Geophysical Monitoring of Ground Surface Deformation Associated with a Confined Aquifer Storage and Recovery Operation
A main issue in the storage of large volumes of fluids, mainly water and CO2, in the deep subsurface is to determine their field-scale-induced displacements and consequences on the mechanical behavior of the storage reservoir and surroundings. A quantifiable estimation of displacement can be made by combining the robust, cost-effective, and repeatable geophysical techniques of micro-gravimetry, differential global positioning system (DGPS), and differential synthetic aperture radar interferometry (DInSAR). These techniques were field tested and evaluated in an active large-volume aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) project in Pendleton, Oregon, USA, where three ASR wells are injecting up to 1.9 million m3/yr-1 into basalt aquifers to a depth of about 150 m. Injection and recovery of water at the wells was accompanied by significant gravity anomalies and vertical deformation of the ground surface localized to the immediate surroundings of the injection wells as evidenced by DGPS and gravity measurements collected in 2011. At a larger scale, and between 2011 and 2013, DInSAR monitoring of the Pendleton area suggests the occurrence of sub-centimetric deformation in the western part of the city and close to the injection locations associated with the ASR cycle. A numerical simulation of the effect of the water injection gives results in good agreement with the observations and confirms the validity of the approach, which could be deployed in similar geological contexts to look at the mechanical effects of water and gas injections. The gravity signal reflects deep phenomena and gives additional insight into the repartition of fluids in the subsurface.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC05-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 1221453
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-SA-93318; CE0300000
- Journal Information:
- Water Resources Management, Vol. 29, Issue 13; ISSN 0920-4741
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Web of Science
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