From Seismic Quiescence to Surged Activity After Decades of Wastewater Disposal: A Case Study in Central‐West Alberta, Canada

Yu, Hongyu; Kao, Honn; Visser, Ryan; Wang, Bei

doi:10.1029/2021gl095074

Cited by 10 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 64 publications

(75 reference statements)

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“…First, the Musreau Lake area is located closest to a northeast-southwest strike-slip fault, and our results indicate that the fault is more likely to slip than other faults in the region, but the likelihood is as low as 20%. Second, it is suggested by Yu et al (2021) that an aseismic loading slip mechanism is a triggering mechanism for the earthquake swarm around Musreau Lake. As proposed by Li et al (2021), long-term fluid injection in the Musreau Lake region leads to slip of faults striking in an unfavorable orientation along the northwest-southeast direction.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Probabilistic assessment of induced seismicity at the Alberta No. 1 geothermal project site

et al. 2023

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Alberta No.1 is a geothermal project targeting deep carbonate, conglomerates, and sandstone formations in a potential production and injection zone for geothermal energy exploitation within the Municipal District of Greenview south of Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada. In geothermal systems without a steam fraction (typically systems under 170°C), rapid widespread pore pressure changes and slow temperature changes have led to increased deviatoric stresses, resulting in induced seismicity. A concern for the Alberta No.1 Geothermal Project is that anthropogenic seismicity from oil, gas, and well field fluid injection has created felt events in Alberta. Thus, at the beginning of this type of project, it is prudent to review the potential for induced seismicity. In this study, a geomechanical study of the Leduc and Granite Wash Formations, two potential geothermal fluid exploitation zones, has been undertaken based on borehole geophysics and regional injection-induced earthquake data. Determining subsurface properties such as state of stress, pore pressure, and fault properties, however, poses uncertainties in the absence of actual data from the target formations. Geomechanical analysis results (with associated uncertainties) are used to assess the potential for injection-induced earthquakes. A Monte Carlo probability analysis is employed to estimate the likelihood of slippage of the known faults close to the Alberta No.1 Geothermal Project. A cumulative distribution function of the critical pore pressure on each fault is derived from the local tectonic stress state and Mohr-Coulomb shear parameter analyses. The resultant probabilistic fault stability maps can serve as a baseline for future fluid injection projects in the region including wastewater disposal, hydraulic fracture stimulation, CO2 sequestration, as well as geothermal energy extraction.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Probabilistic assessment of induced seismicity at the Alberta No. 1 geothermal project site

et al. 2023

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“…We refer readers to Yu et al. (2021) for more details about injection operations, and the corresponding earthquake triggering hypotheses.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We first describe the local stress state near focal depths. According to the precise focal depths constrained by the timing of local and regional depth phases, Yu et al (2021) suggest that most earthquakes cluster near the injection depths of ∼4 km. The average focal depth differences of the three faulting types are all <1 km (Table S1 in Supporting Information S1), within the depth uncertainty of up to 2 km.…”

Section: Geomechanical Analysis Of Different Earthquake Rupture Typesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The geological setting in our study area is characterized by the thin‐skinned, NW–SE‐trending, fold‐and‐thrust belt of the Rocky Mountain foreland basin, where the oil and gas resources within the Duverney shale formation have spurred a huge interest of industrial exploitations (Shen et al., 2021). Fluid injections in the study area have been actively conducted for 25 years, yet no earthquake was reported until very recently (Yu et al., 2021). The long‐term seismic quiescence is previously attributed to the unfavorable orientation of the preexisting structures and/or the limited level of stress perturbations caused by fluid injections (Schultz et al., 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Long‐Term Fluid Injection Can Expedite Fault Reactivation and Development: Riedel Shear Structures Illuminated by Induced Earthquakes in Alberta, Canada

Kao

Wang

et al. 2022

JGR Solid Earth

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Riedel shear structures (RSS) are often observed in the embryonic stage of strike‐slip fault development, which can be depicted in the field through outcrops and coseismic surface ruptures. It is a critical concept linking the geomechanical behavior of individual earthquakes to structural geology at both local and regional scales. However, the influence of long‐term fluid injections on the developing process of RSS, as manifested by the common occurrences of injection‐induced earthquakes, has been rarely addressed. Here we document for the first‐time subsurface RSS expedited by long‐term wastewater disposal injections in western Canada. We study an earthquake sequence consisting of 187 events (ML ranging 1.3–3.9) between 1 January 2018 and 15 July 2021 in an area without any previous seismic history. According to 31 well‐constrained focal mechanism solutions, the injection‐related earthquake sequence exhibits various faulting types with the vast majority (87%) being compatible with the background stress regime (SHmax azimuth = N38°E). The orientation of derived nodal planes collectively indicates a model of RSS that consists of four primary strike‐slip structures striking 19° (R′), 79° (R), 94° (PDZ), and 109° (P), respectively. Moreover, six fault segments delineated from the relocated local seismicity are parallel to the substructures of RSS. Mohr‐Coulomb failure analysis further suggests a cumulative stress perturbation of up to 10.0 MPa. Our observations suggest that long‐term fluid injection can expedite the development of local fault systems. Therefore, it is probably important to consider the dimension of local/regional RSS in the assessment of the overall seismic hazard due to fluid injections.

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“…In seismology, depth phases are usually referred to seismic phases that are reflected from velocity interfaces located directly above (e.g., the ground surface) or beneath (e.g., the Moho discontinuity) the hypocenter. As the differential travel times between the direct P or S phase and depth phases are very sensitive to the focal depth regardless of the epicentral distance (e.g., Kao & Chen, 1991; Tahara et al., 2006; Yu, Kao, et al., 2021), using depth phases in the location process can allow us to pinpoint the focal depth much more accurately with no near‐field stations, which is particularly suitable for areas with insufficient local station coverage.…”

Section: Source Parameters Of the M31 Mainshockmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantitative Evaluation of the Competing Effects of Wastewater Disposal and Hydraulic Fracturing on Causing Induced Earthquakes: A Case Study of an M3.1 Earthquake Sequence in Western Canada

Wang

Kao

et al. 2023

JGR Solid Earth

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In the past decade, most of the injection induced earthquakes (IIE) in the central US are thought to be correlated with wastewater disposal (WD) injections (Ellsworth, 2013;Keranen et al., 2013), although recent studies suggest that hydraulic fracturing (HF) could also contribute to the increasing seismicity in some regions with intensive HF stimulations (Kozlowska et al., 2018;Skoumal et al., 2018). Contrastingly, in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin (WCSB), the spatiotemporal correlation between injection operations and IIE suggests that HF plays

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From Seismic Quiescence to Surged Activity After Decades of Wastewater Disposal: A Case Study in Central‐West Alberta, Canada

Cited by 10 publications

References 64 publications

Probabilistic assessment of induced seismicity at the Alberta No. 1 geothermal project site

Probabilistic assessment of induced seismicity at the Alberta No. 1 geothermal project site

Long‐Term Fluid Injection Can Expedite Fault Reactivation and Development: Riedel Shear Structures Illuminated by Induced Earthquakes in Alberta, Canada

Quantitative Evaluation of the Competing Effects of Wastewater Disposal and Hydraulic Fracturing on Causing Induced Earthquakes: A Case Study of an M3.1 Earthquake Sequence in Western Canada

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