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

最近诱发的地震(即那些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触发有感地震活动。管理诱发地震风险的科学战略受到关键知识差距的阻碍，其中包括：1)了解哪些先前存在的断层容易诱发地震活动；2)确定缓慢(无地震)断层滑动在孕育地震中的作用；3)利用实地观测对现实的数值模拟进行校准；4)地震引起的地面运动的空间和时间变异性。技术发展，包括观测网络、分布式声学传感(DAS)的进步、创建地震活动目录的先进方法以及物理信息机器学习和视觉分析，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各种科学专业知识，以及出色的数据集和价值链合作伙伴关系的经验，其中包括5家加拿大石油和天然气公司、2家高科技服务提供商和地球科学公司BC。因此，它将为13名高素质人员创造一个世界级的培训环境，其中包括7名博士后研究人员和6名硕士学生，他们将在学术界、政府和行业担任技术领导角色。通过识别和绘制受严重压力的断层并了解其对油气生产的影响，该计划内的技术进步将有助于负责任地开发自然资源，提高对地震激活机制的基本了解，并提供独特的机会来产生创新的方法和工作流程。通过这一伙伴关系建立的大学与行业的协同效应将创建一个创新平台，有望产生具有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.