Motionmap brings new perspective to mining reports

09 October 2009, 7:26am

An exclusive layer of new satellite-sourced ground motion data – motionmap UK – is one of a series of enhancements introduced by Landmark Environment to its Envirocheck Mining and Ground Stability Report.

The millimetric ground motion data contained in motionmap UK is obtained using satellite interferometry technology, giving a precise picture of historical subsidence, heave or potential seismic activity which is unavailable through modelling alone. It has the potential to reveal the spatial extent and magnitude of motion features, reveal the long-term stability of areas and indicate sites or features that require further investigation.

The dataset covers the period 1992-2002 and boasts more than 5 million new scatter points over a wide range of urban and semi-urban areas, with associated average velocity gradients. The updated reports also provide insurance claims data and subsidence investigations from CET Group and SP Property Services to establish those areas that have previously experienced subsidence issues. Brine Subsidence information is also available to identify areas as potentially affected by subsidence due to brine solution.

David Mole, Managing Director at Landmark Environment, said: “Ground stability has risen up the agenda for consultants in due diligence and civil engineering as climate change prompts changes in weather patterns, and extreme conditions such as flooding and drought take their toll on the ground. There is also an increasing need to understand the land-based consequences of Britain’s industrial legacy, including mining.

“This enhanced mining and ground stability data offers a significant step forward by using satellite technology to create an unrivalled level of historical detail, helping to expose the often hidden changes taking place under our feet.”

These hidden changes below ground can have a major impact on building and development projects and often arise from disused mines and similar redundant industrial activities that still influence the UK’s geography today. For example, in Rhondda, Wales, accumulation of groundwater in a disused mine caused the ground to uplift (see case study below).

Fugro NPA Limited, satellite mapping experts and creators of motionmap UK, believe that combining motionmap UK with the other datasets offered via the improved Envirocheck Mining and Ground Stability Report allows for a much wider range of professionals to detect and monitor such shifts.

Richard Burren, InSAR Surveying Manager at Fugro NPA Limited, commented:
“motionmap UK is unique. No other dataset can provide such precise, wide-spatial coverage information on ground and structure stability trends across urban and semi-urban regions of the UK. Integrating motionmap UK with complementary datasets, for example, geology, mines, and infrastructure, allows users to build a more complete picture of historical instability, and potential future susceptibility, for sites across the UK.”

Envirocheck Mining and Ground Stability Report

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