Comment on egusphere-2024-586
Abstract
Abstract. Performing stimulation experiments at approximately 1 km depth in the Bedretto Underground Laboratory for Geosciences and Geoenergies necessitates identifying and characterizing the target fault zone for on-fault monitoring of induced fault-slip and seismicity, a current challenge in understanding seismogenic processes. We discuss the multidisciplinary approach for selecting the target fault zone for the experiments planned within the Fault Activation and Earthquake Ruptures (FEAR) project, aiming to induce fault-slip and seismicity up to a magnitude 1.0 earthquake while enhancing monitoring and control of fluid-injection experiments. Structural geological mapping, remote sensing, exploration drilling and borehole logging, ground-penetration radar, and laboratory investigations were employed to identify and characterize the target fault – a ductile-brittle shear zone several meters wide with intensely fractured volume persisting over 100 m. Its orientation in the in-situ stress field favors reactivation in normal to strike-slip regimes. Laboratory tests showed slight velocity strengthening of the fault gouge. The fault's architecture, typical for crystalline environments, poses challenges for fluid flow, necessitating detailed hydraulic and stress characterization before each of the FEAR experiments. This multidisciplinary approach was crucial for managing rock volume heterogeneity and understand implications for the dense monitoring network. Successfully identifying the fault sets the stage for seismic activation experiments commencing in spring 2024.
Authors 16
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RWTH Aachen University · Fraunhofer Research Institution for Energy Infrastructures and Geotechnologies IEG
Affiliation as printed
Department of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology, RWTH Aachen University, Germany
Fraunhofer Research Institution for Energy Infrastructures and Geothermal Systems IEG, Aachen, Germany
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
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Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia
Affiliation as printed
Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Italy
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
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RWTH Aachen University · Fraunhofer Research Institution for Energy Infrastructures and Geotechnologies IEG
Affiliation as printed
Department of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology, RWTH Aachen University, Germany
Fraunhofer Research Institution for Energy Infrastructures and Geothermal Systems IEG, Aachen, Germany
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology, RWTH Aachen University, Germany
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University of Science and Technology of China
Affiliation as printed
School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology, RWTH Aachen University, Germany
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
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Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia
Affiliation as printed
Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Italy
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