Investigation of possible causes of sinkhole incident at the Zonguldak Coal Basin, Turkey

The subsidence mechanism of ground surface is a complex phenomenon when multiple seam coal mining operations are carried out. Particularly, the coal mining beneath karstic formations causes a very special form of subsidence. The subsidence causes elasto-plastic deformation of the karstic layers and the collapse of cavities leads to dolinization and/or sinkhole formation. In this study, a sinkhole with a depth of 90 m and a width of 25 m formed in Gelik district within the coal-basin of Zonguldak (NW, Turkey) induced by multiple seam coal mining operations in the past has been presented as a case-history together with two-dimensional numerical simulations and InSAR monitoring. The computational results proved that the sinkhole was formed as a result of severe yielding in the close vicinity of the faults in contact with karstic formation due to multiple seam longwall mining at different levels.