Thread: PhD position offer - Induced seismicity in flooded abandoned mining districts

Started: 2017-03-03 21:57:20
Last activity: 2017-03-03 21:57:20
Created in 1990, INERIS (National Institute of Industrial Environments and
Risks) is an industrial and commercial public institution (EPIC) under the
supervision of the Ministry of the Environment. Its mission is to conduct
studies and research to prevent accidental or chronic hazards to man and
environment related to industrial activities, chemical substances and
underground operations.
The head quarter of INERIS, with a size of more than 40 hectares, is
located in the Oise department, 40 minutes from Paris and 10 minutes from
Senlis / Chantilly (A1) - 30 minutes from Paris Nord + shuttle bus.
The successful candidate will work at the INERIS quarter at Nancy (at the
Ecole des Mines) for around 70% of working time and 30% at the IPGP and /
or BRGM-DPSM.

*Context and thesis objective:*
Seismic hazard in flooded, post- mining districts and consequent damage
from ground shaking is poorly understood, but can be a real concern for the
close living population. Large seismic events with M > 5 are known from
active mining districts. These events are often directly induced by mining
activity and thus, could be in some cases anticipated from local seismic
monitoring. In flooded post-mining districts, seismic events have been
observed in the context of partial underground collapses, fluid induced
redistribution of the environmental stresses, and the reactivation of
pre-existing fault structures next to the mining district. The estimation
of the associated seismic hazard is quite challenging, depending on many
complexly interacting factors, such as the mine geometry and geological
constitution, its long-term alteration behavior (modified by the presence
of fluids), meteorological impacts and climate changes, triggering from
regional or global natural earthquakes, and the presence of pre-existing
fault structures and tectonic stresses.
To improve seismic hazard assessment in this context, this thesis will
focus on the study of a flooded abandoned coal mine at Gardanne in the
Provence region, South of France. As part of operational monitoring and
seismic survey coordinated by the BRGM-DPSM, INERIS installed a permanent
microseismic monitoring network in 2007 which recorded up to today several
thousand of microseismic events. In response to increased seismic activity,
the network has been completed by installing several temporary INERIS and
BRGM-DPSM stations. Seismic activity seems to be strongly related to
relatively small fluctuations in the groundwater level in the mining
workings and was several times clearly felt by the local population. The
aim of this thesis is to characterize the origin of the observed seismicity
and to develop a hydromechanical model explaining the observed phenomena.
In this context, first a comprehensive study of seismic data will be
required (including determination of source locations, parameters and
mechanisms) helping to characterize the nature of the observed seismic
sources. Together with other field data (geology, flooding history, natural
fracturing, mining geometry etc ...) these results will then be used to
study in detail the link between mine flooding and seismicity using adapted
numerical hydromechanical modeling approaches. Existing data may be
completed by supplementary hydrological and seismic monitoring experiments.
This thesis is part of the research project "Dynamic rupture and induced
seismicity " of the research axis 190 "CORDIS" of INERIS. This work of
thesis will be carried out in collaboration with the Institute of Physics
of the Globe of Paris, the BRGM and GEORESSOURCES. It will also be led with
the support of GEODERIS.

*Profile : *

Applicants must hold a master’s degree or equivalent in the field of
Geoscience, Geoengineering and/or Physics. An advanced background in
seismology, signal processing and basic programming skills are an
advantage. Hydrogeological and hydromechanics modelling experience is
appreciated.

*For your application please send us: *
• a brief account of the applicant's research interests and motivation
for applying for the position.
• your CV.

*Contact:* Isabelle.CONTRUCCI<at>ineris.fr, Jannes-L.KINSCHER<at>ineris.fr

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