Triggering Characteristics of Induced Earthquakes : Brief Review of Water Injection Experiments in the Nojima Fault and Other Regions Kin'ya NISHIGAMI, Keiichi TADOKORO, Satoru NAGAI, Takashi MIZUNO, Yasuyuki KANO and Yoshihiro HIRAMATSU Abstract This paper briefly reviews the triggering characteristics of injection-induced seismicity. Water injection experiments were carried out in the Nojima fault, southwest Japan in 1997 and 2000 to detect the healing process of the fault zone after being ruptured by the MJMA 7.3 Hyogo-ken Nanbu Kobe earthquake in 1995. During the experiment in 2000, ultramicroearthquakes of M-1.2 to 1.0 were induced at about 2.5-4.5 km from the injection point and about 4-6 days after the beginning of injection. This space-time migration can be explained by a 2-D diffusion process of pore water pressure. Permeability estimated near the surface, at about 540-800 m depth, is extrapolated well to a depth of 2-4 km where induced events occurred. Other experiments at Matsushiro, central Japan and KTB, Germany also showed similar space-time relationships of induced seismicity. From observations in the Nojima experiment, we obtained characteristic states that suggest differences in the generating process between induced and normal tectonic earthquakes. Our findings are as follows : 1 high-frequency component is richer in the waveforms of tectonic events, and 2 the clustering of hypocenters is more dominant in induced events. Further analyses of these observations will lead to elucidating the generating process of induced earthquakes by increasing pore water pressure. Key words induced earthquake water injection experiment Nojima fault diffusion process pore water pressure permeability Research Center for Earthquake Prediction, Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University Research Center for Seismology and Volcanology, Nagoya University Earthquake Research Institute, the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Kanazawa University
I 1962 1966 3671 m M 1 4 1 1967 M 5 Healy et al. 1968 Guha 2000 1965 1966 1970 1800 m Ohtake 1974 0.1 1 10 13 m 2 KTB German Continental Deep Drilling Program 9100 m P 1 Zoback and Harjes 1997 1995 2 1998 2001 2 Tadokoro et al. 2000 2001 II 1995 1 M7.3 1.5 2 m 11 1 3 1800 m 800 m 500 m 1998 1997 2 3 2000 1 3 2 19982001 1800 m 2001 2 540 m 3.0 4.5 MPa 10 25 / 4 9 3 4 1 3 1997 2000 2001 2001 2001 3 800 m 1800 m 5 6 Tadokoro et al. 2000 2001 2 2000
1 2000 1999 12 1 2000 5 18 2001 1800m A B C Fig. 1 Distribution of ultra-microearthquakes for the water injection experiment at the Nojima fault in 2000, northern part of Awaji island in southwest Japan after Nagai, 2001. Star: injection point 1800-m-deep well. A C : location of three major clusters of induced seismicity. 1 2001 Double Difference Waldhauser and Ellsworth 2000 2 5 km 2 4.0 MPa 6 10 2.5 4.5 km M-1.2 1.0 4.5 MPa 4 8 50 m 800 m 3 2 3 10 6 m/s 2001 Ohtake 1974
2 1 540 m 1999 12 1 4.0 4.5 MPa Fig. 2 Space-time diagram for events shown in Fig. 1. Two horizontal bars show the period of 4.0 and 4.5 MPa injections. 2 3 10 6 m/s 3 6 3 a 2000 4 6 800 m 540 800 m 2 4 km 1997 2000 2 2001 1 2 4 km 4.0 MPa 4 10 3 MPa KTB 1 Zoback and Harjes 1997 2 10 km 5 km 2 2001 4
3 a 2 km 2 km 1.0 2.0 3.0 m 2 /s b 2 km 0 8 km 2.0 m 2 /s 1 5 10 100 Fig. 3 a Temporal change of relative pore water pressure at the hypocenter of induced events, calculated for three hydraulic diffusivities. b Variation of relative pore water pressure against depth at a horizontal distance of 2 km from the injection point, calculated for four lapse-times measured from the injection.
4 a 4.0 MPa 2000 2 1 2 6 b 2001 7 4 7 30 800m Fig. 4 Examples of vertical-component seismograms observed in the 800-mdeep borehole at the Nojima fault. a Induced events that occurred in February 1 6, 2000, after the 4.0 MPa injection. b Stationary ultramicroearthquakes that occurred in July 4 30, 2001. 4 b 2001 2001
1 1997 2000 KTB Table 1 Comparison of several parameters characterizing water injection and induced seismicity for the experiments at the Nojima fault in 1997 and 2000, Matsushiro and KTB. Pressures, flow rates, and total flows of the injection were measured at the well-head. Time lags and distances indicate time and space distances between the injection point and the induced seismicity, respectively. Permeability estimates and diffusivities used in modeling the 2-D diffusion process are also shown. Nojima Matsushiro KTB Water injetion Year of experiment Depth m Pressure MPa Flow rate l/min Total flow m 3 Feb. Mar. 1997 540 1800 2.8 4.6 8 20 23 209 Jan. Mar. 2000 540 1800 2.8 4.6 10 26 63 273 Jan. Feb. 1970 1800 1.4 5 120 300 32 2851 1994 9030 53 max 550 max 200 Induced seismicity Time lag days Distance km Maximum magnitude Clustering 4 5 2.5 4.5 0.6 observed 6 7 2.5 4.5 0.3 observed 4.8 9.3 2 4 2.8 0.083 0.05 0.1 1.2 observed Permeability 10 13 m 2 Dffusivity m 2 /s 5.5 7.0 2.0 3.0 2.5 3.0 1.0 2.0 0.1 1 1.2 3.5 0.1 1 10 3 III KTB 1 Ohatke 1974 KTB KTB 9100 m 100 m 2 Zoback and Harjes 1997 3 Ohatke 1974 Rangely Raleigh et al. 1976 KTB
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