Earth Resources Engineering Workshop; Washington, DC; October 5-6, 2015

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A one-day Workshop will be held October 6, 2015, at the National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC. A primary goal is to develop a dialog between representatives of government and the Earth Resources Engineering Section of the National Academy of Engineering with respect to Research and Education in Subsurface Engineering. The discussion will focus primarily on two topics: 1) public fear that hydraulic fracturing may trigger damaging earthquakes, and 2) the future of mining and rock mechanics research and education. Used with great success in the petroleum industry since the 1940s, hydraulic fracturing is a key element of several engineering initiatives such as geothermal energy, underground storage of carbon dioxide, and disposal of wastewater from drilling. The workshop will explore the factors that influence the triggering of earthquakes by hydraulic fracturing, and the research that is needed to develop sound guidelines for the safe application of this technology. Minerals are the essential foundation of national economies in the United States and other developed nations, and are of vital importance to national security. Research to develop improved safety and efficiency is now critical as mines become deeper and challenges of safety, economics and environmental concerns rise. In decline at US universities for several decades, Mining Engineering is now close to being eliminated as an accredited engineering major. The workshop will seek to identify a realistic path forward for the U.S. to maintain mining engineering expertise. The past several decades have seen numerous suggestions that the subsurface may provide solutions to a number of important national problems. The geothermal energy resources of hot rock at depths of the order of 5-6 km are enormous, provided a network of interconnected fractures can be created and fluids circulated to extract the heat economically. This requires understanding of coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical (THMC) processes and observation of the initiation, extension, and adaptive control of the fracture network. Essentially the same borehole technology will be needed for other uses of the subsurface, such as CO2 sequestration, disposal of drill wastewater, borehole mining. All these uses require a better appreciation of how the local geology and tectonic/gravitational force environment affects the potential for stimulation of damaging earthquakes. A significantly more detailed understanding of the engineering behavior of rock at depth is needed than currently available. This workshop will identify research needs to address these problems, while informing the broader engineering community of the potential impact of rock mechanics research on engineering grand challenges. The workshop will also address the problems related to the diminishing number of U.S. universities that offer a degree in mining engineering and courses in rock mechanics. With the increasing importance of rock mechanics in the solution of many critical problems, it is essential that the U.S. produce more, rather than fewer, engineers trained in this discipline. The workshop will explore potential strategies for addressing this issue.