Analysis of micro-seismic data to inform the siting, construction and operation of a geological deposal facility in the UK

该项目旨在开发一种微震事件自动分析工具，作为英国核废料地质处置设施选址过程的一部分。英国在2020年启动了GDF选址计划，到目前为止，RWM正在与两个志愿者社区就在他们的地点举办GDF的可能性进行咨询。决定GDF首选位置的一个重要标准将是当地的地质情况。微地震事件可以帮助我们了解地质构造在地面上的位置，而不需要钻探大量的钻孔。这些事件自然发生在GDF的施工深度(地下200米至1公里)，也可能是在现场勘察和施工过程中的人为活动引起的。分析微地震数据的研究挑战是：(1)在背景噪声中检测、定位和分析这些非常微小的事件的特性是困难的；(2)高采样频率(&gt；500赫兹)导致的数据量巨大，这需要所有分析的完全自动化。该项目将应对这些挑战，并开发一个可靠的软件工具，用于地质处置设施(GDF)的现场调查和施工阶段。这种工具的另一个用途是，在任何地点发生微小事件的频率与发生较大事件的可能性有关，因此该项目将支持较大地震预测和地震危险评估，并反馈到GDF设计中。

The project aims to develop a tool for automated analysis of microseismic events to be used as part of the UK siting process for a geological disposal facility (GDF) for nuclear waste. The UK launched its GDF siting programme in 2020 and, to-date, RWM are consulting with two volunteer communities about the potential for hosting a GDF at their locations. One important criterion for deciding on the preferred location for a GDF will be the local geology.Microseismic events can help us understand the locations of geological structures in the ground, without the need to drill large numbers of boreholes. Events occur naturally at construction depths for a GDF (200 m to 1 km below ground) and can also be induced by man-made activities during site investigation and construction. Each event corresponds to a rock fracturing, and hence, provides information on open fracture pathways for groundwater flow.The research challenges in analyzing microseismic data are (1) the difficulty in detecting, locating in 3D, and then analyzing the properties of these very tiny events amongst the background noise and (2) the sheer quantity of data caused by the high sampling frequency (> 500 Hz) which necessitates full automation of all analyses. This project will address these challenges and develop a reliable software tool for use in the site investigation and construction phases of a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF). One further use for such a tool is that the frequency of tiny events at any location is related to the likelihood of larger events, thus the project will support larger earthquake prediction and seismic hazard assessment, feeding back into GDF design.