieved instantaneously would radiate
corner frequency P- and S-wave displacement pulses that are Dirac delta functions and
their spectra would be flat. Seismic source theory predict a far-field
displacement spectrum that is constant at low frequencies and inversely
proportional to some power of frequency at high frequencies (Aki, 1967).
A corner frequency of the displacement spectrum is where the high and
low frequency trends intersect. When the stress is relieved over a finite
time, the radiated pulses are broadened proportionally. There is a corner
in both the P-wave and the S-wave displacement spectrum at frequency
proportional to the reciprocal of the time for the stress to be relieved at
the source. Similarly, if stress is relieved instantaneously but the source
size is made finite, the P and S pulses will be broadened, and their
spectra will have corner frequencies. Since P-waves are faster than
S-waves their wavelengths, at given frequency, are longer than that of
S-waves. The corner frequency of P-wave is higher than the S-wave,
which is a geometric consequence of finite sources embedded in media √
with vP > vS . For a simple circular source f0 (P )/f0 (S) = vP /vS ' 3.

Source displacement, In general the amplitude of the flat, long-period level of the displacement
velocity and spectrum, Ω0 , is proportional to seismic potency P , the corner frequency
acceleration spectra f0 is inversely proportional to the source size and a high frequency
10-4 n
W0 spectrum decays as (f /f0 ) . For a circular source the radius, r '
Displacement, @m×sD
10-5
10-6
(0.21 to 0.4)vS /f0(S) (Brune et al., 1979). The displacement spectrum at
n
10-7 Ω1.5
source is then u (n, f ) = Ω0 /[1 + (f /f0 ) ], the velocity spectrum is u̇ (n, f )
Ω2 n 2 n
10-8
Ω3
= 2πf Ω0 /[1 + (f /f0 ) ] and acceleration ü (n, f ) = (2πf ) Ω0 /[1 + (f /f0 ) ].
10-9 0 Seismic energy is proportional to the velocity power spectrum Pv (n) =
10 101 102 103
Frequency, f @HzD
104
´∞ 2
10-2 2 0 [u̇ (n, f )] df . For f f0 the spectral amplitudes must decay at n >
Ω1.5 1.5 so that the energy is finite. Most observations support n = 2, called the
Velocity, @mD
10-3
10-4
Ω2 ω 2 -model. It is the result of dominance of stopping phases (signals from
Ω3
10-5
the edge of the expanding source as it is arrested) in the seismic
10-6 0
spectrum, as models for the spectrum from the start of rupture are
10 101 102 103 104
Frequency, f @HzD predicted to have an ω 3 behavior. The predominant frequency at which
Ω1.5 the maximum energy is radiated fE , is at the maximum of the velocity
Acceleration, @msD
101
100
Ω2
power spectrum. For the ω 2 -model the predominant frequency √ is at the
10-1 Ω3
corner frequency, fE = f0 . For the ω 3 -model the fE = f0 / 3 2. Seismic
10-2
potency can be derived from S-wave, PS = 4πvS RΩ0S /ΛS , or from P-wave
2
100 101 102 103 104 PP = 4πvP (vP /vS ) RΩ0P /ΛP , where ΛS,P is the root-mean-square value
Frequency, f @HzD
for the radiation pattern of far-field amplitudes averaged over the focal
sphere and ΛP = 0.516 for P-wave and ΛS = 0.632 for S-wave.
Static stress drop This is the difference between the average shear stress within the source
before and after the event. Since the stress drop varies across the source,
the overall static stress drop is a deformation weighted average of the
spatially variable stress drop. For a dislocation source ∆σ = cµū/l, where
c is of the order of 1 and depends on the √
geometry of
√ the source and l is
the characteristic size of the source, l ∼ A or l ∼ 3 V . Stress drop to a
great degree is independent of seismic potency (moment) and on average
for earthquakes it varies from 0.1 to 10 MPa and for for mines it is 5 to 10
times lower – a constant stress drop scaling.
Static source For a circular crack with uniform stress drop ∆σ over √ the source surface,
parameters – scaling the displacement profile is given by u (x) = 24∆/ (7π) r2 − x2 , where x is
6 the radial distance from the center of the crack and r is the radius of the
5
uHxL @mmD
4 crack (Eshelby, 1957). The maximum slip is in the middle of the crack,
3
2
1
umax = 24r∆/(7π). Integration over the crack length gives the average
0 50 100 slip at source, strain change or static stress drop ∆σ = µ∆, source size
x @mD and seismic potency for a crack-like
source:
p ū = 16r∆/(7π), umax /ū = 1.5;
Displacement profile for ∆ = P = 16r3 ∆/7; ∆σ = 7µP / 16r3 ; r = 3 7P/ (16∆). If r = 0.3vS /f0 , where
5.5·10−5 and r = 100 m.
f0 is the S-wave corner frequency, f0 and vS the S-wave velocity (Brune
1/3 1/2
10
4
10
-1 et al., 1979), then f0 = 0.395vS (∆/P ) . Since vS = (µ/ρ) one can
S wave corner frequency [Hz]
-3
■ 10 ∆ε
3 ■ 10
-4
-5 0
construct a nomogram representing the relations between these variables
10 ■ 10
10
Source radius [m]
2
■
■
10
10
-6
-7 for hard rocks with µ=37 GPa, ρ=2700 kg/m3 , vS =3700 m/s and for soft
1
10 10 rocks with µ=7.2 GPa, ρ=1800 kg/m3 , vS =2000 m/s. Empirically, the
10
1
10
2
average slip√over an earthquake fault zone scales approximately as
10
0
10
3 u = 0.00225 3 P in [m], (Somerville et al., 1999) and the maximum slip for
-1
Hard
Soft a small patch √ within the larger fault zone of an earthquake scales as
10 -4 -2 0
log P
2 4
umax = 0.0046 3 P in [m] (McGarr and Fletcher, 2003).
Double couple A model of seismic source caused by shear slip across an internal surface
of zero thickness in an isotropic elastic medium for which the equivalent
force system consist of two orthogonal couples with the same moment and
opposite sign. The corresponding moment or potency tensors have both
zero trace (purely deviatoric) and zero determinant. Physically, this is a
representation of a shear dislocation source without any volume changes.

Fault plane solution Fault plane solution determines the direction of slip, which is controlled
or focal mechanism by orientation of the elastic strain field at the time of rupture, and a
possible orientation of the rupture plane. In its simplest form it uses the
Normal B directions of P-wave motions recorded at a number of stations
P
surrounding the source. Plotting all available directions in the lower
T
hemisphere of a stereographic projection one can define two orthogonal
planes separating compressional and dilatational motion. The axes of
Strike Slip
maximum shortening and maximum lengthening bisecting the quadrants
are known as the P and the T axes, respectively. These are the principal
P B
strain axes that do not necessarily coincide with the principal stress axes.
T The P axis lies within the quadrant of dilatational motions and the T axis
Reverse lies within the quadrant of compressional motions. Both are orthogonal to
B
the intersection of the two nodal planes where their amplitudes are zero.
P T
The axis formed by this intersection is called the B or the null axis. The
directions of P-wave motion or moment tensor inversion alone can not
resolve which nodal plane is the rupture plane.
Moment tensor A general description of a seismic source by the distribution of forces or

moments equivalent to the inelastic deformation. The inelastic processes
at the source can be described as the stress-free change of size and shape
of an elastic body without alteration of the elastic properties of the region.
If change in size and shape can be expressed as a change in strain ∆kl
then the equivalent stress change, or change in moment per unit volume,
can be given by ∆σij = cijkl ∆kl , where cijkl are elastic constants and
∆σij is called the seismic moment density tensor or inelastic stress or
stress glut. The total moment integrated over the source volume is the
seismic moment tensor, Mij . For long waves compared to the source size,
the whole volume V can be considered to be a system of couples located
at, say, the centre´of V , and the moment
´ tensor components can be
The rectangular element in defined by Mij = V cijkl ∆kl dV = V ∆σij dV . The seismic moment tensor
the unstressed configuration can be uniquely decomposed into isotropic (or volume change) and
(top left) undergoes change in deviatoric components, providing an additional insight into the nature of
strain. If it were not the co-seismic strain drop. The deviatoric tensor can be decomposed
surrounded by the rest of the further into a double couple term with zero determinant representing
body it would take the shear faulting on a plane and a remainder non double couple term, e.g.
deformed shape (top right). the Compensated Linear Vector Dipole (CLVD) which is deviatoric, has
The inelastic stress is the two equal eigenvalues and no volume change, no net force, and no net
stress that is needed to bring torque. The eigenvalues and corresponding eigenvectors of the deviatoric
it back to its initial component of the seismic moment tensor describe the magnitude and
rectangular shape (bottom orientation, respectively, of the principal moment axes (neglecting
right). If the element is gravity) acting at the source. For a crack-like rupture in a linear elastic
reinserted into the unstressed homogeneous body with Lame’s constants λ and µ, the co-seismic volume
body and the stresses are change can be calculated as ∆ϑc = 3tr (Mij )/(3λ + 2µ), and for a spherical
allowed to readjust a final implosive or explosive source ∆ϑs = tr (Mij )/(λ + 2µ). The ratio of these
state of stress is obtained. two expressions depends only on the Poisson’s ratio, ∆ϑc /∆ϑs =
This is the stress drop created 3 (1 − ν)/(1 + ν), and for ν = 0.2 the crack-type source would generate
by the inelastic strain. twice as much volume change as the spherical source.
Seismic potency or The seismic potency tensor, Pij may be defined by the integral of the
source tensor stress-free change
´ of size and shape, expressed by ∆ij , in the source
volume, Pij = V ∆ij . The strain based potency tensor involves only
directly observable quantities whereas the moment requires making
assumptions of elastic properties at the source. The potency tensor can be
decomposed in a similar way to the moment tensor.

Typical mechanisms The strain drop produced by a simple seismic event is localized in a zone
of mine induced that is small in comparison with the length of the recorded seismic waves.
events However, seismic events induced by mining and blasting occur mostly
close to excavations and/or in a complex geological setting and frequently
exhibit a volumetric character, with many zones of permanent
deformation and complex geometry accompanied by a local volume
contraction. The mechanism of mine induced events fall into, or
somewhere in between, one of the following typical examples. (1) A point
source blast in homogeneous medium. It would radiate compressional
P-waves, no S-waves and the source mechanism would be purely isotropic
explosive. (2) Blasting longer borehole in inhomogeneous rock. It would
generate cylindrical rather than spherical source. The production of shear
wave energy is influenced by the degree of rock mass heterogeneity and
by the velocity of detonation: less homogeneous rock promotes shear
deformation and slower detonation produce longer fractures and higher
S-wave amplitudes (Stroujkova et al., 2012). Such source would add a
deviatoric component to the mechanism at the cost of the explosive
isotropic component. (3) Larger event associated with slip along
geological feature and/or located away from excavations – it would have
predominantly double couple source mechanism. (4) Fault slip or shear
failure close to a stope, where the permanent co-seismic stope
convergence would add the implosive component (McGarr, 1992), and a
possible CLVD component to the double couple mechanism. (5) Pillar
failure or strain burst. Here the excavation is an integral part of the
source and the mechanism can be represented by a closing crack model,
i.e. isotropic implosive component with a CLVD component. More realistic
mechanisms are discussed in Malovichko and van Aswegen (2013).
Ortepp shears Ortlepp shears form a class of dynamic brittle shears found in deep mines
where the stress is high enough to cause shear failure of strong and
homogeneous, intact rock (Ortlepp, 1997). A complex internal structure
evolves, for most part, during one dynamic event. In their type location
the Ortlepp shears are normal faults because the maximum stress is near
vertical in the gold mines of the Witwatersrand. There is no reason why
similar shears cannot develop in mines of different stress orientation.
Ortlepp shears consist mainly of two mechanistic elements, namely en
echelon extension fractures and breakthrough shear ruptures. No other
type of sub-structure is required to describe them. The basic geometry
repeats in a left stepping fashion when viewed as a right lateral shear.
The breakthrough shear ruptures accommodate virtually all
displacement and are the sources of the characteristic rock flour. They are
geometrically similar to R-shears in Riedel nomenclature, but are absent
in some shears with minimal displacement. The total displacement is, in
most cases, greater that that of moment-equivalent earthquakes because
the proximity of mine openings create a soft loading system (van
Aswegen, 2013).
Dynamic stress drop There is no one universal definition of the dynamic stress drop si nce the
stress release is different at different part of the source and, at the same
part, it varies in time. At a given point at the source the dynamic stress
drop scales with the slip velocity, ∆σd ∼ u̇slip , and therefore it is the stress
that drives near source ground motion. Dynamic stress drop estimates
are based on the observed source time functions, which is not sensitive to
the choice of rupture model (crack or slip pulse model), as long as the
rupture velocity (Ruff , 1999).

Seismic energy The slower the rupture and slip velocity, the less energy is radiated; the
quasi-static rupture would radiate practically no energy. Seismic energy
E for the single fracture-type source, expressed in terms of source
parameters is
ˆ ˆ ts ˆ
E = −2γef f A + ∆σij ui nj dA + dt σ̇ui nj dA
A 0 A(t)
where γef f is the effective surface energy, which includes the total loss of
mechanical energy, in particular inelastic work and heat flow from the
fracture edge, A is the fracture area with the displacement ui , ∆σij is the
difference between the final (at the end of the event) and the initial stress,
nj is the unit vector normal to the fracture plane, ts is the source duration
and σ̇ij is the time derivative of stress or traction rate (Kostrov, 1974).
5
Ratio ES /EP For the ω 2 -model the ES /EP = (3/2)·(vP /vS ) , which for vP = 5500 m/s
and vS = 3200 m/s, gives 22.5. The ratio depends on the source
mechanism, for an explosive source (blast) is it lower and for a fault slip it
is higher.
Frequency range and The potency and energy range of seismic events that a system can recover
source parameters is limited by its frequency range (f1 , f2 ), which is mainly determined by
the capabilities of seismic sensors. In hard rock with vS = 3.6 km/s and µ
= 30 GPa the largest event for which we can recover 85% of seismic
3
potency is P ' 7.41∆σ/(10f1 ) , which for ∆σ = 3 MPa and f1 = 3 Hz gives
log P =2.9. The smallest event for which we can recover 85% of radiated
energy is P ' 100∆σ/f23 , which for f2 = 1 kHz gives log P =−0.5
(Mendecki, 2013b). While 15% underestimates of seismic potency do not
have a significant effect on potency or energy based magnitudes, it has a
notable effect on the apparent stress and the apparent volume. The
problem may be alleviated by partially correcting for the limited
bandwidth, but the best strategy is to select the correct sensors.
Apparent stress and The apparent stress is the ratio of seismic energy to potency, σA = E/P . It
log E vs log P scaling is the stress that causes seismic radiation. If seismic energy and potency
scale as log E = d log P + c then E/P = 10c P d−1 . For d = 1 apparent stress
σA = 10c , which means a constant apparent stress or stress drop scaling.
It is a more reliable measure of an average stress release at the source
than the corner frequency cubed dependent static stress drop. The source
of a seismic event associated with a relatively weak fault or with a soft
patch in the rock mass should yield slowly under lower differential stress
producing more inelastic deformation thus larger potency and less seismic
energy, resulting in a low apparent stress event. The opposite would
apply to a source associated with a strong fault or a hard patch in the rock
mass. Apparent stress for the same moment or potency events may vary
by factor of 100 or more (Mendecki, 1993). The d-value tends to increase
with the system stiffness. The log E vs log P plot for the stiff system does
not extend far into the larger events range until stiffness is degraded and
the d-value drops. For a given slope an increase in the c-value reflects an
increase in the stress levels (Mendecki, 2001). Since for a given potency
higher corner frequency f0 implies higher radiated energy, the high
values of f0 should plot above the regression line log E vs log P .
f0 - dark grey low, light
grey high

Energy index The notion of comparing the radiated energies of seismic events of similar
potency can conveniently be translated into a practical tool called the
energy index, EI (van Aswegen and Butler, 1993). The energy index of an
event is the ratio of the observed radiated seismic energy of that event E,
to the average energy Ē(P ) = 10d log P +c radiated by events of the
observed potency P , for a given area of interest, EI = E/Ē (P ) =
E/10d log P +c = 10−c E/P d , which for d = 1.0 would be proportional to the
apparent stress. The higher the energy index the higher the driving
stress at the source of the event at the time of its occurrence.
Apparent volume Source volume can be estimated from, V = P/∆ = M/∆σ, it measures
the volume of rock with the inelastic strain change ∆. While potency can
be reliably derived from waveforms, the strain and stress drops suffers
from their cubic dependency on corner frequency, ∆ ∼ P f03 , and a
relatively small uncertainty in fo causes a large uncertainty in ∆ and,
consequently, in the source volume V . The apparent volume is defined as
VA = M /σA = µP 2 /E (Mendecki, 1993). Apparent volume can easily be
manipulated in the form of cumulative or contour plots, providing insight
into the rate and the distribution of co-seismic inelastic deformation and
stress transfer in the rock mass.
Local magnitude In 1931 a Japanese seismologist Wadati constructed a chart of the

logarithm of the maximum ground motion versus distance for a number of
Log(Peak Amplitude in mm)
1
m=6 earthquakes and noted that the plots for different earthquakes formed
m=5
parallel concave lines. In 1934 Charles Richter constructed a similar
0
diagram of peak ground motion versus distance for Southern California
m=4
-1 and used it to create the first earthquake magnitude scale. Richter
m=2 m=3 defined the local magnitude of an event mL at a given recording station as
-2
0 100 200 300 400
Distance(km)
500 600
mL = log A (R) − log A0 (R), where A is the maximum zero-to-peak
horizontal amplitude measured in mm on a Wood-Anderson seismograph
at epicentral distance R, and A0 (R) is the reference maximum amplitude
for the same distance. The local magnitude then is a relative measure of
the strength of a seismic event and a unit increase in magnitude
corresponds to a 10 fold increase in the amplitude of ground displacement.
Richter listed the reference amplitude A0 [mm] as a function of distance R
[km] in a table that for R < 200 km can be approximated by the log A0 =
0.15 − 1.6 log R. He arbitrarily chose the reference amplitudes so that the
earthquakes he dealt with did not have negative magnitudes. At 100 km
the above equation gives A0 ' 0.001 mm and on Wood-Anderson
seismograph the zero-to-peak amplitude for a magnitude mL 3 event
would measure A(100 km) = 0.001·103 = 1mm or log A[mm] = 0.
Surface wave To cater for earthquakes at larger distances the magnitude scale was
magnitude later extended by the introduction of surface magnitudes. The
surface-wave magnitude was developed by Gutenberg (1945a) and is given
by mS = log (u/T ) + c1 log ∆ + c2 , where u is the maximum amplitude of
Rayleigh waves in micrometers, T is the period, approximately 20
seconds, ∆ is the distance in degrees and c1 and c2 are calibration
constants. Gutenberg originally worked out c1 = 1.656 and c2 = 1.818
which applied for Pasadena and in 1964 the International Association of
Seismology and Physics of the Earth’s Interior adopted c1 = 1.66 and c2 =
3.3 proposed by Vanek et al. (1962). mS is suitable for larger shallow
earthquakes that generate well developed surface waves and with source
duration not much greater than 20 seconds.

Body wave To cater for earthquakes at all depths Gutenberg developed the body wave
magnitude magnitude scale. The body-wave magnitude is given by mb = log (u/T ) +
q(∆, h), where T is the period associated with the maximum body wave
amplitude, measured generally at T = 1 second, and q(∆, h) is the
calibrating function to correct for the epicentral distance ∆, depth h and
site effects. The body wave magnitude is more suitable for smaller
earthquakes of shorter duration.
Moment magnitude The most frequently used moment-magnitude is the Hanks and
Kanamori relation, which for seismic potency gives mHK = (2/3)log P +
0.92. The mHK is consistent with the Gutenberg and Richter empirical
relation between seismic energy E and the mS for intermediate and
larger earthquakes, log E = 1.5mS + 4.8, assuming a constant apparent
stress σA = E/P = 1.5 MPa, which implies a slope of 1.0 on the log E vs
log P plot. For small earthquakes magnitude scales m ∼ log P as opposed
to m ∼ 2/3 log P for larger ones (Kanamori and Anderson, 1975). For a
small earthquakes, m < 3.5, recorded by 4.5Hz sensors located in a deep
borehole in California Ben-Zion and Zhu (2002) reported m = log P + 0.72,
which is similar to m = log P + 0.32 derived by Gibowicz (1975).
Magnitude scales for Seismic events occurring in mines are relatively small and the bulk of
mines them are not recorded by the regional or national seismological networks
that routinely estimate the local magnitude mL . However, if there is a
sufficient overlap between the mine and the national network one can
calibrate mL = c1 log E + c2 log P + c3 , to convert potencies and energies
observed by the mine network to the mL scale. Here, poor recovery of
seismic potency at low frequencies is partly compensated by better
recovery of energy at higher frequencies. Mendecki (1993) and van
Aswegen and Butler (1993) analyzed high dynamic range digital
waveforms of thousands of events in the range, −0.5 ≤ m ≤ 3.5, recorded
underground in South African gold mines. In terms of potency they
reported log E = 1.5log P + 5.22, which taking into account log E = 1.5m +
4.8 gives m = log P + 0.28. If the radiated seismic energy can be estimated
reliably then log E is the most appropriate measure of the strength of a
seismic source and it should be used for seismic hazard assessment in
mines. The second best option for hard rock mines is log P .
3 Quantification of Seismicity
Term Description
Four basic If seismicity is considered as a group of seismic events confined to a given

parameters of volume of rock ∆V and time ∆t = tn − t1 , where tn is the time of the n-th
seismicity event and t1 is the time of the first event then, in addition to statistical
moments, one can define a number of parameters based on the following
quantities: mean time between events, t̄, meanP distance between
consecutive
P events, X̄, cumulative potency, P , and cumulative energy,
E.
Seismic strain and The average seismic strain j , produced by the n events that have
strain rate occurred within the volume ∆V over time P ∆t is proportional to the sum of
their
P potencies (Brune, 1968; ?), s = P /(2∆V ), and the strain rate ˙s =
P /(2∆V ∆t).

Seismic stress and From seismic observations we can only determine that portion of the
stiffness stresses which is associated with seismic radiation, E = σs ˙s ∆t∆V (?).
The
P average
P seismic stress, σs [Pa], then can be defined as σs =
2 E/ P . The ratio of seismic stress to seismic strain can then be
P P 2
taken as the seismic stiffness modulus Ks = 4∆V E/( P ) [Pa].
Seismic stiffness measures the rock mass ability to resist deformation
with increasing stress.
Seismic viscosity and The rock mass resistance to seismic deformation can also be measured by
relaxation time seismic viscosity, ηs [Pa·s], defined as the ratio of seismic P
stress P
to seismic
2
strain rate (Kostrov and Das, 1988), ηs = σs /˙s = 4∆V ∆t E/( P ) .
Seismic relaxation time then is τs = ηs /µ, [s].
Seismic Deborah Seismic Deborah number is defined as, Des =τs /tf , where tf is the flow
number time or the expected life span of a structure. Deborah number, like the
relaxation time, may be interpreted as the ratio of elastic to viscous
forces, with De going to infinity for a perfectly elastic medium. De can be
used to quantitatively delineate soft or hard (low or high apparent stress)
clusters of seismic activity.
Diffusivity The diffusivity is measured in m2 /s and is interpreted in terms of a

characteristic distance of the process which varies only with the square
root of time. The average diffusivity of seismic deformation can then be
2
defined as Ds = X̄ /τs , where X̄ here is a measure of the correlation
range of seismic activity, e.g. the mean distance between consecutive
sources of interacting seismic events and τs is the relaxation time. One
2
can also define a statistical diffusivity as ds = X̄s /t̄, where X̄s may be
Pn
taken inclusive of source sizes, X̄s = X̄ + j=1 lj /2, and t̄ here is the
mean time between sources of interacting events, ∆t/(n − 1), (Mendecki,
1997). The velocity of diffusion then is vds = X̄/t̄. The diffusivity can be
decomposed into x, y, and z components and use to quantify the
magnitude, direction and velocity of migration of microseismic activity.
Seismic Schmidt The ratio of kinematic viscosity νs = ηs /ρ, to diffusivity is called the
number Schmidt number. Seismic Schmidt number
h is defined as the ratio νs /ds
P 2 P 2 i
which gives Scs = [4∆V ∆t (t̄) E]/ ρ X̄ ( P ) (Mendecki, 1997).
Seismic Schmidt number measures the degree of complexity in space and
time of seismic deformation. The lower the Schmidt number the more
complex and less stable the deformation. Note that it encompasses
P Pall
four independent parameters describing seismicity: t̄, X̄, P and E.
Volume mined and If a volume of rock Vm is mined out at time t1 and if the altered stress and
relative strain strain field can readjust to an equilibrium state through seismic
movements only, the sum of seismic potency released within a given
period of time
P would be proportional to the excavation closure and in the
long term P = Vm (McGarr, 1976a). The relative strain level at the
time t in a given volume of rock ∆V surrounding the excavation can be
calculated from the difference between
P Vm and the cumulative potency
released to date, r (t) = (Vm − P )/∆V (McGarr, 1976b).

Seismic potency and The bulk of seismic activity in mines starts with rock extraction,
volume mined 4
increases with the extraction ratio of the ore body and with depth of
4×10
A - Red
B - Blue
mining and tails off with the cessation of mining. While the overall
4
3×10
C - Green
stiffness of the rock mass is being maintained the seismic response to
Potency [m ]
3
4
2×10
mining, as measured by the release of seismic energy E or seismic
potency, P , is expected to be limited and proportional to the volume
4
1×10
mined, Vm . The volume mined is measured by the volume in m3 of solid
5 5 5 5
rock extracted in situ. The simplest and very useful plot is the cumulative
1×10 2×10 3×10 4×10
3
Volume Mined [m ] potency versus cumulative volume mined, where the rate of potency
release underlines the seismic hazard potential. The first figure shows
that the hazard potential at mine A is the highest, then at mine B and
then C. As mining progresses the stiffness, i.e. the ability of the rock mass
to resist deformation in response to an applied load, is being degraded
and the rate of potency release per unit volume of rock extraction may
increase signifying an increase in seismic hazard (second figure).
´ ´
Stability of Stability of deformation is defined by ∆V σ̇ in
˙ dV + V σ̇ ˙e dV < 0, which
deformation means that for unstable deformation the inner product of the next
increment of stress with the next increment of strain should be negative.
For the elastic strain increments, dσde is always positive therefore the
deformation will be unstable only when the inelastic term balances the
elastic term, so that there is a net strain softening. Near the end of the
hardening regime, however, almost all further strain increments are
inelastic. The relative strain softening occurs when material in a volume
hardens at a lower rate than the adjacent body of rock. The critical states
Cumulative - apparent of stability of a three dimensional body can generally occur only if the
volume compression stress is of the same order of magnitude as the shear
Time plot - energy index modulus of the material. As stress and strain are tensors, there are many
Arrows - large events different components that may be influential in causing the instability.
The necessary condition for instability of a system (e.g., tunnel, stope,
fault, dyke) is that ∆V needs to reach a critical size. A proxy for the ∆V
becoming critical may be an increase in the rate or the acceleration of
seismic deformation and/or a drop in seismically inferred stress in
response to mining.
Time and space plots Time plots and spatial 2D contour or 3D iso-surfaces plots are
representations of data selected from a given volume of rock, ∆V , over a
given period of time, ∆t. The time plots average over the selected space
and the space plots average over the selected time. Both ∆V and ∆t are
strong filters that may influence the resulting plots qualitatively. The
tendency to increase the space and time domain in order to accumulate
more data and achieve the required resolution runs a risk of averaging
out certain patterns with characteristic length less than ∆V and
characteristic time less than ∆t. To smooth the outcome time plots may
employ moving average filters of fixed duration over the data. When a
larger event enters this time window it creates an abrupt jump in the
time series. This jump should be considered real since the event occurred
suddenly and its impact on the rock mass is be significant. The same
event however creates another jump in the time series when it leaves the
sliding time window. For stress and strain related parameters this jump
is artificial since the influence of a seismic event on rock mass does not
end abruptly and therefore should be tapered.

Cumulative plots Cumulative plots of seismic parameters whether in the volume mined or
time domain are useful in assessing the rate of seismic rock mass
response to mining. Cumulative, as oppose to time plots, don’t require
moving average filters but for some seismic parameters larger events
produce large jumps reducing the resolution into smaller events and
distorting the scale. The largest jumps are produced by seismic energy,
then by potency and the smoothest curves are produced by accumulating
apparent volume. If the objective is to monitor the rate of change of
seismic release in response to mining one should√ be careful in
accumulating scaled seismic displacement, u = c 3 P , since the power of
the cube root makes it too similar to the cumulative number of events,
ignoring the nature ofP thePseismicPevents. The example on the left show
that on the bases of P, E or VA one would correctly conclude that
at one stage the rate of seismic response to production increased and,
since production
P in this case was steady, seismic hazard increased. The
plot of u would suggest exactly the opposite.
4 Size and Time Distribution Hazard
Term Description
Uncertainty and risk Uncertainty is the existence of more than one possibility and it is
measured by a set of probabilities assigned to a set of possibilities. Risk is
a state of uncertainty where some of the possibilities involve a loss, and is
measured by assigning losses to some possible outcomes. Therefore, one
may have uncertainty without risk but not risk without uncertainty. The
notion that events are uncertain is both complicated and uncomfortable,
therefore we tend to underestimate uncertainty and consequently
underestimate risk.
Seismic risk and Ground motion hazard is defined as the probability that a potentially
seismic hazard damaging ground motion will occur at site X within a given period of
time, ∆T , or while extracting a given volume of rock ∆Vm , in the future,
Pr [≥ vd (X) , ∆T or ∆Vm ]. Size distribution hazard is the probability that
a potentially damaging seismic event ≥ m will occur inside a given
volume of rock ∆V within a given period of time, ∆T , or while extracting
a given volume of rock ∆Vm , in the future, Pr [≥ m (∆V ) , ∆T or ∆Vm ].
Seismic risk is a product of that probability and the potential liability.
Mean inter-event The mean time between events above a certain size measured over the
time and volume period of time ∆t is t̄ (≥ P ) = ∆t/N (≥ P ), where N (≥ P ) is the number of
mined events not smaller than P . Seismic activity rate is 1/t̄ (≥ P ). The mean
volume mined between events above certain size measured over the
volume mined Vm is V̄ (≥ P ) = Vm /N (≥ P ). The N (≥ P ) per unit of
volume of rock extraction is 1/V̄ (≥ P ).
Coefficient of The time distribution of seismic activity can either be random,

variation quasi-periodic or clustered. A simple way to test for the type behaviour is
to calculate the coefficient of variation, Cv = sd (t)/t̄, where sd (t) is the
standard deviation of the inter event times in a sample of n events and t̄
= ∆t/(n − 1) is the mean time between events. The higher the coefficient
of variation the more variable, or clustered, is the process. If Cv << 1 the
process is close to periodic oscillations, if 0 < Cv < 1 the process is
quasi-periodic, the random Poissonian process has Cv = 1 and clustering
Cv > 1.

Power law The power law is an example of a fat or heavy tail distribution that for
Power-law
Exponential
large arguments, say a size P , falls off more slowly than an exponential
Gaussian
and much more slowly than a Gaussian (thin tail). The power law also
has the property of scale invariance, i.e the relative change of
Pdf
N (≥ kP )/N (≥ P ) = k −β is independent of P , therefore it lacks

characteristic scale and puts no prior limit on the maximum event size. In
0
case of seismicity such a scaling can only exist within certain range of
1.4 1.6 1.8 2 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.8
sizes, then either the exponent of the distribution or the nature of the
distribution needs to change to secure a finite energy release.
The upper truncated (UT) power law is N (≥ P ) = α P −β − Pmax −β

Upper truncated and , where
open ended power N (≥ P ) is the number of events not smaller than P . Parameter α
law5 measures the level of seismic activity and β is the exponent. Pmax is the
10
104
maximum observed or expected event size. The maximum event size is
103 limited by Pmax and Pr (≥ Pmax ) = 0. The case Pmax → ∞ gives
NH³PL
UT OE
102 Α 3457 2818 N (≥ P ) = αP −β , which is an open-ended (OE) relation with no upper
101 Β 0.74 0.81
Pmaxo 501.2 limit on maximum event size. Taking the logarithm gives log N (≥ P ) =
100
Pmax1 log α − βlog P , which is the well known Gutenberg and Richter
10-1 -2
10 10-1 100 101 102 103 104 105 log N (≥ m) = a − bm, where a = log α, b = β and magnitude m = log P .
Potency, P
The OE relation has no upper limit on the event size, but the one largest
−β
event – Pmax1 , is derived from αPmax1 = 1, that gives Pmax1 = α1/β or
log Pmax1 = (log α)/β. The probability of having an event greater or equal
β
to Pmax1 is finite, Pr (≥ Pmax1 ) = Pmin /α.
Potency release For power law distribution the potency release

by eventswithin the
1−β
potency range P1 and P2 is P (P1 , P2 ) = αβ P2 − P11−β /(1 − β) which
is valid for β 6= 1 . For β = 1: P (P1 , P2 ) = α ln (P2 /P1 ), for β < 1: P (0, P2 )
= αβP21−β /(1 − β) and for β > 1: P (P1 , ∞) = −αβP11−β /(1 − β). The
equations for potency release for both UT and OE relations are similar,
with the exception that in UT case the P2 can only go as far as Pmax .
Size distribution and In practice the size distribution analysis is carried out in the magnitude
log E vs log P or in the potency (moment) domain. However, the most appropriate
measure of the strength of a seismic source is the radiated seismic energy,
E, and, if estimated reliably, it should be the base for size distribution
hazard estimation. If both, seismic potencies and energies are available
for the same data set we can write N (≥ P ) = N (≥ E) which gives log E =
(βP /βE )log P + (1/βE )log (αE /αP ), where subscripts P and E stand for
potency and energy respectively (Mendecki, 2013a). This equation
expresses the scaling relation log E = d log P + c via parameters of the
potency frequency and the energy frequency distributions, where d =
1/β
βP /βE and c = log (αE /αP ) E . The apparent stress σA = E/P =
10c P d−1 , and for d = 1.0, or βP = βE , it is constant and independent of
1/β
potency σA = 10c , or σA = (αE /αP ) E .
Information entropy The information entropy of the probability

´∞ density function of potency,
and β f (P ), can be written as H [f (P )] = 0 f (P )log[1/f (P )]dP . The
Information entropy and probability
1.0 log (1/f (P )) is the information content of event P with probability f (P )
0.8 and, if f (P ) is high then knowledge that event P occurred gives very
0.6 little information, since it had a high probability of occurrence to start
H
0.4 with. Events with either very high or very low probabilities do not
0.2 contribute significantly to the information entropy. H reaches its
0.0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
maximum value if all states are equally probable and it decreases as the
Probability
uniformity of the probability distribution is being eroded. H measures the
amount of uncertainty in a given distribution, which is a measure of
unpredictability. H increases with decreasing β (Mendecki, 2012).

Size distribution and Small seismic events contribute very little to the total energy and potency
stress transfer release and to the cumulative co-seismic deformation, but they can make
an important contribution to the spatial and temporal stress transfer
within the seismically active rock mass (Hanks, 1992). The major part of
the stress transfer due to inelastic deformation associated with seismic
activity takes place within the source volume, V = P /∆. Since the
co-seismic stress drop ∆σ, and therefore strain change, ∆ = ∆σ/µ,
associated with larger events is remarkably similar to that of smaller
events, the overall stress transfer due to small events may be equal to or
even dominate that of large events. The center potency, P0.5 , that splits
the potency release P (Pmin , Pmax ), and for a constant ∆ the cumulative
source volume, into two equal parts with similar contribution to stress
h 1
i 1−β
1−β 1−β
transfer is: P0.5 = 0.5 Pmax + Pmin for β 6= 1. For β = 1, P0.5 =
√ 1/(1−β)
Pmin · Pmax , for β < 1, P0.5 = 0.5 Pmax , and for β > 1, P0.5 =
0.51/(1−β) Pmin .
β or the b-value For a data set that obeys the power law size distribution the exponent β is
a statistical measure of the ratio of small to large events, and it decreases
as the portion of the intermediate and large events increases. In general,
the exponent β is positively correlated with the heterogeneity of the rock
mass and with its stiffness and negatively with stress. Stiffness measures
the rigidity of a system, i.e. its ability to resist deformation in response to
an applied load. It scales positively with the ratio of the applied stress to
the induced strain. Some authors observed a higher β in stiffer systems.
These observations do not contradict reports on decreasing β with
increasing stress during the strain hardening regime, since there is a
general loss of stiffness with increasing stress. However, in a strain
softening regime, where the strength is decreasing with increasing strain,
stress is lower but lower β was observed.
Size distribution In general, seismic hazard should scale positively with α, and with
parameters and log Pmax1 = (log α)/β, and negatively with β and the recurrence times. In
seismic hazard practice, however, they do not measure seismic hazard consistently and
reliably. More appropriate are parameters based on volume mined, e.g. an
average inter event volume mined to generate an event above certain
size: V̄m (≥ P ) = Vm /N (≥ P ). When the largest observed events are as
predicted by the log Pmax1 in the OE relation, one can not infer that this is
the largest possible event. The fact that the data follows the OE power
law indicates the potential for even larger events. Only when the largest
observed events are significantly smaller than that predicted by the OE
relation can one infer that the size distribution hazard may be contained
or controlled.
The largest possible The size of the largest possible event induced by mining scales
event size approximately with the characteristic size of the mine, L, and with the
extent of the major geological structures influenced by mining. The
upper-bound relation between the maximum magnitude and the linear
size of the mine is mmax = 2.0log L − 2.0 (McGarr et al., 2002). For L =
1500 m there is a potential for moment-magnitude mHK =4.3. For L =
2,500 m the maximum mHK =4.8. However, there are many mines with
characteristic dimension L ≥ 1,500 m that did not generate seismic
events of that size.

Record breaking In a sequence {Pj } for j = 1,2,.., of real independent and identical
events distributed (iid) variables in a time series a record high occurs at r if Pr =
maxj≤r {Pj }. P1 is always a record. The probability that a record high, or
low occurs
Pnat j is 1/j. The expected mean number of records high (or low),
hNrb i is j=1 (1/j), which for large n can be approximated by hNrb (n)i ≈
ln (n) + 0.577215. The record sequence is distinctly non-stationary: with
increasing time, i.e., it becomes exponentially harder to beat the current
record.
The next record The

k-th record for
the
h upper truncated power
i law is given by Prb(k) =
4.5
1−β 1−β −β −β
4 β Pmax − Pr(k−1) / (1 − β) Pr(k−1) − Pmax , where where Pr(k−1) is the
3.5 estimated upper limit
1−β
potency of the previous record breaking event and the Pmax is given by
logP
3 expected next record

2.5 log Pmax = log Pmaxo + 4 log Pmax , and the maximum expected jump in
2
1.5
potency 4 log Pmax can be estimated as a truncation point of the
1
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
distribution of the previous jumps 4 log Pmax = 2 max (∆ log Pmaxo ) −
Pn−1
0.63 j=0 max (∆ log Pmaxo−j ) /ej , (Cooke, 1979) or simply by 4 log Pmax
3
Vm [1000 m ]
The step line - old records = 2∆ log Pmaxo − ∆ log Pmaxo−1 , where subscripts maxo and maxo−1 stand
Grey band - the next for the maximum and the second maximum observed to date respectively
expected record (Mendecki, 2012).
Poisson process The Poisson process results in a random series of events occurring in time
at a mean rate of λ = 1/τ , where τ is a mean time between events. The
process is characterised by independence, stationarity and orderliness.
Independence means that the occurrence of a given event is not influenced
by the occurrence of any other event in the group - they are not correlated.
Stationarity means that the rate λ remains constant for the entire time
span. It does not mean that all intervals are equally likely. Orderliness
precludes the possibility of multiple events at a single point in time or the
possibility of an infinite number of events in a finite interval of time.
Seismic hazard, For a Poisson process of n events with the activity rate per volume mined
Poisson λm = n/Vm and the probability density function f (n) =
1.0 n
Vm (λm Vm ) exp (−λm Vm )/n!, the probability that a maximum size event
PrHrP, over DT=10 daysL
C A B
0.8
will exceed potency P while extracting the additional volume V∆m can be
0.6
given by Pr (≥ P, V∆m )=1 − exp [−λm V∆m Pr (≥ P )]. Since Pr (≥ P ) =
0.4 N (≥ P )/n and V̄ (≥ P ) = Vm /N (≥ P ) it gives the ratio V̄m (≥ P )/V∆m =
0.2 −1/ln [1 − Pr (≥ P, V∆m )]. If Pr (≥ P, V∆m ) = 0.05 we can mine on average
0.0
1 5 10 50 100 5001000 19.5 times V∆m to generate seismic
h event ≥ P . For thei UT power law it
Potency, P
gives Pr (≥ P, V∆m ) = 1 − exp −V∆m Vαm P −β − Pmax −β

1.0 , which shows that
PrHrP, over DVm=1000 m3
0.8 C B A if β is constant and α is proportional to Vm then seismic hazard can be

0.6 controlled by the rate of mining. If Vm is not available one can substitute
0.4 Vm = ∆t (time of observation) and ∆Vm = ∆T , in the above equations to
0.2 get the estimate the probability that a maximum size event will exceed
0.0
1 5 10 50 100 5001000
potency P in time ∆T into the future. Figure top left show seismic hazard
Potency, P for three mines A, B and C in the time domain for ∆T = 10 days,
assuming their current rate of mining. Seismic hazard at mine C is
clearly the lowest, although converging with mine B for large potency
events. Note the crossover point between mines A and B below which
seismic hazard for data set B is higher. Figure bottom left show seismic
hazard potential, i.e, assuming all three mines extract the same volume
of rock ∆Vm = 1000 m3 , otherwise for the same set of parameters. Clearly
hazard potential at mine A is the highest of all three mines, then at mine
B, but again slowly converging with mine C for large potency events.

Exponential The Poisson distribution is related to the exponential distribution: if the

distribution of time number of events occurring in a fixed period of time is Poisson distributed
between events then the times between consecutive events, tj − tj−1 , for j = 2, 3,..., n-1,
follows an exponential distribution. Then the probability of having the
next event at time ∆t after the previous one is Pr(∆t) = (1/τ )exp (−∆t/τ ).
Since the distribution decays monotonically with time the large events
and long intervals are less frequent than small events and short
intervals, consequently, events come in batches or clusters in time.
Sudden loading: For a large number of systems, including aftershocks of large seismic
Omori law events and seismic rock mass response to production blasts, the
Omori relaxation
300 k = 1000 excitations decays slower than exponentially at longer times. The rate of
Number of eventshour
c = 0.015
250
- p = 0.75 seismic activity induced by such a loading is expected to decrease with
200 - p = 1.00 p
- p = 1.25 time asymptotically as dN/dt = k/(t + c) , where k, c and p are
150
100 parameters. Integrating from t1 to th2 gives the number of events i in this
−1 1−p 1−p
50
time interval N (t1 , t2 ) = k(1 − p) (t2 + c) − (t1 + c) for p 6= 1 and
0
0 10 20 30 40
Time after sudden loading, @hoursD N (t1 , t2 ) = kln [(t2 + c) / (t1 + c)] for p = 1. Integrating from 0 to ∞ gives
the total number of events Nt = kc1−p /(p − 1) for p > 1 and ∞ for p ≤ 1.
Parameter k depends on the magnitude of the main shock and for a
constant c and p is proportional to the total number of events. The
parameter c is the offset time that accounts for the incompleteness of the
data set or, for the excitation phase and associated progressive build-up in
activity immediately after loading. It also prevents the infinite rate of
events at t = 0. The lower the p-value the slower the relaxation, which is
characteristic of stiffer systems; the opposite would apply to softer
systems. As a consequence the p-value would be expected to correlate
negatively with the Gutenberg-Richter b-value, e.g. (Wang, 1994).
5 Ground Motion Hazard
Term Description
GM: u, v, a, t The displacement u of the particles of ground u(x, t) at distance x at time

1.0
t from a source of an expanding spherical harmonic wave in an isotropic
Displacement, mm
0.5 elastic medium is u(x, t) = (u0 /x)sin (ωt − x), where u0 is the
0.0 displacement, ω = 2πf is the angular frequency and vπ is the wave
-0.5 velocity. The ground velocity at x then is v = ∂u/∂t = (u0 ω/x)cos (ωt − x)
-1.0 and acceleration a = ∂v/∂t =− u0 ω 2 /x sin (ωt − x). The ground velocity v
0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10
Time, s is shifted in phase by π/2 in respect to u and by π in respect to a. For the
2
0.10 harmonic motion a/v = v/u = 2πf , or a = 2πf v = (2πf ) u. Therefore,
Velocity @msD
0.05 ground displacement of 1 mm at frequency of 20 Hz would result in

0.00
-0.05
ground velocity of 0.125 m/s and acceleration of 15.8 m/s2 . These results
-0.10 are accurate for the harmonic pulse, otherwise they are only
0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10 approximations. Transient strain at point x is t (x, t) = ∂u(x, t)/∂x =
Time, s
−ωu0 /(xvπ )cos (ωt − x), and it shows that the particle velocity and the
Acceleration @ms2D
15
10 dynamic strain in a harmonic motion are related by d = v/vπ . Thus, the
5 observed peak particle velocity of 10 mm/s associated with the wave
0
-5 propagating in the rock mass at 3300 m/s would cause 3·10−6 strains,
-10 which is close to the upper limit for the elastic behaviour of rock. Larger
-15
0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10 ground velocities in this medium would result in inelastic deformation.
Time, s

Peak ground Ground motion characteristics include peak ground acceleration, P GA,
characteristics velocity, P GV , and displacement, P GD. The P GA is most convenient for
structural engineers, since the maximum force experienced by a rigid
structure of mass m is Fmax = m·P GA. However, the P GA is a poor
parameter for evaluating potential for damage. For example, a large P GA
associated with a high frequency pulse may be absorbed by the inertia of
the structure with little deformation, since P GD ∝ P GA/f 2 , where f is
frequency. On the other hand, a more moderate acceleration associated
with a long duration pulse of low frequency may result in a significant
deformation of structures. The P GV , which is a half of the slip velocity, is
less sensitive to the higher frequencies than P GA, can be measured
directly and reliably and provides a better indication of damage potential.
Near-source ground The near-source ground velocity is equal to half of the slip velocity – the
motion velocity of one side of the source with respect to the other. The ground
velocity at source is controlled by the effective stress, σef f , which, in turn,
is limited by the strength of the rock mass. If the applied effective stress
σef f available to accelerate the two sides of the infinite source is released
instantly then a = F/m = σef f /(ρvS ∆t), and velocity, v = σef f /(ρvS ) or v
= σef f vS /µ. According to the above equations: (1) Rock strength does not
limit peak acceleration, for ∆t (at high frequencies, 1/∆t) there is
practically no limit on peak ground acceleration. (2) The ground velocity
will always be much smaller than the rupture velocity because the
effective stress is much smaller than the shear modulus. (3) Rock
strength limits ground velocity, which does not depend on frequency. (4)
Ground velocity at source does not depend on magnitude of the event.
For a finite source of size 2r with instantaneous stress release the effects
of the edges of the crack will abate the ground velocity with time. For a
simple taper exp (vS t/r) given by Brune (1970), integration over process
3.0
time, r/vS , gives the average ground velocity, hvi = 0.63σef f /(ρvS ),
Near-source v, @msD
Σeff = 60 MPa
2.5 vS = 3700 ms
2.0 Ρ = 2700 kgm3 (Kanamori, 1972). The effective stress cannot be measured directly, the
1.5 best proxy is to assume that σef f is equal to the bulk shear strength of the
1.0
rock within the volume of interest, which averages for most hard rocks
0.5
0.0 between 20 and 40 MPa. An intact rock may be considerably stronger.
2 4 6 8 10
S-wave velocityRupture velocity The near source ground velocity for a finite bilateral source and finite
rupture velocity is hvi = σef f / [ρvS (1 + vS /vr )], (Burridge, 1969).
Duration of strong The degradation of stiffness and strength of rock are sensitive not only to
ground motion the amplitude of ground motion but also to its duration and associated
MaxAmp = 8.21E1 m/s^2 Dist = 93 m
number of load or stress reversals above the elastic regime. The
definitions of duration can be classified into three different types.
XYZ The bracketed duration measures the duration of the ground motion from
the first to the last occurrence of amplitude exceeding specified threshold.
The significant duration defines ground motion duration as the length of
ACCEL
P S
the time interval between the accumulations of two specified levels of
ground motion energy at the site.
The uniform duration is defined as the sum of the time intervals during
which the amplitude exceeds a threshold value. A functional way to
display it is to construct a histogram and the cumulative graph of time
the amplitude of ground motion spent above certain level. Graphs shows
waveforms with P GA = 82.1 m/s2 produced by event with log E = 6.5
recorded 90 meters from the source and the uniform duration plot. The
P GA ≥ 10 m/s2 lasted for 0.05 seconds and P GA ≥ 1 m/s2 lasted for 0.09
seconds.

t90 , Arias intensity, The amount of time in which the central 90% of the integral of the
CAV and CAD squared velocity or acceleration takes place is called t90 (Trifunac and
MaxAmp = 8.21E1 m/s^2 95% Dist = 93 m
Brady, 1975). As distance increases the bracketed and the uniform
X
durations tend to go to zero but, as energy become dispersed with
distance, the t90 tend to increase. It is useful then to calculate the central
90% of energy, E90 and power, P90 . ´t 2
Y
Arias (1970) defined the intensity parameter Ia = π/(2g) 0 d [a (t)] dt,
where Ia is in m/s, a(t) is the acceleration time history in units of
Z
GMC: XYZ
acceleration of gravity g and td is the duration of ground motion.
ACCEL
P S
5%
T90 = 0.049 s
Ia = 3.72E4 m/s
CAV = 9.11E3 m/s
Cumulative Absolute Velocity is defined as the ´ t integral of the absolute
value of an acceleration time series, CAV = 0 d |a (t) |dt, and has units of
velocity.
Cumulative Absolute Displacement is defined as´ the integral of the
t
absolute value of a velocity time series, CAD = 0 d |v (t) |dt, and has units
of displacement.
Near-source Near-source ground motions can be amplified by rupture forward
directivity directivity, which occurs when the rupture direction and slip direction are
aligned and move toward the site. When source ruptures toward the site
at speed close to shear wave velocity, most of the radiated energy arrives
there in a short time interval and the cumulation of these pulses results
in a single large low frequency pulse observed at the beginning of the
seismogram. It is a narrow band pulse whose period increases with
seismic potency of an event. Due to the radiation pattern of shear
dislocation this pulse is observed mostly in the direction perpendicular to
the rupture plane. In case where rupture propagates away from the site,
the arrival of seismic waves is distributed in time. This condition,
referred to as backward directivity, is characterized by ground motions
with relatively long duration and lower amplitude. Neutral directivity
occurs for sites located off to the side of the rupture area where rupture is
neither predominantly toward nor away from the site (Archuleta and
Hartzell, 1981; Somerville et al., 1997).
Fling step Fling step is a result of a static ground displacement and is generally
characterized by a unidirectional velocity pulse and a monotonic step in
the displacement time history. Fling step displacements occur in the
direction of slip, and therefore are not strongly coupled with the rupture
directivity pulse. In strike-slip source, the directivity pulse occurs on the
strike-normal component while the fling step occurs on the strike parallel
component. In dip-slip source, both the fling step and the directivity pulse
occur on the strike-normal component.
Shock waves and At the edges of the moving source the rate of loading exceeds the rate at
super-shear rupture which energy can be removed by elastic waves and the system is no longer
linear. To remove this excess energy the large strains needs to travel
faster than small ones - the particle velocity exceeds the shock wave
velocity (Knopoff and Chen, 2000). This is also what happens during
super-shear rupture when the crack tip is moving faster than the S-wave
velocity. At sub-shear rupture speeds, vr < vS , coherent high frequency
information about the source process rapidly attenuates with distance
from the source. A super-shear has little geometrical attenuation, i.e. it
produces large damaging effects at larger distances on both directions,
parallel and normal to the source plane. Such effect is enhanced for
homogeneous rock because it preserves the wave front sharpness.

Ejection velocity This is the velocity of rock fragments ejected during the process of
wall-rock failure. Assuming buckling as a possible mechanism of side wall
1/2
failure McGarr, 1997 estimated the velocity v = S 6 + 1 − ν 2 / (2ρY ) ,
where S here is the uniaxial compressive stress at failure, ν the Poisson
ratio and Y the Young modulus. For hard rocks the ejection velocities
could be well in excess of 10 m/s. Such velocities can exert a considerable
force, F = mv/∆t, on a stiff support system (short deformation time ∆t) if:
(1) the volume of ejected rock, m, is substantial and (2) if the ejection
velocity is independent of m. In the case of a face burst driven by sudden
loading where rock is shattered to small pieces the velocity of ejection
may be a decreasing function of m.
Secondary sources Source(s) triggered by the primary source due to either static stress
change caused by the primary source or by the dynamic stress changes
from passing seismic waves.
Spall fracture Spall fractures are an example of the secondary sources that occur when a
high intensity transient stress wave from the primary source reflects from
+
incident wave
compression a free surface. It is a result of interference near a free surface between
the portion of an oncoming incident compression wave which has not yet
been reflected and the portion which has been reflected and transformed
refleted wave
tension into a tensile wave. Usually the amount of tension increases as the
reflected wave moves back inward from the surface. The transient tensile
incident wave stress resulting from the superposition is at the quarter wavelength
tension depth and twice the maximum stress in the incident pulse. If the medium
is not capable of withstanding these induced tensile stresses it will break
creating a secondary source or sources of seismic radiation at that time
superposition and depth. The energy from the secondary sources arrives at the surface
tension late in the strong motion. They can be recognised by high frequency
content in waveforms recorded by station(s) close to the spall but far from
the the primary source. Spalling occurs in rocks, soils, liquids and other
cohesionless materials.
Site effect -4
Site effect is a modification of ground motion in the time and/or frequency
10
10 Floor
Hole
-5
domain caused by local site conditions. In most cases the ground motions
Ground velocity [m]
Ratio
10
are amplified at certain frequencies in fractured rock relative to the
Spectral Ratio
-6
10
1
-7
motion in solid rock. Seismic systems in mines are designed to locate
10
0,1 -8
events and to estimate their source parameters. For this reason sensors
10
are installed at least 6 to 10 meters in boreholes to avoid the very site
-9
10
1 10 100
Frequency [Hz]
1000 effects that amplify ground motion at the skin of excavations. The P GV
prediction equations derived from such measurements will certainly
Ratio
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.25 2 5 ∞ underestimate seismic load and need to be corrected. Waveforms in a
10000
Floor
Hole
borehole and on the floor of the haulage will record different ground
Ratio
1000
velocities at different frequencies. The resulting spectral ratio may show
Counts
site amplification well over 3 times at some frequencies. Site

100
amplification can also be quantified by taking P GV from continuous
10
records every ∆t, say 1 second, and calculating the ratio between the
1
0 0.5 1
Peak ground velocity [µm/s] records at the skin of excavation and in the borehole. While here
frequency is disregarded, the method benefits greatly from the huge
amount of measurements and from its simplicity, therefore, it can be
implemented on-line to monitor changes in site effect as mining develops.

Ground motion A simple prediction equation for peak ground velocity, P GV , caused by an
prediction equation event of potency P at short and intermediate distance R is P GV =
cR
(GMPE) cP cP / R + cl · P 1/3 , where R should preferably be measured
A orthogonal to the rupture area, cP is the size dependence parameters, cR
1 B
is the geometrical attenuation parameter and c is a free constant (Esteva,
PGV, @msD
C
0.1
c A B C 1970; Campbell, 1981). The term cl P 1/3 is introduced to modulate ground
151.4 104.7 13.2
0.01
cP
cl
0.65
9.88
0.63
9.76
0.54
8.68
motion at small distances, where geometric attenuation is small, and to
cR
logP
1.93
2.0
1.89
2.0
1.63
2.0
saturate them at source, and it can be set as a fraction of the source size,
0.001
1 10 100 1000 say (0.1 to 0.3)l. The size of the circular source can be estimated from the
Distance, R @mD
1/3
classical Eshelby solution, l = (3.5P/∆) , and for the strain change at
the source ∆ = 10−4 this gives a range for cl ' 3 to 10. From the above
equation we see that at R = 0 the P GV ∼ P cP −cR /3 , and for cP = cR /3 the
ground motion at source are independent of event size, P GV = c/ccl R . For
cP > cR /3 it gives larger P GV ’s at source for events with larger potencies.
In case cP < cR /3 it predicts that lower potencies generate higher P GV ’s
at source than larger potencies. For cR = 1.0 with no attenuation and cl =
0 the P GV = cP cP /R.
Volume of ground The volume of rock subjected to ground motion ≥ v due to a single event
i3
motion
h
1/cR cP /cR
109 with potency P is VGM (≥ v, P ) = (3π/3) vc P − cl P 1/3 . To
logHP1L=1.0 logHP2L=3.4 HAL
logHP2L=2.7 HBL compare seismic hazard in mines with different size distributions and
VgmH³vL10 days
108
logHP2L=2.6 HCL
different P GV prediction equations one can integrate both into one
107 A
B parameter (Mendecki, 2013a). The cumulative volume of ground motion
6
10
C due to all events in the potency range from P1 to P2 is then VGM (≥ v) =
´P ´P
105 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 N (P1 , P2 ) P21 VGM (≥ v, P ) f (P )dP / P12 f (P )dP .
v @msD
Deterministic hazard, The empirical ground motion prediction equations are based on historical
kinematic modelling data that may be deficient in strong ground motion caused by large events
at close distances. They may also exclude certain peculiarities of wave
propagation like forward directivity and site effects. To assess damage
potential to critical underground or surface structures it is therefore
useful to simulate ground motion caused by the largest events expected
for a given configuration of mine openings and various scenarios of slip
propagation. The likely locations and sizes of these events may be
inferred from past seismic activity and/or it can be determined by
numerical stress modelling. Modelling of ground motions in an elastic
medium is governed by the equations of motion and by the stress-strain
relations. There is an analytical solution for a homogeneous medium but
to model a rock mass subjected to mining with caves, stopes, different
material properties and free surfaces one needs to employ numerical
Velocity components just ahead of the stope
2 modelling. Here the rupture process at a given point is entirely specified
1
Vx
Vy
Vz by the spatial and temporal distribution of the displacement, the rise time
0 and by the rupture velocity. The extended seismic sources are modelled as
Velocity [m/s]
-1 a set of point sources by applying time dependent body forces into the
-2 stress strain relation. The seismic potency of the finite source is the sum
-3 of the potencies of the sub-sources with similar principal axes. The
-4
0 0.2
Time [s]
0.4 simulated ground motion at a given site is controlled by the maximum
velocity of deformation at source, by the interaction of radiation from
different sub-sources from different ray paths, including excavations, and
by site effects (Mendecki and Lötter, 2011).
Acknowledgement. I would like to thank Dr Ernest Lötter for reviewing the draft version of
the manuscript and for useful comments.

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Mine Seismology: Glossary of Selected Terms

Conference Paper · September 2013

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Mine Seismology: Glossary of Selected Terms

1 Seismic Waves in Rock

L4 L2 3L4 L

Angular frequency A propagating displacement in a periodic harmonic wave with velocity vπ

Institute of Mine Seismology Updated August 5, 2013

Institute of Mine Seismology Updated August 5, 2013

Institute of Mine Seismology Updated August 5, 2013

Institute of Mine Seismology Updated August 5, 2013

2 Quantification of a Seismic Event

Institute of Mine Seismology Updated August 5, 2013

model the slip duration at a given point is comparable to the overall

concentrated in space with finite potency. Shorter, higher frequency

Institute of Mine Seismology Updated August 5, 2013

Radiation pattern A radiation pattern is a geometric description of amplitude and sense of

Institute of Mine Seismology Updated August 5, 2013

Institute of Mine Seismology Updated August 5, 2013

Moment tensor A general description of a seismic source by the distribution of forces or

Institute of Mine Seismology Updated August 5, 2013

Institute of Mine Seismology Updated August 5, 2013

Institute of Mine Seismology Updated August 5, 2013

Local magnitude In 1931 a Japanese seismologist Wadati constructed a chart of the

Institute of Mine Seismology Updated August 5, 2013

Four basic If seismicity is considered as a group of seismic events confined to a given

Institute of Mine Seismology Updated August 5, 2013

Diffusivity The diffusivity is measured in m2 /s and is interpreted in terms of a

Institute of Mine Seismology Updated August 5, 2013

Institute of Mine Seismology Updated August 5, 2013

4 Size and Time Distribution Hazard

Coefficient of The time distribution of seismic activity can either be random,

Institute of Mine Seismology Updated August 5, 2013

N (≥ kP )/N (≥ P ) = k −β is independent of P , therefore it lacks

The upper truncated (UT) power law is N (≥ P ) = α P −β − Pmax −β

Potency release For power law distribution the potency release

Information entropy The information entropy of the probability

Institute of Mine Seismology Updated August 5, 2013

Institute of Mine Seismology Updated August 5, 2013

The next record The

3 expected next record

0.8 C B A if β is constant and α is proportional to Vm then seismic hazard can be

Institute of Mine Seismology Updated August 5, 2013

Exponential The Poisson distribution is related to the exponential distribution: if the

5 Ground Motion Hazard

GM: u, v, a, t The displacement u of the particles of ground u(x, t) at distance x at time

0.05 ground displacement of 1 mm at frequency of 20 Hz would result in

Institute of Mine Seismology Updated August 5, 2013

Institute of Mine Seismology Updated August 5, 2013

Institute of Mine Seismology Updated August 5, 2013

site amplification well over 3 times at some frequencies. Site

Institute of Mine Seismology Updated August 5, 2013

Institute of Mine Seismology Updated August 5, 2013

Campbell, K. W. (1981), Near-source attenuation of peak horizontal acceleration, Bulletin of the

Dziewonski, A. M., T.-A. Chou, and J. H. Woodhouse (1981), Determination of earthquake

Institute of Mine Seismology Updated August 5, 2013

Gutenberg, B. (1945b), Amplitudes of P, PP and S and magnitudes of shallow earthquakes, Bulletin

Institute of Mine Seismology Updated August 5, 2013

Mendecki, A. J. (1993), Real time quantitative seismology in mines: Keynote Address, in

Mendecki, A. J. (2013a), Characteristics of seismic hazard in mines: Keynote Address,

Somerville, P. G., N. F. Smith, R. W. Graves, and N. A. Abrahamson (1997), Modifications of

Institute of Mine Seismology Updated August 5, 2013

Vanek, J., A. Zapotek, V. Karnik, N. V. Kondorskaya, Y. V. Riznichenko, E. F. Savarensky, S. L.

L4 L2 3L4 L

GM: u, v, a, t The displacement u of the particles of ground u(x, t) at distance x at time