Assessment of groundwater inrush from underlying aquifers in Tunbai coal mine, Shanxi province, China

Groundwater water inrush into mines from aquifers underlying coal seams is often disastrous. Multiple factors control the groundwater inrush processes. For coal seams #10 and #11, ten main controlling factors were determined and quantified separately. The thematic map of every controlling factor was obtained with the data processing functions of GIS after the data were normalized. The influence weight of each factor was calculated using the AHP vulnerability index method. Superimposition of thematic maps with the GIS results in the vulnerability zoning map for coal seams #10 and #11. The appropriate prevention and control measures against the groundwater inrush are then proposed according to the vulnerability zoning map.