Skip to main content
OSTI.GOVU.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information
 

Sensitivity of Induced Seismic Sequences to Rate-and-State Frictional Processes

Journal Article · · Journal of Geophysical Research. Solid Earth
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JB014841· OSTI ID:1420284
 [1];  [2];  [2]
  1. Univ. of California, Riverside, CA (United States); Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
  2. Univ. of California, Riverside, CA (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations
It is well established that subsurface injection of fluids increases pore fluid pressures that may lead to shear failure along a preexisting fault surface. Concern among oil and gas, geothermal, and carbon storage operators has risen dramatically over the past decade due to the increase in the number and magnitude of induced earthquakes. Efforts to mitigate the risk associated with injection-induced earthquakes include modeling of the interaction between fluids and earthquake faults. Here we investigate this relationship with simulations that couple a geomechanical reservoir model and RSQSim, a physics-based earthquake simulator. RSQSim employs rate- and state-dependent friction (RSF) that enables the investigation of the time-dependent nature of earthquake sequences. We explore the effect of two RSF parameters and normal stress on the spatiotemporal characteristics of injection-induced seismicity. We perform >200 simulations to systematically investigate the effect of these model components on the evolution of induced seismicity sequences and compare the spatiotemporal characteristics of our synthetic catalogs to observations of induced earthquakes. We find that the RSF parameters control the ability of seismicity to migrate away from the injection well, the total number and maximum magnitude of induced events. Additionally, the RSF parameters control the occurrence/absence of premonitory events. Finally, we find that earthquake stress drops can be modulated by the normal stress and/or the RSF parameters. Insight gained from this study can aid in further development of models that address best practice protocols for injection operations, site-specific models of injection-induced earthquakes, and probabilistic hazard and risk assessments.
Research Organization:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC52-07NA27344
OSTI ID:
1420284
Report Number(s):
LLNL-JRNL--736650
Journal Information:
Journal of Geophysical Research. Solid Earth, Journal Name: Journal of Geophysical Research. Solid Earth Journal Issue: 12 Vol. 122; ISSN 2169-9313
Publisher:
American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (58)

Aftershocks of the 2010 M w 7.2 El Mayor-Cucapah earthquake reveal complex faulting in the Yuha Desert, California : COMPLEX FAULTING IN THE YUHA DESERT journal December 2013
Maximum magnitude earthquakes induced by fluid injection: Limits on fluid injection earthquakes journal February 2014
The 17 May 2012  M 4.8 earthquake near Timpson, East Texas: An event possibly triggered by fluid injection : 2012 May 17 east Texas earthquake journal January 2014
Dynamically modeling fault step overs using various friction laws: Modeling Stepovers with Various Friction journal July 2014
Injection-induced seismicity: Poroelastic and earthquake nucleation effects: INJECTION INDUCED SEISMICITY journal July 2015
Collective properties of injection-induced earthquake sequences: 1. Model description and directivity bias: INDUCED SEISMICITY: DIRECTIVITY BIAS journal May 2016
Injection-induced seismicity on basement faults including poroelastic stressing: INDUCED SEISMICITY ON BASEMENT FAULTS journal April 2016
Evidence for a transient hydromechanical and frictional faulting response during the 2011 M w  5.6 Prague, Oklahoma earthquake sequence : FAULTING RESPONSE AT PRAGUE journal December 2016
Low stress drops observed for aftershocks of the 2011 M w 5.7 Prague, Oklahoma, earthquake : Low Stress Drops for Prague Aftershocks journal May 2017
Induced seismicity associated with fluid injection into a deep well in Youngstown, Ohio: INDUCED SEISMICITY IN YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO journal July 2013
Time-dependent friction and the mechanics of stick-slip journal January 1978
Earthquake Recurrence in Simulated Fault Systems journal April 2010
Earthquake nucleation on faults with rate-and state-dependent strength journal September 1992
Seismic monitoring at the Decatur, IL, CO2 sequestration demonstration site journal January 2014
Reservoir Geomechanics book January 2007
A spatial random field model to characterize complexity in earthquake slip: RANDOM FIELD MODEL FOR EARTHQUAKE SLIP journal November 2002
Foreshocks, aftershocks, and remote triggering in quasi-static fault models: REMOTE TRIGGERING journal October 2003
Forecasting the evolution of seismicity in southern California: Animations built on earthquake stress transfer journal January 2005
Can coseismic stress variability suppress seismicity shadows? Insights from a rate-and-state friction model: COSEISMIC STRESS VARIABILITY CONTROL ON SEISMICITY journal June 2006
Relation between stress heterogeneity and aftershock rate in the rate-and-state model journal January 2006
Stress drop variations of induced earthquakes at the Basel geothermal site: STRESS DROP OF INDUCED EARTHQUAKES IN BASEL journal May 2011
Influence of pore-pressure on the event-size distribution of induced earthquakes: PORE PRESSURE AND EQ SIZE DISTRIBUTION journal May 2012
Fault stability under conditions of variable normal stress journal August 1992
Effects of variable normal stress on rock friction: Observations and constitutive equations journal January 1992
A constitutive law for rate of earthquake production and its application to earthquake clustering journal February 1994
Earthquake nucleation on model faults with rate- and state-dependent friction: Effects of inertia journal June 1996
Stress transferred by the 1995 M w = 6.9 Kobe, Japan, shock: Effect on aftershocks and future earthquake probabilities journal October 1998
Tectonic stress and the spectra of seismic shear waves from earthquakes journal September 1970
Modeling of rock friction: 1. Experimental results and constitutive equations journal January 1979
A reservoir analysis of the Denver earthquakes: A case of induced seismicity journal February 1981
Slip instability and state variable friction laws journal December 1983
Stochastic Modeling of Seafloor Morphology: Inversion of Sea Beam Data for Second-Order Statistics journal November 1988
Decay of aftershock density with distance does not indicate triggering by dynamic stress journal September 2010
Aftershocks halted by static stress shadows journal May 2012
The role of fluid pressure in induced vs. triggered seismicity: insights from rock deformation experiments on carbonates journal April 2016
Gas injection may have triggered earthquakes in the Cogdell oil field, Texas journal November 2013
Fluid-induced seismicity: Pressure diffusion and hydraulic fracturing journal March 2009
Injection-Induced Earthquakes journal July 2013
Sharp increase in central Oklahoma seismicity since 2008 induced by massive wastewater injection journal July 2014
The Denver EarthquakeS journal September 1968
An Experiment in Earthquake Control at Rangely, Colorado journal March 1976
Seismicity triggered by fluid injection-induced aseismic slip journal June 2015
Potentially induced earthquakes in Oklahoma, USA: Links between wastewater injection and the 2011 Mw 5.7 earthquake sequence journal June 2013
Characterization of fluid transport properties of reservoirs using induced microseismicity journal January 2002
Investigation of injection-induced seismicity using a coupled fluid flow and rate/state friction model journal November 2011
Source characteristics of seismicity associated with underground wastewater disposal: A case study from the 2008 Dallas-Fort Worth earthquake sequence journal December 2012
A Fluid-Injection-Triggered Earthquake Sequence in Ashtabula, Ohio: Implications for Seismogenesis in Stable Continental Regions journal February 2004
Deep-Injection and Closely Monitored Induced Seismicity at Paradox Valley, Colorado journal April 2005
The Dallas-Fort Worth Earthquake Sequence: October 2008 through May 2009 journal January 2011
Earthquakes Triggered by Hydraulic Fracturing in South-Central Oklahoma journal June 2013
Modeling Earthquake Rate Changes in Oklahoma and Arkansas: Possible Signatures of Induced Seismicity journal September 2013
The 2001-Present Induced Earthquake Sequence in the Raton Basin of Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado journal September 2014
Shaking from Injection-Induced Earthquakes in the Central and Eastern United States journal August 2014
RSQSim Earthquake Simulator journal November 2012
Modeling Injection‐Induced Seismicity with the Physics‐Based Earthquake Simulator RSQSim journal June 2015
Waveform‐Relocated Earthquake Catalog for Oklahoma and Southern Kansas Illuminates the Regional Fault Network journal July 2017
Earthquakes Induced by the Stimulation of an Enhanced Geothermal System below Basel (Switzerland) journal September 2009
Disposal of Hydrofracking Waste Fluid by Injection into Subsurface Aquifers Triggers Earthquake Swarm in Central Arkansas with Potential for Damaging Earthquake journal March 2012

Similar Records

Influence of Fault Architecture on Induced Earthquake Sequence Evolution Revealed by High-Resolution Focal Mechanism Solutions
Journal Article · Thu Oct 27 20:00:00 EDT 2022 · Journal of Geophysical Research. Solid Earth · OSTI ID:1924407

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
RSQSim
earthquake simulation
induced seismicity
rate-state friction
spatiotemporal evolution
stress drop