Laboratory Controlled Experiments of Rock Fracture and Induced Seismicity

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Fractures are important at all scales in nature from mineral grain micro-cracks to tectonic plate boundaries. They create earthquakes, control fluid flow and at the engineering scale reduce the integrity of rock around underground structures. The recording of earthquakes on sensors all around the earth has allowed seismologists to create detailed images of the internal structure of the earth. In a similar way, it is possible to listen to small scale induced fracturing in the laboratory under controlled conditions and use the same seismology techniques with high frequency sensors to image the growth of fractures and monitor their effect on rock deformation and fluid flow.