Fluid-induced seismicity: Pressure diffusion and hydraulic fracturing

Borehole fluid injections are common for the development of hydrocarbon and geothermic reservoirs. Often they induce numerous microearthquakes. Spatio-temporal dynamics of such induced microseismic clouds can be used to characterize reservoirs. However, a fluid-induced seismicity can be caused by a wide range of processes. Here we show that linear pore pressure relaxation and a hydraulic fracturing are two asymptotic end members of a set of non-linear diffusional phenomena responsible for seismicity triggering. To account for the whole range of processes we propose a rather general non-linear diffusional equation describing the pore pressure evolution. This equation takes into account a possibly strong enhancement of the medium permeability. Both linear pore pressure relaxation and hydraulic fracturing can be obtained as special limiting cases of this equation. From this equation we derive the triggering front of fluid induced seismicity, which is valid in the general case of non-linear pore pressure diffusion. We demonstrate corresponding seismicity signatures on different case studies.     

汶川MS8.0级地震发生背景与过程的研究

本文首先阐明汶川M_S8.0级地震发生在由区域布格重力异常和地震震中分布所确定的武都—松潘—茂汶—汶川—泸定地震带上.汶川地震所在地段是地震前兆和中小地震（M≤7.0）的空白区,震前出现明显的孕震空区,M_S8.0级地震发生在空区周围区域中小地震活动峰值之后的减少段里.地震的破裂超出孕震空区范围,空区内、外余震活动呈现出不同的衰减特征,依此将余震活动分为WS和NE两个区段.地震破裂过程、4级以上余震矩张量及震区应力场反演和余震应力降的测定结果表明,两个区域的位错、余震机制解和应力降及最大主应力的方〖JP2〗向等明显有别.根据这些特征和地震应力触发的研究,推测NE段地震的发生可能是〖JP〗由WS段主破裂的发生所触发.     

基于ETAS模型对三峡库区流体触发微震活动的定量检测

针对ETAS模型参数估计方法(MLE)中的初值敏感性问题,提出GA+MLE算法,以GA结果作为MLE算法的初始输入,对结果进行精细计算.通过ETAS模型研究三峡库区微震活动在快速加载及缓慢卸载两种状态下的流体触发、地震自激发及微震活动衰减特征,讨论库水渗透及加卸载过程的可能影响.结果显示:(1)库水快速加载阶段ETAS模型参数μ、α、p及流体触发地震所占比例R_b均显示由小变大、又由大变小的变化过程,但p值的统计差异不显著;在库水缓慢卸载阶段,μ与R_b持续减小;(2)平均来看,库水快速加载阶段流体对微震活动显示较强的外因触发作用,同一条件下序列地震自激发明显增强、衰减相对较慢;水位缓慢卸载阶段,流体对地震活动的触发影响相对较弱,地震自激发不强、衰减相对较快;(3)分阶段来看,蓄水初期库水作用对微震活动的外因触发影响较弱,随库水位的升高及作用时间的增长,流体渗透逐渐发挥作用,孔隙压逐渐增大,流体外因触发作用明显增强,大多数微震活动缘于流体的直接触发(R_b≥95%);足够长的时间之后,由于地下数公里范围在新的载荷及渗透条件下趋于新的平衡,流体渗透影响趋于稳定,孔隙压趋于常数,孔隙压变化趋于0,流体对微震活动的触发作用逐渐减弱.     

不同时期水库地震活动主要影响因素讨论以三峡库区微震活动为例

结合微震活动的流体作用强度检测及孔隙压扩散模拟,讨论了三峡库区不同时期微震活动的主要影响因素。以2008年9月蓄水季为界划分前、后期,前期流体渗透导致的孔隙压力增加,使裂隙或断层面强度降低,是库区微震活动的主要影响因素,这一时期微震频次及ETAS模型参数μ值有起伏地缓慢增大,与库水位加卸载过程关系不明显; 后期由于流体渗透引起的孔隙压力变化趋于零,在新的流体平衡条件下,库水位加卸载过程所导致的裂隙或断层面上的应力变化,成为库区微震活动的主要影响因素,这一时期微震频次及μ值显示出与水位变化明显的关联特征。库区小震震源深度的时间变化支持上述观点。在此基础上,进一步讨论了水库“诱发”和水库“触发”地震的力学差异,认为前者主要缘于流体渗透导致的裂隙或断层面强度的“主动”降低,后者则主要与库水加卸载所导致的裂隙或断层面上应力增强有关。进一步推论认为,流体对小地震“诱发”、“触发”皆可能发生,但中强地震缘于流体“诱发”的可能性非常小,对水库区发生的中强地震,流体仅可能对处于临界状态的断层系统起到“触发”作用。     

地震研究中的断层流体动力学问题

流体在断裂带地震周期中具有重要作用。 在地震流体研究中, 该文建议在如下几个方面加强研究力度: ① 断层渗透结构和断裂带古水文地质旋回的研究; ② 断裂带流体循环的尺度效应; ③ 流体分布、 循环与构造展布关系; ④ 断裂带深浅部流体关系研究。 在断层流体动力学研究中, 建议就某一发震断裂带开展系统研究, 并优先解决以下问题: ① 断裂带流体的起源和成分; ② 产生和维持高孔隙压力的构造环境和水文地质条件; ③ 断裂带及邻近岩体流体运移及重新分布的机制; ④ 取得断裂带孔隙压力变化的数量知识; ⑤ 垂直方向和水平方向流体孔隙压力变化范围; ⑥ 地震周期中流体迁移与孔隙压变化规律。     

Pore Creation due to Fault Slip in a Fluid-permeated Fault Zone and its Effect on Seismicity: Generation Mechanism of Earthquake Swarm

—Spatio-temporal variation of rupture activity is modeled assuming fluid migration in a narrow porous fault zone formed along a vertical strike-slip fault in a semi-infinite elastic medium. Pores are assumed to be created in the fault zone by fault slip. The effective stress principle coupled to the Coulomb failure criterion introduces mechanical coupling between fault slip and pore fluid. The fluid is assumed to flow out of a localized high-pressure fluid compartment in the fault with the onset of earthquake rupture. The duration of the earthquake sequence is assumed to be considerably shorter than the recurrence period of characteristic events on the fault. The rupture process is shown to be significantly dependent on the rate of pore creation. If the rate is large enough, a foreshock–mainshock sequence is never observed. When an inhomogeneity is introduced in the spatial distribution of permeability, high complexity is observed in the spatio-temporal variation of rupture activity. For example, frequency-magnitude statistics of intermediate-size events are shown to obey the Gutenberg–Richter relation. Rupture sequences with features of earthquake swarms can be simulated when the rate of pore creation is relatively large. Such sequences generally start and end gradually with no single event dominating in the sequence. In addition, the b values are shown to be unusually large. These are consistent with seismological observations on earthquake swarms.     

INFLUENCE OF PRESSURE HEAD CHANGE AND ITS CHANGE RATE ON RESERVOIR TRIGGERED SEISMICITY -A CASE STUDY OF ZIPINGPU RESERVOIR

For analyzing the role that reservoir impounding plays in triggering earthquake, the process of diffusion of pore pressure and its mechanism of action should be understood firstly. The temporal distribution of seismicity, which occurred before the M_S8.0 Wenchuan earthquake, following the impoundment of Zipingpu reservoir is studied in this paper. Then the mechanisms of the occurrence and development of reservoir triggered seismicity are discussed. A comparative analysis of the temporal distribution of seismicity and the submerged area by reservoir impounding is carried out firstly. Then the influence of various factors on modeling is analyzed in detail. After calculating, the pore pressure change by the Zipingpu reservoir impoundment is obtained. The following observations are made:(1)Conspicuous swarms of earthquakes, of which the sources are located on the same fault of the M_S8.0 Wenchuan earthquake, occurred orderly with the impoundment of Zipingpu reservoir.(2)Because of the influences of the terrain and the medium, the range of effect of pore pressure change by the impoundmemt is limited and anisotropic. Hydraulic diffusivities(D)of 0.7 and 0.35m²/s along the fault strike and the fault dip are reached respectively by a semi-quantitative assessment. Of course, the qualitative pressure constraints on the surface are also applied for the modeling.(3)The calculation results show that the temporal distribution of seismicity near the Zipingpu reservoir is related with the pore pressure change. After the pore pressure reached the threshold of triggering earthquake, whether the pressure head change is high or not, the change rate of pressure head change plays a key role in the decrease or increase of seismicity. It means that the triggered seismicity by pore pressure is a dynamic triggering process.     

汶川8.0级地震触发与余震活动空间分布研究

文中分析研究了2008年汶川8.0级地震发震构造即龙门山断裂带历史和现今地震活动情况, 并计算主震发生后产生的库仑破裂静应力变化, 讨论了地震触发与余震空间分布之间的联系。 结果表明, 龙门山断裂带以虎牙—北川—安县为界分为二段, 西南段和东北段在地震活动性方面存在着较大的差异。 虽同处一条断裂带上, 但两者之间地震活动没有联系。 汶川8.0级主震发生之后, 在空间上产生的库仑破裂静应力变化具有很明显的分区特征。 龙门山断裂带北川至青川之间库仑破裂应力变化值大于+0.05 MPa, 主震对该地区后续M_L≥5.0余震的发生存在着触发作用。     

The Chi-Chi 1999 earthquake: Correlation between the spatio-temporal distribution of aftershocks and viscoelastic stress changes

The Chi-Chi 1999 (M_L = 7.3) earthquake generated a large number of aftershocks in the vicinity of the rupture plane. The spatial-temporal distribution of these aftershocks was recorded with high precision and thus provided a unique possibility to study whether the correlation between aftershocks and stress changes are primary due to coseismically induced stress changes (static), or whether stress relaxation processes (viscoelastic) in the lower crust contribute significantly to this correlation. From our analysis of a 3D finite element model simulating the viscoelastic stress changes due to the coseismic displacement and tectonic loading we found that the aftershocks are highly correlated with the stress variations (static and viscoelastic) caused by the main shock. Although we found that the correlation between seismicity rate changes and viscoelastic stress fluctuation is slightly better than that of the static stress changes, these differences can only be identified well in the lower crust. As a result, it is reasonable to conclude that static stress changes are the key mechanism for triggering early and shallow aftershocks in the upper crust. It is reasonable to infer that the viscoelastic relaxation in the lower crust does affect the occurrence of early aftershocks in the deep crust, but it does not significantly affect the shallow aftershocks. However, the stress changes induced from the lower crust gradually transfer to the upper crust and may influence the occurrence of aftershocks after a longer time period (>four Maxwell times).     

Back front of seismicity induced by non‐linear pore pressure diffusion

Borehole fluid injections are accompanied by microseismic activity not only during but also after termination of the fluid injection. Previously, this phenomenon has been analysed, assuming that the main triggering mechanism is governed by a linear pressure diffusion in a hydraulically isotropic medium. In this context the so‐called back front of seismicity has been introduced, which allows to characterize the hydraulic transport from the spatiotemporal distribution of post‐injection induced events. However, rocks are generally anisotropic, and in addition, fluid injections can strongly enhance permeability. In this case, permeability becomes a function of pressure. For such situations, we carry out a comprehensive study about the behaviour and parametrization of the back front. Based on a model of a factorized anisotropic pressure dependence of permeability, we present an approach to reconstruct the principal components of the diffusivity tensor. We apply this approach to real microseismic data and show that the back front characterizes the least hydraulic transport. To investigate the back front of non‐linear pore‐fluid pressure diffusion, we numerically consider a power‐law and an exponential‐dependent diffusivity. To account for a post‐injection enhanced hydraulic state of the rock, we introduce a model of a frozen (i.e., nearly unchanged after the stimulation) medium diffusivity and generate synthetic seismicity. We find that, for a weak non‐linearity and 3D exponential diffusion, the linear diffusion back front is still applicable. This finding is in agreement with microseismic data from Ogachi and Fenton Hill. However, for a strong non‐linear fluid–rock interaction such as hydraulic fracturing, the back front can significantly deviate from a time dependence of a linear diffusion back front. This is demonstrated for a data set from the Horn River Basin. Hence, the behaviour of the back front is a strong indicator of a non‐linear fluid–rock interaction.     

Static stress changes as a triggering mechanism of a shallow earthquake: case study of the 1999 Chi-Chi (Taiwan) earthquake

The role of static stress changes in triggering an earthquake has long been debated in the fields of geophysics and fault mechanics. Valuable data sets for the study of static triggering were provided within the 1-year period following the devastating 1999 Chi-Chi (Taiwan) earthquake (M_W=7.6), during which more than 20,000 aftershocks occurred. In this study, stress waves generated by the Chi-Chi earthquake were calculated using a source rupture model in conjunction with a layered elastic model. Static (permanent) stress changes were extracted from the long-period offsets in the stressgrams. Correlations between the calculated stress changes and seismicity were analyzed at different depths and over varying time intervals to ascertain the impact effects of stress changes on triggering aftershocks. Correlations between prior seismicity rates and static stress changes imposed by the Chi-Chi event were low, while correlations between late seismicity rates and static stress changes were much higher. This indicates that static stress changes did affect the occurrence of the Chi-Chi aftershock sequence. The percentage of early aftershocks at shallow depths (0-10 km) in static stress-enhanced areas within 2 weeks of the main shock was high but decreased considerably at greater depths (>10 km) and over longer time periods. It is concluded that static stress changes at depths of 0-10 km played a major role in triggering crustal aftershocks, especially those that occurred within 2 weeks of the main shock. In the deeper crust, static stress changes may have been modified by viscous flow, and at later times, perturbed by earlier, larger aftershocks. Although the correlations between seismicity rate changes and static stress changes are imperfect, a region that was anti-triggered is detected when these two results are compared. Static stress changes are presumably not the only aftershock triggering mechanism, but they definitively play a major role in triggering shallow aftershocks.     

新疆天山地震带的地震流体地质效应

天山地区的高压自流水、高压油气藏及地热异常区的出露与天山地震带分布的一致性表明,孔隙水压异常高的动力条件可能成为触发浅源地震的重要机制。本文以丰富的震例为依据,认为天山地震带中强地震前地下流体出现两类异常:一类是应力应变能积累阶段的趋势性异常;一类是应力应变能预释放阶段的临震突发性异常。两类异常在形态上和时空分布上有完全不同的特征,它们显示出地震孕育过程中的两个完全不同的物理、化学过程。     

Incorporating space,time, and magnitude measures in a network characterization of earthquake events

We investigate the structural properties of a spatio-temporal network of earthquake events that incorporates magnitude information between the connected events. The network creates temporally directed links from an origin event towards a later event if it breaks the record closest distance from the origin among all the events in the catalog so far. Additionally, the links are conditionally classified based on the magnitude difference between connected events: “up” (“down”) connections point from a weaker (stronger) to a stronger (weaker) event. Using earthquake records from the Philippines from 1973 to 2012 and southern California from 1982 to 2012, we observe that the out-degree distributions show slight deviations from the corresponding Poisson distribution of the same mean. The space and time separations of connected earthquakes both show power-law regimes, suggesting spatio-temporal (self-)organization. More importantly, the conditional distributions of “up” and “down” connections in space, time, and network structure point to a higher likelihood of a stronger event triggering a nearby weaker event for the first few connections, as in the case of aftershocks. The results are captured by a sandpile-based model where a small but finite probability of preferentially targeting the most susceptible grid site is introduced. Our analysis, coupled with the discrete model analog, provides a quantitative picture of the spatio-temporal and magnitude organization of seismicity beyond just the successive events. The technique may be extended to further characterize similar long-period earthquake records to yield a more complete picture of the underlying processes involved in seismicity.     

俯冲带上特大地震静态库仑应力变化对后续余震触发效果的研究

地震静态触发研究在全世界范围内广泛开展,并取得显著成效;但是否所有的大地震,地震静态触发都有很好的效果,对此目前还不甚清楚.本文通过计算最近发生在俯冲带上的三次特大地震(2011年日本东北地震(M_w=9.1)、2010年智利地震(M_w=8.8)与2004年苏门答腊—安达曼地震(M_w=9.0))所产生的静态库仑应力变化,考察主震库仑应力变化对其后续余震空间分布的影响,从而研究俯冲带上特大地震对地震的触发效果.计算结果显示:对于2011年日本东北地震,仅有47%的后续余震发生在库仑应力增加的区域;2010年智利地震也只有47.6%的余震位置处于库仑应力变化的正值区;2004年苏门答腊地震触发了49.8%的后续余震.文中通过进一步改变模型参数(如:采用不同的有效摩擦系数,使用不同作者给出的震源模型等)进行计算,结果表明这三大地震对后续余震的触发比例仍然不高(最好情况下,触发比例也不超过60%).但对于板内地震(如:2008年汶川地震,1999年集集地震),主震对后续余震的触发比例超过85%.由此可以推知,对于俯冲带上的特大地震,地震静态触发效果不显著.因此,对于俯冲带上大地震的触发问题,还需深入研究.     

Pore fluid pressure effects in anisotropic rocks: Mechanisms of induced seismicity and weak faults

Many observations and studies indicate that pore fluid pressure in the crustal rocks plays an important role in deformation, faulting, and earthquake processes. Conventional models of pore pressure effects often assume isotropic porous rocks and yield the nondeviatoric pressure effects which seem insufficient to explain diverse phenomena related to pore pressure variation, such as fluid-extraction induced seismicity and crustal weak faults. We derive the anisotropic effective stress law especially for transversely-isotropic and orthotropic rocks, and propose that the deviatoric effects of pore fluid pressure in anisotropic rocks not only affect rock effective strength but also cause variation of shear stresses. Such shear stress variations induced by either pore pressure buildup or pore pressure decline may lead to faulting instability and trigger earthquakes, and provide mechanisms for the failure of crustal weak faults with low level of shear stresses. We believe that the deviatoric effects of pore fluid pressure in anisotropic rocks are of wide application in studies of earthquake precursors and aftershocks, oil and gas reservoir characterization, enhanced oil recovery, and hydraulic fracturing.     

汶川8.0级地震的余震触发作用和对断层的应力加卸载作用

采用可变滑动震源模型,计算和研究了汶川M_S 8.0地震产生的应力变化及对后续6次强余震的应力触发作用,并定量分析了汶川地震对附近活动断裂带的库仑应力加卸载作用。结果显示:汶川地震产生的库仑破裂应力变化分布图案复杂性强,主要由发震断裂复杂的空间展布形态以及震源断层活动具有逆冲兼右旋走滑两种性质决定。汶川地震产生的库仑破裂应力变化对多数强余震存在一定的触发作用。汶川地震的发生对附近的断裂带有不同程度的影响,其中青川断裂中段和北段、岷江断裂南段和灌县-江油断裂南段,主要是以强烈的库仑破裂应力加载作用占主导地位,有利于强余震序列的孕育、加速以至于发生;东昆仑断裂带和鲜水河断裂带受到了轻微的应力加载作用;龙泉山断裂带、华莹山断裂带和西秦岭北缘断裂带主要受到了轻微的卸载作用。     

Improved Interpretation of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance T1 and T2 Distributions for Permeability Prediction: Simulation of Diffusion Coupling for a Fractal Cluster of Pores

NMR relaxometry is a powerful tool for inferring porosity and permeability data. In practice, measured magnetization decay curves are inverted for relaxation time distributions. Subsequently, one presumes a linear relationship between the pore radius distribution and the T ₁ and T ₂ distribution, for longitudinal and transverse magnetization, respectively. The fundamental equations used are based on a pore model, in which pores are assumed to be isolated from each other with respect to the NMR process and have smooth walls. The present study is based on a geometrical pore space model with connected pores and structured pore walls. The physical processes of surface relaxation, irreversible dephasing of magnetic spins and diffusive proton exchange between pores, are described by a system of differential equations. The solution yields a set of exponential functions representing the relaxation time distribution. We describe the difference between the distributions obtained for diffusion coupling and for isolated pores. With diffusion coupling on, the spectral width of the T ₁ distribution is strongly reduced, which indicates that the influence of large and small radii according to the T ₁-pore radius relationship is mixed to some extent. For a fractal pore space structure, where large pores are surrounded by adjacent minor pores, the T ₁ distribution does not resolve these substructures. Nevertheless, permeability values calculated from the logarithmic mean relaxation time T _1,LM are quite the same for diffusion coupling and for isolated pores. The T ₂ distribution for diffusion coupling is little constricted and gives a better resolution of the pore wall structures than the corresponding T ₁ distribution. The permeability values from T ₂ distributions agree with the values from longitudinal magnetization, provided that we use a corrected relaxation time T _2,corr, accounting for the dependence of the surface relaxivity ρ ₂ on pore radius. The study shows that radius distributions calculated from a T ₁ and from a T ₂ distribution differ from one another and both present an altered image of the true pore radius distribution. In practice, this has no serious influence on estimating permeability of medium- to high-permeability sandstones with the currently applied methods. The presented methodology of calculating the NMR response of pore space models with diffusion coupling may facilitate understanding porosity-permeability relationships of different rock types such as carbonate rocks with micro-porosity.     

2020年5月6日新疆乌恰5.0级和5月9日柯坪5.2级地震总结

2020年5月6日、5月9日,新疆地区南天山西段先后发生乌恰5.0级和柯坪5.2级地震,系统总结2次地震发生前出现的地震活动和地球物理观测异常,其中：①地震活动：震前存在调制地震集中、地震窗、5级以上地震成组等中短期异常;②地球物理观测：2次地震震中附近震前出现形变、电磁和流体观测异常,其中形变异常3项、电磁异常4项、流体异常1项,主要分布在柯坪5.2级地震震中附近。通过对2次地震序列进行跟踪,发现：乌恰5.0级地震余震较少,震后60天内共记录M_L 3.0以上余震4次,最大震级为M_L 4.5;柯坪5.2级地震后余震较丰富,震后60天内共记录M_L 3.0以上余震10次,最大震级为M_L 4.7,计算得到序列h值为1.6,b值为0.73。综合分析认为,2020年5月新疆地区2次5级以上地震前存在的地震活动异常较少,但区域地震活动水平较强,主要存在具有中短期指示意义的地球物理观测异常。     

暴雨触发局部地震活动的一个典型例子:2010年6月广西凌云—凤山交界3级震群活动

在前期严重干旱的背景下,2010年6月27～30日广西西北部出现大暴雨过程,大范围积水成涝.降雨量最大的凌云、凤山交界于6月28日17时开始出现密集的微震活动,形成显著的震群事件.自6月28日至7月15日共记录地震2739次,其中2～2.9级(ML,下同)41次,3级以上地震3次,最大为7月1日10时27分3.2级地震...     

DEFORMATION OF THE BRITTLE-PLASTIC TRANSITION ZONE AT THE POST-SEISMIC RELAXATION PERIOD: A CASE STUDY OF THE RED RIVER FAULT

The transition from microscopic brittle deformation to microscopic plastic deformation is called brittle-plastic transition, which is considered as a key layer for determining the limit of lower continental crust seismicity. The depth and deformation mechanism of the brittle-plastic transition zone is controlled mainly by temperature. Besides, the strain rate and fluid pore pressure also affect the transition during the different deformation stages at the seismic cycle. In this paper, microstructure observation of catalcastic samples collected from the Red River Fault was carried out using optical polarized microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The morphology, microstructures of deformation characteristics, mineral composition, water-rock reaction, pressure solution, exsolution, crack healing in the samples were systematically observed. The mineral components quantitative analyses were examined using the EDS. Water-rock reaction and pressure solution were systematically observed under SEM. The fabric of the main minerals in the samples was measured using electron backscattered diffraction(EBSD). Based on these analyses, the deformation mode was setup for the brittle-plastic transition zone of the fault during the post-seismic relaxation period. Both brittle deformation and plastic deformation were developed in the cataclastic samples. EBSD data shows that the c axial fabrics of quartz present low-temperature plastic deformation characteristics. The feldspar deformed as cataclastic rock, and the micro-fracture in feldspar was healed by static recrystallized quartz and calcite veins. The calcite vein underwent plastic deformation, which represents the post-seismic relaxation deformation. Based on the analysis of deformation mechanism of cataclastic samples in brittle-plastic transition zone of the Red River Fault, and combined with previous studies, we concluded that the brittle fracture and fracture healing is the main deformation mode at brittle-plastic transition zone in the post-seismic relaxation. High stress and high strain rate at post-seismic relaxation lead to brittle fracture of high-strength minerals such as feldspar in rocks. Plastic deformation occurs in low-strength minerals such as quartz and mica. Under the fluid condition, micro-fractures were healed by quartz and calcite. The minerals such as quartz and calcite in the fracture transformed from static recrystallization to dynamic recrystallization with stress gradually accumulating. With fracture healing and stress accumulation, the fault strength gradually increases which could accumulate energy for the next earthquake.