Seismic fracture anisotropy in the Earth's crust: An overview

Conference · Tue Jul 10 00:00:00 EDT 1990 · Journal of Geophysical Research; (United States)

OSTI ID:5387187

Leary, P C ^[1]; Crampin, S ^[2]; McEvilly, T V ^[3]

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1. Univ. of Southern California, Los Angeles (USA)
2. British Geological Survey, Edinburgh (England)
3. Univ. of California, Berkeley (USA)

Fluid-filled fractures and microcracks are the most stress sensitive component of crustal rock and often determine the pathways and volume of crustal fluid movement. If we are to comprehend the role of fractures and fluids in tectonic processes, to formulate an accurate hypothesis for phenomena precursory to catastrophic seismic failure, or to monitor hydrocarbon and geothermal reservoirs for the presence or absence of major fluid pathways, we must understand how seismic waves interact with the fracture, crack, and microcrack structures within the rock mass. A salient feature of fracture-related rock structure is the effective seismic anisotropy of aligned fractures and microcracks. With the advent of large-volume digital seismic data sets it is feasible to use polarized shear waves to explore the anisotropic fracture properties of the crust. Crustal fracture structures which may be monitored by polarized shear waves range in dimensions from the 10-100 km scale of crustal stress orientation and preseismic stress buildup, through the 100-1,000 m scale of fluid reservoir structure and characterization, and the 1-10 scale of mining and geoengineering rock strain monitoring, to millimeter and micrometer or possibly smaller fluid-filled inclusions determining the elastic response of the intact rock mass.

• OSTI ID: 5387187
• Report Number(s): CONF-880531-; CODEN: JGREA
• Journal Information: Journal of Geophysical Research; (United States), Vol. 95:B7; Conference: 3. international workshop on seismic anisotropy, Berkeley, CA (United States), 31 May - 4 Jun 1988; ISSN 0148-0227
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
CONTINENTAL CRUST
STRESS ANALYSIS
GEOLOGIC FRACTURES
ANISOTROPY
FRACTURE MECHANICS
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
GEOTHERMAL RESOURCES
HYDROCARBONS
ORIENTATION
RESERVOIR FLUIDS
ROCK MECHANICS
SEISMIC DETECTION
SEISMIC S WAVES
SEISMIC SURVEYS
TECTONICS
DETECTION
EARTH CRUST
FLUIDS
GEOPHYSICAL SURVEYS
MECHANICS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
RESOURCES
SEISMIC WAVES
SURVEYS
580000* - Geosciences