An introduction to the principles and applications of passive seismic monitoring, providing an accessible overview of current research and technology.

Stress re-distribution as a result of exploitation of mineral, hydrocarbon, geothermal, and water resources cannot be eliminated. The effort must be directed to a better understanding of the underlying processes for the management of the hazard and risk associated with these operations. The study of induced seismicity has continually evolved over the past couple of decades, as underlined by both the number and complexity of applied studies required to satisfy the increased economic demands, assure the safety of the workforce and equipment, and protect the environment. A considerable effort has been put into the development of passive monitoring technology, specialized products and services being available for a wide range of applications. The recording of substantial high quality seismic data has stimulated the work on theoretical and practical aspects related to these applications, involving not only seismological knowledge, but also elements of rock mechanics, and an understanding of mining, geotechnical, and petroleum engineering. Pure and Applied Geophysics has largely contributed to raising the profile of induced seismicity research and its credibility. The range of specific analyses included in the present collection of studies expresses how powerful and resourceful passive seismic monitoring has become to so many applications. Seismic data are routinely evaluated for a series of development activities specific to each application. Engineering practice is continually improved based on trials and analyses of the ground response and stress levels, confirmed through the monitoring of seismicity. We are better equipped than ever to provide management decisions based on formalized, quantitative, and thus objective assessment.

In the past several years, some energy technologies that inject or extract fluid from the Earth, such as oil and gas development and geothermal energy development, have been found or suspected to cause seismic events, drawing heightened public attention. Although only a very small fraction of injection and extraction activities among the hundreds of thousands of energy development sites in the United States have induced seismicity at levels noticeable to the public, understanding the potential for inducing felt seismic events and for limiting their occurrence and impacts is desirable for state and federal agencies, industry, and the public at large. To better understand, limit, and respond to induced seismic events, work is needed to build robust prediction models, to assess potential hazards, and to help relevant agencies coordinate to address them. Induced Seismicity Potential in Energy Technologies identifies gaps in knowledge and research needed to advance the understanding of induced seismicity; identify gaps in induced seismic hazard assessment methodologies and the research to close those gaps; and assess options for steps toward best practices with regard to energy development and induced seismicity potential.

Routine seismic monitoring in mines was introduced over 30 years ago with two main objectives in mind: • immediate location of larger seIsmIC events to guide rescue operations; • prediction of large rockmass instabilities. The first objective was achieved fairly quickly, but with the subsequent development of mine communication systems, its strategic importance has diminished. The very limited success with prediction can, at least partially, be attributed to three factors: • seismic monitoring systems based on analogue technology that provided noisy and, frequently, poorly calibrated data of limited dynamic range; • the non-quantitative description of a seismic event by at best its local magnitude; and • the resultant non-quantitative analysis of seismicity, frequently through parameters of some statistical distributions, with a somewhat loose but imaginative physical interpretation. The introduction of modern digital seismic systems to mines and progress in the theory and methods of quantitative seismology have enabled the implementation of realtime seismic monitoring as a management tool, quantifying rockmass response to mining and achieving the first tangible results with prediction. A seismic event, being a sudden inelastic deformation within the rockmass, can now routinely be quantified in terms of seismic moment, its tensor, and radiated seismic energy, so that the overall size of, and stress released at, the seismic source can be estimated.

This book provides a quantitative introduction to the physics, application, interpretation, and hazard aspects of fluid-induced seismicity, focussing on spatio-temporal dynamics. Including many real data examples, this is a valuable reference for researchers and graduate students of geophysics, geomechanics and petrophysics, and a practical guide for petroleum geoscientists and engineers.

Improved Seismic Monitoringâ€"Improved Decision-Making, describes and assesses the varied economic benefits potentially derived from modernizing and expanding seismic monitoring activities in the United States. These benefits include more effective loss avoidance regulations and strategies, improved understanding of earthquake processes, better engineering design, more effective hazard mitigation strategies, and improved emergency response and recovery. The economic principles that must be applied to determine potential benefits are reviewed and the report concludes that although there is insufficient information available at present to fully quantify all the potential benefits, the annual dollar costs for improved seismic monitoring are in the tens of millions and the potential annual dollar benefits are in the hundreds of millions.