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4D seismic data acquisition method during coal mining

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2014 J. Geophys. Eng. 11 035005

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 Journal of Geophysics and Engineering

J. Geophys. Eng. 11 (2014) 035005 (7pp) doi:10.1088/1742-2132/11/3/035005

4D seismic data acquisition method

during coal mining
Wen-Feng Du and Su-Ping Peng
State Key Laboratory of Coal Resources and Safe Mining, China University of Mining and
Technology, Beijing, 100083, People’s Republic of China
E-mail: duwf@cumtb.edu.cn and psp@cumtb.edu.cn

Received 30 May 2013, revised 26 March 2014

Accepted for publication 24 March 2014
Published 22 May 2014

Abstract
In order to observe overburden media changes caused by mining processing, we take the fully-
mechanized working face of the BLT coal mine in Shendong mine district as an example to
develop a 4D seismic data acquisition methodology during coal mining. The 4D seismic data
acquisition is implemented to collect 3D seismic data four times in different periods, such as
before mining, during the mining process and after mining to observe the changes of the
overburden layer during coal mining. The seismic data in the research area demonstrates that
seismic waves are stronger in energy, higher in frequency and have better continuous reflectors
before coal mining. However, all this is reversed after coal mining because the overburden layer
has been mined, the seismic energy and frequency decrease, and reflections have more
discontinuities. Comparing the records collected in the survey with those from newly mined areas
and other records acquired in the same survey with the same geometry and with a long time for
settling after mining, it clearly shows that the seismic reflections have stronger amplitudes and are
more continuous because the media have recovered by overburden layer compaction after a long
time of settling after mining. By 4D seismic acquisition, the original background investigation of
the coal layers can be derived from the first records, then the layer structure changes can be
monitored through the records of mining action and compaction action after mining. This method
has laid the foundation for further research into the variation principles of the overburden layer
under modern coal-mining conditions.

Keywords: coal mining, 4D seismic, data acquisition

(Some figures may appear in colour only in the online journal)

1. Introduction changes caused by overburden layer changes after coal

4D seismic first appeared in the mid-1990s. It is a method that
repeatedly uses 3D seismic exploration to conduct reservoir
dynamic monitoring. It studies the feature changes of a
hydrocarbon reservoir by variance analysis and by comparing
seismic attributes at different times (Li 2012, Zhou et al 2011).
Compared to conventional 3D seismic exploration, 4D seismic
refers to a series of 3D seismic explorations on the same survey
and adds a time dimension as the fourth dimension to observe
overburden media changes caused by mining processing.
The purpose of 4D time-lapse seismic technology applied
to monitor the structural changes of coal-rock formation under
modern coal-mining conditions is to analyze seismic response
mining, so as to monitor coal strata dynamically.
4D time-lapse seismic is a complicated and systematic
engineering work which involves seismic data acquisition,
processing, integrated interpretation and inversion, and so on
(Yi et al 2002). It provides a way to study the original
background conditions and the variance changes of a coal
layer after coal mining. It contributes to exploring the
evolution of structural changes of coal layer formation under
modern coal-mining conditions.
Considering that 4D seismic data needs to be acquired
in the field several times, whether the multiple seismic data
observation is repeatable or not becomes the most critical
factor. So, to ensure the repeatability of the environment,

1742-2132/14/035005+07$33.00 © 2014 Sinopec Geophysical Research Institute Printed in the UK 1

J. Geophys. Eng. 11 (2014) 035005
(a) the first acquisition (b) the second acquisition
Figure 1. The coal seam occurrence status in different acquisition periods.
instrument and parameter variables, reasonable parameters
and geometry design must be selected to make sure the
seismic data is gathered reliably.
This paper takes the fully-mechanized working face of
the BLT coal mine in the Shendong mine district as an
example to observe the changes of the overburden layer
before mining, in the mining process and after mining by 4D
seismic data acquisition.
2. Features of 4D time-lapse seismic acquisition
2.1. The demand of 4D time-lapse seismic acquisition
4D seismic is accomplished by repeating 3D seismic
observation, so time-lapse seismic requires seismic data
collected in different times to have consistency or
repeatability. The inconsistent or non-repeated part of the
data should be from geological changes caused by geological
factors, instead of illusions caused by non-geological factors
(Wang 2004). But in practice, it is difficult to ensure that
seismic data sets gathered in different periods are identical to
each other, so the inconsistency caused by non-geological
factors should be reduced to a minimum.
2.2. The major effect factors of 4D time-lapse
seismic acquisition
The environment and the acquisition method are the two major
factors affecting 4D seismic data acquisition (Gan et al 2010).
The ground environment and environmental noise, such as
the interference from buildings, wind, human walking, machine
vibration and industrial electrical interference, are major
environmental factors in the survey, and may be random or
systematic. Besides this, the near-surface environment, such as
a low-velocity layer and the water table, will change along with
time and season. The dryness or wetness of the near-surface, as
well as the water-table depth, will affect the velocity and
thickness of the low-velocity layer, so the near-surface
environmental changes can influence seismic observation in
different periods. Therefore, various environmental factors must
be analyzed for their potential influence on seismic data.
W-F Du and S-P Peng
(c) the third acquisition (d) the fourth acquisition
Different instrument parameters and acquisition param-
eters will result in different seismic signals, such as the in-
consistent signal amplitude, energy distribution and phase, so it
requires that all seismic recording instruments, geophones and
shot sources remain unchanged, simultaneously, and the
acquisition parameters, such as the precision measuring posi-
tion, observation system, shot hole depth and explosive quan-
tity should be consistent in order to avoid affecting seismic data
due to different acquisition methods.
For multiple seismic acquisitions, the most critical factor is
whether they are repeatable; therefore the acquisition en-
vironment, acquisition equipment and acquisition parameters
must be repeatable in the data acquisition each time.
3. Profiles of the research area
The 4D seismic survey is located on 12 406 fully-mechanized
working faces, 12 407 fully-mechanized working faces and 12
408 fully-mechanized working faces of the BLT coal mine in
the Shendong mine district, where the thickness of the
unconsolidated formations is 0–24 m, the bedrock thickness is
−2
160–220 m, the target mining coal layer is named 1 coal, of
which the buried depth is 130–220 m, the thickness is 4.77–4.97
◦ 2
m, the dip angle is 1–3 and the area is 1.33 km .
To research the impact on the variation principles of the
overburden layer in the process of mining, 3D seismic data
acquisitions are conducted four times. The coal seam
occurrence status during the acquisitions is shown in figure 1.
In November 2011, the first acquisition (figure 1(a))
−2
was finished, when the 1 coal layer of 12 406 working face
had been mined, but the 12 407 working face and 12 408
working face were still un-mined, of which the strata were in
a natural state. The data of the first acquisition was used as
the base data.
Four months later, in March 2012, the second
−2
acquisition (figure 1(b)) started: when the 1 coal seam of
−2
the 12 406 mining face had been mined, the 1 coal seam of
the 12 407 working face had been almost half mined and the
12 408 face was left un-mined. This 3D data recorded in the
process of mining was used as the first monitoring data.
2
J. Geophys. Eng. 11 (2014) 035005 W-F Du and S-P Peng

Figure 2. The midpoint shooting 3D geometry system.

The third acquisition (figure 1(c)) was conducted in Table 1. The midpoint shooting swatch geometry parameters.
May 2012, two months after the second acquisition, when
−2 Attributes of the geometry Parameters
the 1 coal seams of the 12 406 working face and the 12
Number of receivers per line 48
407 mining face (but not the 12 408 mining face) had been
Number of receiver lines 10
mined. The 3D data received in the mining process was used Receiver interval (m) 10
as the second set of monitoring data. Receiver line interval (m) 40
The last acquisition (figure 1(d)) was conducted at the Number of shots 10
−2 Shot interval (m) 20
end of September 2012. In that period, the 1 coal seams of
the 12 406 and 12 407 faces had been mined and settled for Shot line interval (m) 60
− 2 Min offset (m) 11
some time, and the 1 coal seam of the 12 408 face was Max offset (m) 358
just starting to be mined but had not yet reached the research Bin size (m) 5 × 10
area. The 3D data gathered in the mining recovery period Total fold 30 (5 × 6)
was used as the third set of monitoring data.

4. Geometry design maximum offset is 270 m. According to the depth of the

To research coal layer formation changes in the coal mining
process and reveal the evolution law of the overburden layer
under modern coal-mining conditions, the parameters of 4D
seismic geometry design are determined as follows, using
previous geological work in the research area for reference:
target formation depth: 5–350 m;
◦
dip angle of coal seam: 1–3 ;
optimal receiving windows: 10–350 m;
2
bin size: 5 × 10 m ;
total folds: 30 times.
By field tests, construction factors are determined
ultimately based on practical constructions:
(1) Source factors: the survey belongs to a desert hills area
without phreatic water. It is a single source with a 2 kg
explosive charge and a single hole of 6–9 m depth. In
the gully area, it is a single source with a 2 kg explosive
charge and a single hole of 3–5 m depth.
(2) Receiving factor: this observation adopts a geometry
system with ten receiver lines and ten shot points. The
receiver lines’ spacing is 40 m and the horizontal
target coal seam, a middle shooting swatch geometry
design is used. There are 48 receivers with a receiver
interval 10 m, an offset of 5 m and a maximum inline
offset of 235 m.
(3) Acquisition parameters: survey parameters are defined
to use a middle shooting swatch geometry system with
ten receiver lines and ten shot points (table 1 and figure
2); the receiver array is formed linearly by putting five
geophones of 60 Hz together.
(4) Equipment factors: a 428XL is used to sample at 0.5 ms
for a recording length of 1.5 s.
5. Practical single shot record of 4D
seismic acquisition
Three observation locations are chosen to perform the
comparative analysis on seismic single shot data of four time
acquisitions (figure 1). Observation point 1 (P1) spreads over
the southeastern area of 12 406 work stages, observation
point 2 (P2) is located in the south of the 12 407 working
face, and observation point 3 (P3) lies to the northeast of the
12 408 mining face.

3
J. Geophys. Eng. 11 (2014) 035005
(a) the first acquisition
(c) the third acquisition
Figure 3. The single shot seismic data of observation point 1.
(a) the first acquisition
(c) the third acquisition
Figure 4. The single shot seismic data of observation point 2.
The main coal seam of the 12 407 face had been mined
before the 3D seismic exploration. According to the P1
single shot records of four acquisitions (figure 3), the
reflection wave energy is weak for the mining.
The P2 coal seam on the 12 407 working face is not mined
at the first acquisition, but it is mined after the first. In the light
of single shot records (figure 4), the record of the first
acquisition is the best among the four acquisitions due to the
coal exploration that causes rapid energy attenuation, serious
scattering and inferior reflection waves of the effective signal.
Because the main coal seam is not mined in the process
of the four acquisitions in the 12 408 work-stages, four
good-quality data acquisitions are conducted, which leads to
a strong energy and good consistency of the reflection waves
according to the P3 single shot record (figure 5).
The seismic records of all observation locations show that
seismic reflection waves are stronger in energy, higher in
frequency and better in event continuity before mining (P3), but
that these are reversed after coal mining (P1 and P2) because
the overburden layers have been mined—the seismic energy
and frequency decrease and reflections are more discontinuous.
Comparing the P2 records collected in the
4
W-F Du and S-P Peng
(b) the second acquisition
(d) the fourth acquisition
(b) the second acquisition
(d) the fourth acquisition
survey with just-finished mining and P1 records with a long
settlement time after mining clearly shows that the seismic
reflections have stronger amplitudes and are more continuous
because the media have been recovered by overburden layer
compaction after a long time settling after mining.
6. Post-stack seismic responses for layer
structure changes
In order to show the time-lapse changes of the strata
structure, one inline and one crossline in the survey are
selected (figure 1). The inline, AB, is located in the 12 407
working face, and the crossline, CD, lies across the 12 406,
12 407 and 12 408 faces.
The stacked section, AB, (figure 6(a)) shows that the
original layer has consistent events, high seismic wave energy
and high recorded frequency before coal mining at the first
acquisition. The seismic section (figure 6(b)) demonstrates the
consistent events in the left part of the section reflecting the
original condition and the disorder events in the right part,
showing a series of changes caused by mining action including
weak energy and reduced record frequency at the
J. Geophys. Eng. 11 (2014) 035005
(a) the first acquisition
(c) the third acquisition
Figure 5. The single seismic shot data of observation point 3.
(a) the first acquisition
(c) the third acquisition
Figure 6. Seismic post-stacked sections.
second acquisition, when the working faces have been mined
almost a half. By the third acquisition, disorder events of the
whole section (figure 6(c)) obtained after the complete
mining action indicates an overburden layer change with
weak energy and reduced record frequency. Compared with
the third acquisition, the fourth (figure 6(d)) proves that the
seismic reflections are more continuous because the media
have been recovered by overburden layer compaction after a
long time settling after mining.
Figure 7 is a post-stack section of the crossline, CD, from
four lots of seismic detection. In the first data collection (figure
−2
7(a)) and second seismic acquisition (figure 7(b)), the 1 coal
seam in the 12 406 working face has already been mined, the
balance status of initial rockmass stresses has been damaged
around the goaf, causing deformation and destruction of the
overburden. Seismic events have more discontinuity and the
−2
frequency has become lower. The 1 coal seam in the 12 407
and 12 408 working faces has not been mined, overlying rock is
an in situ stress status, the coal and overburden seismic
5
W-F Du and S-P Peng
(b) the second acquisition
(d) the fourth acquisition
(b) the second acquisition
(d) the fourth acquisition
events are continuous, and the reflection amplitude is also
very strong.
During the third seismic acquisition (figure 7(c)), the
overburden in the 12 406 mining face has had a long
subsidence settling: it achieves good compaction, rock stress
is restored and the seismic events’ continuity of the
overlying rock has been enhanced.
−2
After mining of the 1 coal seam and the destruction of
the overburden pressure relief, the sink volume of overlying
rock in the 12 407 central goaf is the largest, and the subsidence
decreases to the ground direction. Near the coal pillar, the sink
volume becomes small because of the pillar supporting role.
During the fourth seismic acquisition (figure 7(d)), the
−2
1 coal seam in the 12 408 working face is still not mined,
seismic events of the coal seam and the overlying strata are
continuous and their amplitudes are strong. The time since
−2
the 1 coal seam was mined from the cut eyes was over 17
months for the 12 406 face and 8 months for the 12 407 face.
Compared with the third seismic section, the fourth seismic
J. Geophys. Eng. 11 (2014) 035005
Figure 7. Post-stack sections.
sections in the 12 406 and 12 407 goafs have experienced a
longer compaction, rock stress has been restored and the
continuity of seismic events has been enhanced.
7. Conclusion
Based on 3D seismic exploration, 4D seismic is a method
implemented on the same survey at different times by adding a
time dimension (the fourth dimension), by which the observed
data can reflect the layers’ changes over time. The following
conclusions can be drawn after analyzing the application of 4D
seismic in the mining process on the working face of the BLT
coal mine in Shendong mine district.
(1) The seismic data in the research area demonstrates that
seismic waves are stronger in energy, higher in frequency
and have better continuous reflections before coal mining.
6
W-F Du and S-P Peng
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
However, all of these factors are reversed after coal
mining, because the overburden layers have been mined,
the seismic energy and frequency have decreased and
reflections have more discontinuities. Comparing the
records collected in the survey just after mining and
other records for areas that have had a long time settling
after mining, it clearly shows that the seismic reflections
have stronger amplitudes and are more continuous
because the media have been recovered by overburden
layer compaction after a long time settling after mining.
(2) Using 4D seismic, the background investigation of coal
layers can be derived from the records obtained before
mining and layer structure changes caused by mining and
compaction after mining can also be observed, according to
the seismic records obtained during the mining process and
after mining, which have laid the foundation for
J. Geophys. Eng. 11 (2014) 035005
further research into the variation of the overburden
layer under modern coal-mining conditions.
(3) As seismic data needs to be gathered several times,
whether the multiple seismic data observation is repeatable
or not becomes the most critical factor. So to ensure the
repeatability of the environment, instrument and parameter
variables, reasonable parameters and geometry design must
be selected to make sure the seismic data acquisition is
reliable in gathering. Although all of the instruments, the
seismic source, the explosive quantity and the survey
geometry are expected to remain the same for each
acquisition, it is hard to make it exactly so in practice,
which introduces some difficulties into the subsequent
seismic data processing.
Acknowledgments
Foundation Program: National Science and Technology
Supporting Program (2012BAB13B01, 2012BAC10B03),
National Key Scientific Instrument and Equipment
W-F Du and S-P Peng
Development Program (2012YQ030126), Coal United
Project of National Natural Science Foundation (U1261203),
National Science and Technology Major Project
(2011ZX05035-004-001HZ), National Basic Research
Program (973 Program), (2010CB226800).
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