A Guide to Surface Features Related to Underground Coal Mining

The purpose of this guide is to assist investigators conducting geologic hazard assessments with the understanding, detection, and characterization of surface features related to subsidence from underground coal mining. Subsidence related to underground coal mining can present serious problems to new and/or existing infrastructure, utilities, and facilities. For example, heavy equipment driving over the ground surface during construction processes may punch into voids created by sinkholes or cracks, resulting in injury to persons and property. Abandoned underground mines also may be full of water, and if punctured, can flood nearby areas. Furthermore, the integrity of rigid structures such as buildings, dams and bridges may be compromised if mining subsidence results in differential movement at the ground surface. Subsidence of the ground surface is a phenomenon associated with the removal of material at depth, and may occur coincident with mining, gradually over time, or sometimes suddenly, long after mining operations have ceased (Gray and Bruhn, 1984). The spatial limits of underground coal mines may extend for great distances beyond the surface operations of a mine, in some cases more than 10 miles for an individual mine. When conducting geologic hazard assessments, several remote investigation methods can be used to observe surface features related to underground mining subsidence. LiDAR-derived DEMs are generally the most useful method available for identifying these features because the bare earth surface can be viewed. However, due to limitations in the availability of LiDAR data, other methods often need to be considered when investigating surface features related to underground coal mining subsidence, such as Google Earth and aerial imagery. Mine maps, when available, can be viewed in tandem with these datasets, potentially improving the confidence of any possible mining subsidence-related features observed remotely. However, maps for both active and abandoned mines may be incomplete or unavailable. Therefore, it is important to be able to recognize possible surface features related to underground mining subsidence. This guide provides examples of surface subsidence features related to the two principal underground coal mining methods used in the United States: longwall mining and room and pillar mining. The depth and type of mining, geologic conditions, hydrologic conditions, and time are all factors that may influence the type of features that manifest at the surface. This guide provides investigators a basic understanding about the size, character and conditions of various surface features that occur as a result of underground mining subsidence.

Surface Elevation Change Processes in the Snohomish River Estuary, Washington

Estuaries provide crucial ecosystem functions and contain significant socio-economic value. Within Washington State, estuaries supply rearing habitat for juvenile salmon during their transition period from freshwater to open sea. In order to properly manage wetland resources and restore salmon habitat, the mechanisms through which estuaries evolve and adapt to pressures from climate change, most notably eustatic sea level rise, must be understood. Estuaries maintain elevation relative to sea level rise through vertical accretion of sediment. This report investigates the processes that contribute to local surface elevation change in the Snohomish Estuary, conveys preliminary surface elevation change results from RTK GPS monitoring, and describes how surface elevation change will be monitored with a network of RSET-MH’s. Part of the tidal wetlands within the Snohomish River Estuary were converted for agricultural and industrial purposes in the 1800’s, which resulted in subsidence of organic soils and loss of habitat. The Tulalip Tribes, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission (NWIFC), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are conducting a large-scale restoration project to improve ecosystem health and restore juvenile salmon habitat. A study by Crooks et al. (2014) used 210Pb and carbon densities within sediment cores to estimate wetland re-building capacities, sediment accretion rates, and carbon sequestration potential within the Snohomish Estuary. This report uses the aforementioned study in combination with research on crustal movement, tidal patterns, sediment supply, and sea level rise predictions in the Puget Sound to project how surface elevation will change in the Snohomish Estuary with respect to sea level rise. Anthropogenic modification of the floodplain has reduced the quantity of vegetation and functional connectivity within the Snohomish Estuary. There have been losses up to 99% in vegetation coverage from historic extents within the estuary in both freshwater and mesohaline environments. Hydrographic monitoring conducted by NOAA and the Tulalip Tribe shows that 85% of the historic wetland area is not connected to the main stem of the Snohomish (Jason Hall 2014, unpublished data, NOAA). As vegetation colonization and functional connectivity of the floodplains of the Snohomish estuary is re-established through passive and active restoration, sediment transport and accretion is expected to increase. Under the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) “medium- probability” scenario sea level is projected to rise at a rate of 4.28 mm/year in the Puget Sound. Sea level rise in the Snohomish Estuary will be exacerbated from crustal deformation from subsidence and post-glacial rebound, which are measured to be -1.4 mm/year and -0.02 mm/year, respectively. Sediment accretion rates calculated by Crooks et al. (2014) and RTK GPS monitoring of surface elevation change of the Marysville Mitigation site from 2011-2014 measured vertical accretion rates that range from -48-19 mm/year and have high spatial variability. Sediment supply is estimated at 490 thousand tons/year, which may be an under-estimate because of the exclusion of tidal transport in this value. The higher rates of sediment accretion measured in the Snohomish Estuary suggest that the Snohomish will likely match or exceed the pace of sea level rise under “medium-probability” projections. The network of RSET-MH instruments will track surface elevation change within the estuary, and provide a more robust dataset on rates of surface elevation change to quantify how vertical accretion and subsidence are contributing to surface elevation change on a landscape scale.