The ability of fluid-generated subsurface stress changes to trigger earthquakes has long been recognized. However, the dramatic rise in the rate of human-induced earthquakes in the past decade has created abundant opportunities to study induced earthquakes and triggering processes. This review briefly summarizes early studies but focuses on results from induced earthquakes during the past 10 years related to fluid injection in petroleum fields. Study of these earthquakes has resulted in insights into physical processes and has identified knowledge gaps and future research directions. Induced earthquakes are challenging to identify using seismological methods, and faults and reefs strongly modulate spatial and temporal patterns of induced seismicity. However, the similarity of induced and natural seismicity provides an effective tool for studying earthquake processes. With continuing development of energy resources, increased interest in carbon sequestration, and construction of large dams, induced seismicity will continue to pose a hazard in coming years.
PreviousNext No AccessGEOPHYSICSVolume 83, Issue 3Shared advances in exploration and fundamental geophysics — IntroductionAuthors: Sjoerd de RidderNiels GrobbeGary EgbertAndreas FichtnerKatie KeranenYaoguo LiTobias MüllerBarbara RomanowiczSjoerd de RidderUniversity of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK. E-mail: .Search for more papers by this authorEmail the author at s.deridder@ed.ac.uk, Niels GrobbeUniversity of Hawai‘i at Manoa, Hawai‘i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, Honolulu, Hawai‘i, USA and University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, Water Resources Research Center, Honolulu, Hawai‘i, USA. E-mail: .Search for more papers by this authorEmail the author at ngrobbe@hawaii.edu, Gary EgbertOregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA. E-mail: .Search for more papers by this authorEmail the author at egbert@coas.oregonstate.edu, Andreas FichtnerSwiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zürich, Switzerland. E-mail: .Search for more papers by this authorEmail the author at andreas.fichtner@erdw.ethz.ch, Katie KeranenCornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA. E-mail: .Search for more papers by this authorEmail the author at keranen@cornell.edu, Yaoguo LiColorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado, USA. E-mail: .Search for more papers by this authorEmail the author at ygli@mines.edu, Tobias MüllerCommonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Perth, Australia. E-mail: .Search for more papers by this authorEmail the author at tobias.mueller@csiro.au, and Barbara RomanowiczUniversity of California, Berkeley, California, USA and Collège de France, Paris, France. E-mail: .Search for more papers by this authorEmail the author at barbara@seismo.berkeley.eduhttps://doi.org/10.1190/geo2018-0316-spseintro.1 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF PlusePUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail "Shared advances in exploration and fundamental geophysics — Introduction." Geophysics, 83(3), pp. WCi–WCiiFiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 83Issue 3May 2018Pages: 5MJ-Z13ISSN (print):0016-8033 ISSN (online):1942-2156 Publisher:Society of Exploration Geophysicists HistoryPublished: 07 May 2018Published in print: 01 May 2018 CITATION INFORMATION Sjoerd de Ridder, Niels Grobbe, Gary Egbert, Andreas Fichtner, Katie Keranen, Yaoguo Li, Tobias Müller, and Barbara Romanowicz, (2018), "Shared advances in exploration and fundamental geophysics — Introduction," GEOPHYSICS 83: WCi-WCii. https://doi.org/10.1190/geo2018-0316-spseintro.1 Plain-Language Summary Metrics Loading ...
(1) Dept. of Geology and Geophysics, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775 (dscholl@usgs.gov), (2) U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA, USA 94025 (hryan@usgs.gov), (3) School of Geology and Geophysics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK USA 73019 (keranen@ou.edu), (4) U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA, USA 94025 (rwells@usgs.gov), (5) U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA, USA 94025 (skirby@usgs.gov), (6) U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA, USA 94025 (rhuene@mindspring.com)
Hydraulic fractures are delineated by induced microseismic event distributions and typically propagate perpendicular to the regional minimum stress direction. However, at a smaller scale, varying mineralogical composition and existing fault and fracture networks can influence developing fracture networks. We integrated microseismic event locations with seismic attributes from multichannel seismic reflection data, including inversion results for impedance and Lamé parameters, and seismic curvature attributes. We found that microseismic event locations consistently correlate to zones of low seismic impedance and low [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] values, describing characteristic material properties of fracture-prone zones within the North Texas Lower and Upper Barnett Shale. Additionally, event locations showed a weak correlation with anticlinal structures as defined by volumetric curvature attributes. We suggest that the low impedance, low [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] zones were related to the boundary between calcite-filled fractures and the host rock.
Unconventional oil and gas production provides a rapidly growing energy source; however, high-production states in the United States, such as Oklahoma, face sharply rising numbers of earthquakes. Subsurface pressure data required to unequivocally link earthquakes to wastewater injection are rarely accessible. Here we use seismicity and hydrogeological models to show that fluid migration from high-rate disposal wells in Oklahoma is potentially responsible for the largest swarm. Earthquake hypocenters occur within disposal formations and upper basement, between 2- and 5-kilometer depth. The modeled fluid pressure perturbation propagates throughout the same depth range and tracks earthquakes to distances of 35 kilometers, with a triggering threshold of ~0.07 megapascals. Although thousands of disposal wells operate aseismically, four of the highest-rate wells are capable of inducing 20% of 2008 to 2013 central U.S. seismicity.
