Inferring Hydraulic Pressure Changes from Induced Seismicity Observations: Three Showcases from Geothermal Reservoirs
We apply a recently developed approach for inferring in situ fluid pressure changes from induced seismicity observations to datasets from geothermal reservoirs at St. Gallen (Switzerland), Paralana (Australia), and Cooper Basin (Australia), respectively. The approach, referred to as seismohydraulic...
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Wiley
2021-01-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Geophysics |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2021/6647834 |
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| author | Christopher Koch Stefan Baisch Elmar Rothert John Reinecker |
| author_facet | Christopher Koch Stefan Baisch Elmar Rothert John Reinecker |
| author_sort | Christopher Koch |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We apply a recently developed approach for inferring in situ fluid pressure changes from induced seismicity observations to datasets from geothermal reservoirs at St. Gallen (Switzerland), Paralana (Australia), and Cooper Basin (Australia), respectively. The approach, referred to as seismohydraulic pressure mapping (SHPM), is based on mapping the seismic moment of induced earthquakes. Relative fluid pressure changes are inferred from the stress deficit of fracture patches slipping repeatedly. The SHPM approach was developed for the specific scenario, where induced earthquakes occur on a single, larger-scale plane with slip being driven by the regional stress field. We demonstrate that this scenario applies to the three datasets under investigation, indicating that geothermal systems in crystalline rock could typically be fault-dominated. For all datasets, individual earthquake source geometry could not be determined from source spectra due to the attenuation of the high signal frequencies. Instead, SHPM was applied assuming a constant stress drop in a circular crack model. Absolute values of inferred pressure change scale with the assumed stress drop while the spatiotemporal pattern of pressure changes remains similar even when varying stress drop by one order of magnitude. We demonstrate how the associated mismapping of seismic moment tends to average out when hypocentres are densely spaced. Our results indicate that SHPM could provide important information for calibrating numerical reservoir models. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-258cb80eb5dd40229a8e2687994e4252 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1687-885X 1687-8868 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
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| series | International Journal of Geophysics |
| spelling | doaj-art-258cb80eb5dd40229a8e2687994e42522025-02-03T07:24:04ZengWileyInternational Journal of Geophysics1687-885X1687-88682021-01-01202110.1155/2021/66478346647834Inferring Hydraulic Pressure Changes from Induced Seismicity Observations: Three Showcases from Geothermal ReservoirsChristopher Koch0Stefan Baisch1Elmar Rothert2John Reinecker3Q-con GmbH, 76887 Bad Bergzabern, GermanyQ-con GmbH, 76887 Bad Bergzabern, GermanyQ-con GmbH, 76887 Bad Bergzabern, GermanyGeoThermal Engineering, 76135 Karlsruhe, GermanyWe apply a recently developed approach for inferring in situ fluid pressure changes from induced seismicity observations to datasets from geothermal reservoirs at St. Gallen (Switzerland), Paralana (Australia), and Cooper Basin (Australia), respectively. The approach, referred to as seismohydraulic pressure mapping (SHPM), is based on mapping the seismic moment of induced earthquakes. Relative fluid pressure changes are inferred from the stress deficit of fracture patches slipping repeatedly. The SHPM approach was developed for the specific scenario, where induced earthquakes occur on a single, larger-scale plane with slip being driven by the regional stress field. We demonstrate that this scenario applies to the three datasets under investigation, indicating that geothermal systems in crystalline rock could typically be fault-dominated. For all datasets, individual earthquake source geometry could not be determined from source spectra due to the attenuation of the high signal frequencies. Instead, SHPM was applied assuming a constant stress drop in a circular crack model. Absolute values of inferred pressure change scale with the assumed stress drop while the spatiotemporal pattern of pressure changes remains similar even when varying stress drop by one order of magnitude. We demonstrate how the associated mismapping of seismic moment tends to average out when hypocentres are densely spaced. Our results indicate that SHPM could provide important information for calibrating numerical reservoir models.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2021/6647834 |
| spellingShingle | Christopher Koch Stefan Baisch Elmar Rothert John Reinecker Inferring Hydraulic Pressure Changes from Induced Seismicity Observations: Three Showcases from Geothermal Reservoirs International Journal of Geophysics |
| title | Inferring Hydraulic Pressure Changes from Induced Seismicity Observations: Three Showcases from Geothermal Reservoirs |
| title_full | Inferring Hydraulic Pressure Changes from Induced Seismicity Observations: Three Showcases from Geothermal Reservoirs |
| title_fullStr | Inferring Hydraulic Pressure Changes from Induced Seismicity Observations: Three Showcases from Geothermal Reservoirs |
| title_full_unstemmed | Inferring Hydraulic Pressure Changes from Induced Seismicity Observations: Three Showcases from Geothermal Reservoirs |
| title_short | Inferring Hydraulic Pressure Changes from Induced Seismicity Observations: Three Showcases from Geothermal Reservoirs |
| title_sort | inferring hydraulic pressure changes from induced seismicity observations three showcases from geothermal reservoirs |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2021/6647834 |
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