Nucleation and arrest of fluid-induced aseismic slip

Antoine B. Jacquey, & Robert C. Viesca

Published February 21, 2023, SCEC Contribution #12743

Microseismicity associated with fluid pressurization in the subsurface occurs during fluid
injection but can also be triggered after injection shut-in. Understanding the extent and duration of the
post-injection microseismicity is critical to limit the risk of fluid-induced seismicity and insure the safe
utilization of the subsurface. Using theoretical and numerical techniques, we investigated how aseismic
slip on a fault plane evolves and stops after a fluid pressurization event. We found that the locking
mechanisms controlling the arrest of aseismic slip highly depend on the initial fault stress criticality and the
pressurization duration. The absolute arrest time of fault aseismic slip after injection shut-in is proportional
to the pressurization duration and increases significantly with the initial fault stress criticality. Given that
microseismicity can be triggered by aseismic slip, these results provide insights into the mechanics controlling
the arrest of microseismicity after fluid pressurization as a milestone toward induced seismicity mitigation
strategies.

Citation
Jacquey, A. B., & Viesca, R. C. (2023). Nucleation and arrest of fluid-induced aseismic slip. Geophysical Research Letters, 50, e2022GL101228. doi: 10.1029/2022GL101228.