## 5 Discussion  
The novel method proposed in this study was validated with a case study. Comparing to traditional methods, there is no need for additional work in the field and the method has economic benefits. The method is easy to understand and implement. More importantly, both the static stress and the dynamic disturbance caused by mining at the working face are involved in the method. This method also realizes regional and quantitative assessment of mining influence without any damage to the underground structures. In fact, the method is a reprocessing method of mining-induced seismic data. It is not applicable in coal mines without a micro-seismic monitoring system. As of 2023, China was over 150 coal mines at risk of coal bursts, and this number is rising as mining depths increase [24]. Furthermore,  
Figure 8: Strain curves of optical fiber in \(ZY\)\(-\)1 during the mining of working face 205. (**a**) on 29 December 2020, (**b**) on 4 January 2021, (**c**) on 17 January 2021, (**d**) on 27 February 2021.  
mining-induced seismicity has been recorded in many countries with underground coal mines, such as Poland, Australia, Czechia, Slovakia, America, Canada, South Africa, etc. Micro-seismic monitoring systems are installed in nearly all coal mines with coal burst risks, and these can monitor mining-induced seismicity in real time. Consequently, the novel method for determining the advanced mining influence range is anticipated to be globally applicable. The locating accuracy of mining-induced seismicity using a micro-seismic monitoring system is crucial for determining the advanced mining influence range. In our method, x and y coordinates are used, and in general, the system generally provides better accuracy for horizontal (plane) coordinates than for vertical coordinates. To enhance locating accuracy, the network of geophones should be regularly adjusted according to the mining schedule to cover the mining area effectively [25]. This optimization will improve the locating accuracy of seismic events and, consequently, the reliability of the statistical results. In the case study in this research, only mining-induced seismic events with energies over 100 J were analyzed due to technical limitations of the micro-seismic monitoring system. Omitting seismic events with energies below 100 J may lead to deviations in the total number of advanced mining-induced seismicity. However, this omission has minimal impact on the statistical results for the total energy of advanced mining-induced seismicity, because the total seismic energy depends mainly on the high energy events. Therefore, the advanced mining influence range determined by the threshold of the total seismic energy is considered more reliable. The thresholds for determining advanced mining influence ranges were established based on AE activities of coal and rock samples under uniaxial loading. The differences of geological and mining factors, as well as the mineral compositions in coal and rocks in different mines, have a significant influence on the AE activities [26]. When the method is being used in a new working face or a new coal mine, the tests on the AE activities of coal and rock samples should be conducted once again. As the working face advances, the abutment stress in the advanced coal and rock masses increases non-linearly [27]. Therefore, the tests were conducted using displacement control mode. Aiming to minimize the influence of heterogeneity and anisotropy of the coal and rock masses on the results, adequate coal and rock samples should be used to test the thresholds in the laboratory. The loading rate significantly affects the mechanical behaviors of coal and rocks, impacting peak strength, elastic modulus, strain, AE activity, etc. As the loading rate increases, the number of detected AE events decreases according to a power function, while the absolute energy of these events increases significantly [28; 29].