Assessing the Damage Potential of Injection-Induced Earthquakes in the Central and Eastern U.S.


Abstract eng:
The typical minimum earthquake magnitude (Mmin) used in probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA) is generally accepted to be about moment magnitude (M) 5.0 based on the lack of observed damage to modern engineered structures at smaller magnitudes. The criteria of modern engineered structures is used because PSHA is the basis for modern building codes. Evaluating the ground shaking hazard from injection-induced earthquakes resulting from oil and gas-related wastewater disposal or hydraulic fracturing in the central and eastern U.S. (CEUS) necessitates the re-evaluation of this assumption. Given the significant uncertainties of a non-stationary process such as injection-induced seismicity, PSHA is the best approach in assessing the associated hazard. However, one of several issues that has been raised is what is the Mmin threshold that should be used in PSHA. It has recently been argued that Mmin should be lowered for induced earthquakes because their ground motions can be stronger than typical tectonic earthquakes given the same magnitude due to their shallow nature, e.g., shorter rupture distances. In contrast, recent analyses indicate that induced earthquakes may have lower stress drops resulting in lower ground motions particularly at high frequencies. To address these issues, empirical ground motion prediction models for injection-induced earthquakes are just now being developed in the U.S. as strong motion data becomes available due to the expansion of seismic networks in the CEUS. With the large number of M 4 and larger earthquakes that have occurred in the CEUS, principally in Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas, we have compiled a database of observed damage and non-damage and have evaluated these data to address the issue of Mmin, and the damage potential of induced earthquakes smaller than M 5.0.

Contributors:
Conference Title:
Conference Title:
16th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering
Conference Venue:
Santiago (CL)
Conference Dates:
2017-01-09 / 2017-01-13
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Text je chráněný podle autorského zákona č. 121/2000 Sb.



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 Record created 2017-01-18, last modified 2017-01-18


Original version of the author's contribution as presented on USB, paper 3468.:
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