Abstract
The results of a previous study on source mechanisms of small earthquakes at the Geysers geothermal reservoir in northern California are used to investigate an extended crack model for seismic events. The seismic events are characterized by their first-degree moment tensors and interpreted in terms of a model that is a combination of a shear crack and wing cracks. Solutions to both forward and inverse problems are obtained that can be used with either dynamic or static moment tensors. The model contains failure criteria, explains isotropic parts that are commonly observed in induced earthquakes, and produces estimates of crack dimensions and maximum amount of slip. Effects of fluid pressure are easily incorporated into the model as an effective stress. The model is applied to static moment tensors of 20 earthquakes that occurred during a controlled injection project in the northwest Geysers. For earthquakes in the moment magnitude range of 0.9–2.8, the model predicts shear crack radii in the range of 10–150 m, wing crack lengths in the range of 2–25 m, and maximum slips in the range of 0.3–1.1 cm. Only limited results are obtained for the time-dependence of the earthquake process, but the model is consistent with corner frequencies of the isotropic part of the moment tensor being greater than the deviatoric part and waveforms of direct p waves that become more emergent for larger events.
Highlights
There are a broad range of human activities that are known to induce earthquakes, including filling of reservoirs, removal of fluids from wells, injection of fluids into wells, and excavation of mines
The project is located in an undeveloped part of the northwest Geysers geothermal reservoir, where water was injected into well Prati 32 (P32) starting on October 6, 2011
The source model for induced earthquakes developed in this study is primarily designed to explain seismological waveform data as characterized by first-degree moment tensors
Summary
Abstract—The results of a previous study on source mechanisms of small earthquakes at the Geysers geothermal reservoir in northern California are used to investigate an extended crack model for seismic events. The seismic events are characterized by their first-degree moment tensors and interpreted in terms of a model that is a combination of a shear crack and wing cracks. Solutions to both forward and inverse problems are obtained that can be used with either dynamic or static moment tensors. For earthquakes in the moment magnitude range of 0.9–2.8, the model predicts shear crack radii in the range of 10–150 m, wing crack lengths in the range of 2–25 m, and maximum slips in the range of.
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