November 2015 Technical Talk

BCGS Technical Talk – November 19, 2015

Speaker: Willem de Beer, Principal, Golder Associates

Title: Automatic microseismic data processing using open source algorithms

Date/Time: Thursday, November 19, 2015 @ 4:30 pm

Location: Room 451, 409 Granville St (UK Building at Granville and Hastings), Vancouver

Abstract:

Over the last five years we have compiled a more or less coherent collection of scripts, a toolbox we call μQuake (microQuake) which enables us to efficiently, accurately and automatically, process seismic data. We believe that the field of “mine seismology” would benefit from having standardized, rigorously peer-reviewed tools. If these tools are open source, it reduces the “friction” slowing innovation considerably, as they can quickly be adapted and disseminated by and among mines, researchers and developers. In this talk we will study the performance of an open source library of microseismic data processing techniques based on programs routinely used by the earthquake community and released under permissive open source licenses, permitting event detection and association, P- and S-wave arrival time picking, event location in arbitrarily complex 3D velocity structures, source parameter characterization and advanced analysis.  We show the ability of the system to automatically process a data set collected in 2004 at Northparkes Mines E26 Lift 2 and compare the results to high quality manual processing, showing that the results are of similar if not better quality.

About the Authors:

Willem de Beer is a Principal of Golder Associates and a mathematical physicist with an innovation bug and a passion for applying esoteric concepts in mathematics and physics to practical problems. However, all analysis is critically dependent on data integrity, quantity and density, and therefore he learnt to design and implement industrially robust monitoring systems to deliver continuous and consistent data streams. He has  been back-analyzing and thinking about the rock mass response to mining over the last 17 years, using a variety of techniques from stock-in-trade statistical tools to sophisticated inversion and clustering methods. The one constant, though, in all the studies, is that it always starts with validating the data and ends with robust review by his rock mechanical engineering colleagues. He is a proponent of “design-as-you-mine” using real-time, online geotechnical and geophysical data streams and he designs systems to enable this. He has worked in South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, South America and North America.

Jean-Philippe Mercier is co-owner of Advanced GeoScience Imaging Solutions (AGSIS) and until recently was the Golder lead seismologist. He currently focuses primarily on mine seismology in the context of deep and high stress mining. Jean-Philippe’s main interest consists in developing processing techniques and monitoring approaches to exploit the untapped potential of seismological analysis in extracting information on the spatial and temporal response of the rock mass to mining. Dr Mercier earned a Ph.D. from UBC in crustal seismology and has co-authored multiple papers published in peer-reviewed journal and conference proceedings. He is the principal force behind, and developer of, the techniques presented today.

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