Microseismicity of an Unstable Rock Mass: From Field Monitoring to Laboratory Testing

• Published in: Journal of geophysical research. Solid earth Vol. 123; no. 2; pp. 1673 - 1693
• Main Authors: Colombero, C., Comina, C., Vinciguerra, S., Benson, P. M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-02-2018
• Subjects: Acoustic emission; AE recording; Air temperature; Cracking (corrosion); Cracking (fracturing); Damage assessment; Failures; Fracture mechanics; Geophysics; Instability; Laboratories; Laboratory tests; Mechanical properties; Meteorological parameters; microseismicity; Microseisms; MS events; Parameters; Rocks; Stability; Stability analysis; temperature and fluid control; unstable rock masses; Waveforms
• ISSN: 2169-9313; 2169-9356
• DOI: 10.1002/2017JB014612

The field‐scale microseismic (MS) activity of an unstable rock mass is known to be an important tool to assess damage and cracking processes eventually leading to macroscopic failures. However, MS‐event rates alone may not be enough for a complete understanding of the trigger mechanisms of mechanical instabilities. Acoustic Emission (AE) techniques at the laboratory scale can be used to provide complementary information. In this study, we report a MS/AE comparison to assess the stability of a granitic rock mass in the northwestern Italian Alps (Madonna del Sasso). An attempt to bridge the gap between the two different scales of observation, and the different site and laboratory conditions, is undertaken to gain insights on the rock mass behavior as a function of external governing factors. Time‐ and frequency‐domain parameters of the MS/AE waveforms are compared and discussed with this aim. At the field scale, special attention is devoted to the correlation of the MS‐event rate with meteorological parameters (air temperature and rainfalls). At the laboratory scale, AE rates, waveforms, and spectral content, recorded under controlled temperature and fluid conditions, are analyzed in order to better constrain the physical mechanisms responsible for the observed field patterns. The factors potentially governing the mechanical instability at the site were retrieved from the integration of the results. Abrupt thermal variations were identified as the main cause of the site microsesimicity, without highlighting irreversible acceleration in the MS‐event rate potentially anticipating the rock mass collapse.
Key Points
The microseismicity of an unstable cliff is studied using spectral analysis, source location, and event‐rate correlation with external factors
AE laboratory tests are performed to reproduce the site microseismicity under controlled fluid and temperature conditions
Thermal stresses are found to be the main cause inducing microcracking processes at both the field and laboratory scale