Industrial explosions on the territory of the Voronezh Crystal massif and their temporal dynamics

Abstract

Introduction: The paper presents the results of the analysis of temporal dynamics for more than 20 years of industrial explosions in large open pits operating on the territory of the Voronezh crystalline massif. Annually, from 90 to 140 industrial explosions are carried out in large quarries, while seismic energy of 1010– 1012 J is released, which has a significant impact on the deformation properties of the earth's crust, creating conditions for the occurrence of induced seismicity and other negative phenomena. In this regard, the problem of predicting changes in deformation processes in the earth's crust under the influence of powerful industrial explosions becomes extremely urgent. Analysis of the temporal dynamics of blasting in quarries is an important component in solving the above problem. Methodology: For more than 20 years, about 3000 large industrial explosions have been registered. The temporal dynamics of the production of industrial explosions by years, in all large quarries and the seismic energy released during this, was studied. A statistical analysis of industrial explosions of different energy classes was performed during the entire observation period. The technique of conducting industrial explosions in different quarries by day of the week and time of day has been studied. The waveforms of seismic events caused by industrial explosions in large open pits are analyzed. Results and discussions: As a result of the analysis of the temporal dynamics of industrial explosions in large open pits annually and for more than a 20-year period, it was found that the extraction of minerals in open pits was uneven. The period from 2008 with a slight time shift and until 2016-2017 is clearly distinguished in all open pits, the extraction of minerals is decreasing, which is expressed in a decrease in the number of industrial explosions and their power. The largest number of explosions over the entire observation period was produced in the Pavlovsky open pit, the largest amount of seismic energy was released during the production of industrial explosions in the Zheleznogorsk open pit. A significant flow of seismic energy is regularly released during the production of each industrial explosion and regularly propagating in the earth's crust, changes its deformation properties, creating conditions for the occurrence of secondary processes both in the deep horizons of the Earth and on its surface. Conclusions: The temporal dynamics of the production of industrial explosions in various large quarries has common and specific features. From 90 to 140 industrial explosions were carried out annually in large quarries. At the same time, in each of the quarries in different years, their number differs. However, there is a clear synchronization in the time of production of industrial explosions in different pits from 9:00 to 11:00 UTC on certain days of the week. A large number of man-made seismic events, firstly, significantly complicates the seismic situation in the region, secondly, affects the deformation properties of the earth's crust, and thirdly, makes it difficult to assess the natural seismic activity of the territory of the Voronezh crystalline massif, the largest structure of the East European platform.