Dynamics of fault activation by hydraulic fracturing: Insights from new technologies

最近的诱发地震（即归因于人类活动的地震）-例如2018年11月30日在不列颠哥伦比亚省圣约翰堡附近发生的4.5级中等地震-及时提醒人们在水力压裂作业期间可能引发有感地震。管理诱发地震风险的科学知情战略受到关键知识差距的阻碍，包括：i）了解哪些预先存在的断层容易诱发地震; ii）描述缓慢（无活动性）断层滑动在生成地震中的作用; iii）使用现场观察校准现实的数值模拟; iv）地震诱发地面运动的空间和时间变化。技术发展，包括观测网络的进步，分布式声学传感（DAS），创建地震活动目录的先进方法以及物理信息机器学习和可视化分析，使这些应用领域的发展成熟，将使加拿大公众，监管机构和行业受益。这项为期3年的研究计划将结合卡尔加里大学研究团队的联合收割机多元化科学专业知识，以及包括5家加拿大石油和天然气公司，2家高科技服务提供商和Geoscience BC在内的价值链合作伙伴关系的卓越数据集和经验。因此，它将为13名高素质人员创造世界一流的培训环境，其中包括7名博士后研究人员和6名硕士生，他们将在学术界，政府和工业界担任技术领导角色。通过识别和绘制临界应力断层并了解其对碳氢化合物生产的影响，该计划中的技术进步将有助于负责任地开发自然资源，提高对地震活化机制的基本理解，以及产生创新方法和工作流程的独特机会。通过这种伙伴关系建立的大学-产业协同效应将创建一个创新平台，有望产生具有高度全球意义的科学进步。

Recent induced earthquakes (i.e. those attributed to human activities) - such as a moderate magnitude 4.5 event near Fort St. John, BC on 30 November, 2018 - provide timely reminders of the potential to trigger felt seismicity during hydraulic fracturing operations. Science-informed strategies to manage induced-seismicity risks are hindered by critical knowledge gaps, including: i) understanding which pre-existing faults are prone to induced seismicity; ii) characterizing the role of slow (aseismic) fault slip in generating earthquakes; iii) calibration of realistic numerical simulations using field observations; and iv) spatial and temporal variability in earthquake-induced ground motions. Technological developments, including advancements in observational networks, Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS), advanced methods to create seismicity catalogs and physics-informed machine learning and visual analytics, make these areas of application ripe for advancement that will benefit the Canadian public, regulators and industry. This 3-year research program will combine diverse scientific expertise of a team of researchers at the University of Calgary together with exceptional datasets and experience of a value-chain partnership including 5 Canadian oil and gas companies, 2 high-tech service providers and Geoscience BC. It will thereby create a world-class training environment for 13 highly qualified personnel, including 7 postdoctoral researchers and 6 MSc students, who will be positioned to take on technical leadership roles within academia, government and industry. By identifying and mapping critically stressed faults and understanding their impact on hydrocarbon production, technological advancements within this program will contribute to responsible development of natural resources, improved fundamental understanding of earthquake activation mechanisms, and unique opportunities to generate innovative methods and workflows. The university-industry synergies established through this partnership will create an innovation platform that promises to yield scientific advances of high global significance.