Definition
Induced seismicity refers to earthquakes and seismic events resulting from human activity (Lamontagne 2013). This often involves critically stressed faults which subsequently experience an increase in stress, for example, due to stress redistributions during mining or loading due to the added weight of a dam reservoir. Alternatively, induced seismicity may be triggered if a critically stressed fault experiences a decrease in effective stress due to fluid injection, for example, during waste water injection or hydraulic fracturing for geothermal or hydrocarbon energy extraction.
Characteristics and Experiences
It is well established that earthquakes can be induced by stress changes or fluid injection. Underground mining alters the in situ stress state present at depth. Where faults intersect or are adjacent to an excavation, this can cause both an increase in shear driving stress and a reduction in...
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References
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Eberhardt, E., Amini, A. (2018). Induced Seismicity. In: Bobrowsky, P., Marker, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Engineering Geology. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12127-7_168-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12127-7_168-1
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