Cooling-induced reactivation of distant faults during long-term geothermal energy production in hot sedimentary aquifers
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Kivi, Iman Rahimzadeh
Pujades, Estanislao
Rutqvist, Jonny
Vilarrasa, Víctor
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Deep geothermal energy (DGE) represents an opportunity for a sustainable and carbon-free energy supply. One of the main concerns of DGE is induced seismicity that may produce damaging earthquakes, challenging its widespread exploitation. It is widely believed that the seismicity risk can be controlled by using doublet systems circulating water to minimize the injection-induced pressure changes. However, cold water reinjection may also give rise to thermal stresses within and beyond the cooled region, whose potential impacts on fault reactivation are less well understood. Here, we investigate by coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical modeling the processes that may lead to fault reactivation in a hot sedimentary aquifer (HSA) in which water is circulated through a doublet. We show that thermal stresses are transmitted much ahead of the cooled region and are likely to destabilize faults located far away from the doublet. Meanwhile, the fault permeability mainly controls the fault reactivation timing, which entails the importance of employing appropriate characterization methods. This investigation is crucial for understanding the mechanisms controlling induced seismicity associated with DGE in a HSA and allows the success of future DGE projects.
Date Issued
2022-02-08
Date Acceptance
2022-01-24
Citation
Scientific Reports, 2022, 12, pp.1-13
ISSN
2045-2322
Publisher
Nature Portfolio
Start Page
1
End Page
13
Journal / Book Title
Scientific Reports
Volume
12
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2022. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35136121
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
England
Article Number
2065
Date Publish Online
2023-02-08