Repeating Earthquake Sequences in Induced Seismicity in West Texas
Description:
Induced seismicity from hydraulic fracturing, oil-gas operations, geothermal systems, and CO2 sequestration are common worldwide. They can lead to moderate seismicity on pre-existing faults and constitute a hazard to surrounding communities. In particular, induced seismicity in the Permian Basin in West Texas has rapidly increased since ~2016, in response to increased fluid injection associated with oil and gas operations. Yet the physical processes relating to fluids, fault motion and fault healing that control induced seismicity are still poorly constrained. Repeating earthquakes, -- earthquakes that repeatedly rupture the same seismic asperity time and time again -- provide a perfect opportunity to understand the recurrence and frictional healing of seismic asperities in-situ. We identified repeating earthquakes in the Permian Basin using a catalog of relocated earthquakes from 2017 - 2020 that contain high-resolution measurements of stress drops derived from Trugman and Savvadis, 2021. We identify repeaters as events that have overlapping rupture areas and high waveform similarity. Preliminary results suggest that there are ~20 sequences with quasi-periodic recurrence intervals, ranging in duration from days to years. The wide range in recurrence intervals provides evidence for a range of driving stresses and healing rates across the region. Using measurements of stress drop and recurrence interval, we aim to measure the in-situ healing rates of the seismic asperities that host the repeaters. Along with the periodic sequences, we also identify closely located events with short recurrence intervals that are likely triggered from static-stressing. This work will provide new and unique insights into the physical processes that drive induced seismicity in the Permian Basin and will be integrated with laboratory-based studies of fluid-induced seismicity.
Session: Mechanistic Insights into Fluid-induced Earthquakes from the Laboratory to the Field [Poster]
Type: Poster
Date: 4/15/2025
Presentation Time: 08:00 AM (local time)
Presenting Author: Alice
Student Presenter: No
Invited Presentation:
Poster Number: 104
Authors
Alice Turner Presenting Author Corresponding Author art77@cam.ac.uk University of Cambridge |
David Bolton chas.bolton@beg.utexas.edu University of Texas at Austin |
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Repeating Earthquake Sequences in Induced Seismicity in West Texas
Session
Mechanistic Insights into Fluid-induced Earthquakes from the Laboratory to the Field