Koyna Warna Research Articles

Temporal migration of earthquakes in Koyna–Warna (India) region by pore-fluid diffusion

Continuous occurrences of several thousands of earthquakes in Koyna–Warna region since the initial impoundment (1962) of the Koyna reservoir has attracted the attention of seismologists all over the world to know the exact earthquake physical processes involved. The area has been a site for reservoir-triggered earthquakes for the last four and half decades. Major bursts of seismic activity occurred during 1967, 1973, 1980, 1993, and 2000 and recently in 2005 with magnitudes exceeding 5.0 in the region. A notable southward migration of seismicity has been observed following the impoundment of another reservoir, the nearby Warna reservoir. All the mainshocks suggest that the significant southward migration might be due to pore-pressure diffusion. We have divided the entire period from 1967 to 2007 in several sequences starting by a mainshock of M >5. Each sequence is critically analyzed in terms of triggering by the diffusion process through the fractured medium. The pore-fluid diffusion tensor D for each sequence is estimated based on Darcy’s law. The direction of temporal migration of seismicity of each sequence except 1980 is correlated well with the eigenvectors of diffusion. The fluid flow eigenvectors are constrained with one of the strike directions of the focal mechanisms. The frequency magnitude distribution shows the b value to vary from 0.5 to 1.2. Spatial distribution of the b value further indicates that the area along the major faults is more prone to future earthquake.

Reservoir Triggered Seismicity (RTS) and well water level response in the Koyna–Warna region, India

Water level fluctuations in twenty-one observation wells have been monitored for the last 10 years around the seismically active Koyna–Warna region, western India where earthquakes continue to occur even after four decades of the initiation of the seismic activity in the region. Fourteen of the observation wells act as volume strain meters as their water levels show earth tidal signals. Our analysis suggests three types of response of the well water levels to seismo-tectonic effects, i) one to local earthquakes, ii) to regional and teleseismic events, and iii) to local fluctuations in rock strain on regional scale. We observed five cases of co-seismic step-like well water level changes, of the order of few centimeters in amplitude, related to earthquakes in the magnitude range 4.3 ≤ M ≤ 5.2. All these earthquakes occurred within the network of wells drilled for the study and within 25 km distance of the recording wells. In three cases, drop in well levels preceded co-seismic step-like increases, which may be of premonitory nature. The second type of response is observed to be due to the passing of seismic waves from regional and teleseismic earthquakes like the M 7.7 Bhuj event on January 26, 2001 and the M 9.3 December 26, 2004 Sumatra earthquake. The third type is a well level anomaly of centimeter amplitude coherently occurring in several wells. The anomalies are similar in shape and last for several hours to days. From our studies we conclude that the wells in the network appear to respond to regional strain variations and transient changes due to distant earthquakes. The two factors which are important to co-seismic steps due to local earthquakes are the magnitude and epicentral distance. From the limited number of events we found that all local earthquakes exceeding M ≥ 4.3 have produced co-seismic changes. No such changes were observed for earthquakes below this magnitude threshold.

Seismicity in the Koyna-Warna Reservoir Site in Western India: Fractal and b-Value Mapping

The Koyna–Warna region in western part of India is a unique site of reservoir-triggered seismicity where continuous seismic activity has been going on over the last 40 yr. We have analyzed the seismicity of this region in terms of the spatial variation of fractal dimension and have compared it with the frequency-magnitude relation b -value. About 1000 well-located events recorded during 1996–2005 in the Koyna–Warna region are selected for the analysis. The study region is divided into 18 grids, 0.05°×0.05°, with an overlapping window of 0.025°. Fractal dimension ( D ) and b -value of each grid are estimated and contour maps are prepared. The results show a moderately positive correlation between D and b -value that indicates a slowly loaded system with a steady state of stress distribution. The impact of reservoir loading on both the parameters (fractal dimension D and b -value) is a unique contribution for this area.

Coseismic responses and the mechanism behind MW 5.1 earthquake of March 14, 2005 in the Koyna–Warna region, India

An earthquake of M w 5.1 occurred on March 14, 2005, in the seismically active Koyna–Warna region in western India, the site known for the largest reservoir triggered seismicity (RTS) in the world. For more than four decades, earthquakes with M ⩾ 4.0 have occurred in this region at regular intervals. Impoundment of reservoirs and changes in lake levels can trigger earthquakes by two processes of stress modifications, namely direct loading effect of the reservoir and diffusion through various faults and fractures. In this paper we analysed the reservoir water level data at Koyna and Warna reservoirs prior to the occurrence of the March 14, 2005 earthquake, to explain the dominant mechanism behind its occurrence and its correlation with the observed coseismic changes. We conclude that the diffusion process, not the reservoir load effect, is the dominating mechanism triggering earthquakes in the region. The coseismic changes in deep well water levels sensitive to earth tides are found to be to the order of 1–12 cm.

Surface loading and triggered earthquakes in the Koyna–Warna region, western India

Earthquakes of M≥5.0 continue to occur in the vicinity of Koyna reservoir in western India, the largest known case of Reservoir Triggered Earthquakes (RTS). The region remains seismically active even after four decades of the impounding of the Koyna reservoir. The earthquakes occur repeatedly along two major fault systems in NE–SW and NW–SE directions. We performed cross-correlation analysis between time series of the Koyna reservoir levels and the strain factor (energy 1/2) calculated for earthquakes of M≥3.0 occurring in the region during 1963–1999. Four time windows of 5 years or more are selected for cross-correlation to predict the periodicities, if any, in the seismic energy release caused by the annual reservoir water level fluctuations. A similar analysis was performed for the newly-impounded Warna reservoir, 25 km south of the Koyna dam. Our results suggest that the initial seismicity in the Koyna region during 1963 was triggered after the region attained steady state pore pressure by diffusion processes, particularly occurring along vertical strike-slip faults. Subsequently, major episodes of earthquake energy release until 1999 show a periodic behavior related to the annual filling of both the Koyna and Warna reservoirs. Two stages of earthquake energy release are evident till 1996 and coincide with annual filling and draining cycles of the reservoirs. Since 1996, the seismic energy release episodes correlate mostly with the draining cycle of the reservoir levels indicating a shift in the present day earthquake activity in the region, which may be due to a combined effect of the Koyna and Warna reservoirs. To explain the causal relationship between the reservoir water level fluctuations at the surface and earthquakes at hypocentral depths in terms of diffusion processes, we modeled the pore pressure front diffusion with time, in an inhomogeneous medium. It is seen that a water level change of the order of 1 m in 5 days in the surface loading can propagate 5–15% of pore pressure front, corresponding to 0.75–2.25 bar, to the hypocentral depth of 6–8 km in the presence of a vertical conducting fault. These small stress perturbations are sufficient to trigger seismicity on pre-existing, critically stressed faults in the Koyna–Warna region.

A review of recent studies of triggered earthquakes by artificial water reservoirs with special emphasis on earthquakes in Koyna, India

Triggering of earthquakes by filling of artificial water reservoirs is known for over six decades. As of today, over 90 sites have been globally identified where earthquakes have been triggered by filling of water reservoirs. The question of earthquakes triggered by artificial reservoirs has been addressed and reviewed in a number of papers and books. In the present review, the book “Reservoir-Induced Earthquakes” by Gupta [Gupta, H.K., 1992. Reservoir-Induced Earthquakes. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 364 pp.], which contains all the necessary information on this topic till 1990, has been taken as the base. An effort has been made to add information on this important topic gathered over the last 10 years. Koyna, India continues to be the most significant site of artificial-water-reservoir-triggered earthquakes. During 1990s, two events exceeding M 5 and several smaller events occurred in the vicinity of Koyna, and recently impounded Warna Reservoir. Detailed studies have addressed the relocation of earthquakes, stress drop, nucleation, migration and other important aspects of these earthquakes. In a unique experiment, twenty-one 90- to 250-m deep borewells have been drilled in the seismically active Koyna–Warna region and the water levels are continuously monitored. Step-like coseismic changes of several centimeters have been observed in some wells associated with a few M≥4 events. Detailed tomographic studies conducted on one of the best recorded triggered earthquake sequence at Lake Oroville in California revealed that this sequence was associated with a southwest dipping structure characterized by low velocity, while in adjacent areas, seismic activity occurs in regions of higher velocity. Similar investigations in Aswan showed that shallow activity is associated with low P-wave velocity. Several new reservoir sites that have triggered earthquakes have been reported during 1990s. The most important being Srinagarind Dam in Thailand, which had an M 5.9 earthquake and the sequence had all the characteristics of triggered earthquake sequences. New theoretical work, particularly the effect of pore fluid pressure in anisotropic rocks and its implication in triggered seismicity is an important development. However, much more needs to be done to fully comprehend the role of artificial water reservoirs in triggering earthquakes.