Remote Dynamic Triggering of Earthquakes in Three Unconventional Canadian Hydrocarbon Regions Based on a Multiple‐Station Matched‐Filter Approach

Abstract

Research Article| December 04, 2018 Remote Dynamic Triggering of Earthquakes in Three Unconventional Canadian Hydrocarbon Regions Based on a Multiple‐Station Matched‐Filter Approach Bei Wang; Bei Wang aInstitute of Geology, Mineralogy, and Geophysics, Ruhr University Bochum, 44801 Bochum, Germany, [e-mail] at Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, McGill University, 3450 University Street, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3A 0E8. Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Rebecca M. Harrington; Rebecca M. Harrington aInstitute of Geology, Mineralogy, and Geophysics, Ruhr University Bochum, 44801 Bochum, Germany, [e-mail] Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Yajing Liu; Yajing Liu bDepartment of Earth and Planetary Sciences, McGill University, 3450 University Street, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3A 0E8 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Honn Kao; Honn Kao cGeological Survey of Canada, Pacific Geoscience Centre, 9860 West Saanich Road, Sidney, British Columbia, Canada V8L 1B9 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Hongyu Yu Hongyu Yu aInstitute of Geology, Mineralogy, and Geophysics, Ruhr University Bochum, 44801 Bochum, Germany, [e-mail] Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Bei Wang aInstitute of Geology, Mineralogy, and Geophysics, Ruhr University Bochum, 44801 Bochum, Germany, [e-mail] at Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, McGill University, 3450 University Street, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3A 0E8. Rebecca M. Harrington aInstitute of Geology, Mineralogy, and Geophysics, Ruhr University Bochum, 44801 Bochum, Germany, [e-mail] Yajing Liu bDepartment of Earth and Planetary Sciences, McGill University, 3450 University Street, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3A 0E8 Honn Kao cGeological Survey of Canada, Pacific Geoscience Centre, 9860 West Saanich Road, Sidney, British Columbia, Canada V8L 1B9 Hongyu Yu aInstitute of Geology, Mineralogy, and Geophysics, Ruhr University Bochum, 44801 Bochum, Germany, [e-mail] Publisher: Seismological Society of America First Online: 04 Dec 2018 Online Issn: 1943-3573 Print Issn: 0037-1106 © Seismological Society of America Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (2019) 109 (1): 372–386. https://doi.org/10.1785/0120180164 Article history First Online: 04 Dec 2018 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Bei Wang, Rebecca M. Harrington, Yajing Liu, Honn Kao, Hongyu Yu; Remote Dynamic Triggering of Earthquakes in Three Unconventional Canadian Hydrocarbon Regions Based on a Multiple‐Station Matched‐Filter Approach. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 2018;; 109 (1): 372–386. doi: https://doi.org/10.1785/0120180164 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyBulletin of the Seismological Society of America Search Advanced Search Abstract We investigate the occurrence of remote dynamic triggering in three Canadian unconventional hydrocarbon regions where recent fluid injection activity is correlated with increasing numbers of earthquakes. We select mainshocks with an estimated local peak ground velocity exceeding 0.01 cm/s occurring between 2013 and 2015, when station coverage was increased to monitor injection activity. A twofold approach, using continuous waveform data and an enhanced earthquake catalog created using a multiple‐station matched‐filter detection algorithm, suggests that remote dynamic triggering occurs at all three regions. The waveform‐based approach shows evidence for direct triggering in the surface wavetrain of the mainshock, as well as directly afterward in the coda. The enhanced catalog approach shows qualitative increases in earthquake rates at all three regions that are both immediate, and in some cases, sustained over 10‐day time windows and are corroborated with two types of statistical tests: a p‐value test to quantify the statistical significance of earthquake rate change following a stressing event and an interevent time test that provides a statistical measure of changes in seismicity rates. The occurrence of both direct and delayed triggering following transient stress perturbations of <10 kPa in all three regions suggests that local faults may remain critically stressed over periods similar to the time frame of our study (⁠∼2 yrs) or longer, potentially due to high pore pressures maintained in tight shale formations following injection. The results interpreted in the context of injection history and recent poroelastic modeling results may have implications for the mechanisms of remote triggering. Namely, triggering via poroelastic stresses may provide a unifying mechanism that can explain both delayed and immediate triggering observations. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.