{"id":453290,"date":"2023-07-25T10:04:56","date_gmt":"2023-07-25T08:04:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/innovationorigins.com\/?p=453290"},"modified":"2023-07-25T10:04:56","modified_gmt":"2023-07-25T08:04:56","slug":"scientists-develop-3d-computer-model-that-sheds-light-on-seismic-risks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/scientists-develop-3d-computer-model-that-sheds-light-on-seismic-risks\/","title":{"rendered":"<strong>Scientists develop\u00a03D computer model that sheds light on seismic risks<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Scientists have developed a model that sheds light on the seismic risks arising from subsurface fluid injections, that are carried out as part of geothermal energy extraction, says science and technology institution EPFL in a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/actu.epfl.ch\/news\/scientists-gain-insight-into-geothermal-technology\/\">press release<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"io-block io-block__summary\"><ul><li>EPFL scientists create a 3D model to analyze seismic risks from subsurface fluid injections in geothermal energy extraction.<\/li><li>Hydraulic stimulation used in geothermal wells can trigger earthquakes due to increased rock permeability.<\/li><li>The research provides new insights to manage seismic risks and harness geothermal energy for a carbon-free economy.<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Geothermal energy: a key to a carbon-free economy<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>To support the shift to a carbon-free economy, energy producers are eagerly looking for ways to safely extract geothermal energy from deep underground. EPFL associate professor Brice Lecampion, who heads the Laboratory of Geo-energy (GEL) is contributing to these efforts through the work being done by his research group. They\u2019re developing models for describing the behaviour of the subsurface, with a specific focus on the consequences of subsurface fluid injections \u2013 that is, how fluid flow interacts with fractures in rocks. This research is important because underground water injection plays a key role in the extraction of geothermal energy, a renewable source. The latest findings pave the way to a better understanding of the underlying physical mechanism that triggers seismicity during geothermal operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The role of hydraulic stimulation in earthquakes<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In Switzerland and elsewhere, geothermal wells that run deep underground (4\u20136 km below the surface) are controversial due to the potential for seismic events and subsurface pollution.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Geothermal wells that don\u2019t run very deep remain in permeable layers of rock where water circulates easily. But as they get further below the surface, they enter impermeable rock, meaning engineers must either artificially create fractures in the rock where water can flow or stimulate existing fractures to increase their permeability. This is done through a process known as hydraulic stimulation. While this process enhances rock permeability, it also has the potential to trigger earthquakes.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"vlp-link-container vlp-layout-basic wp-block-visual-link-preview-link advgb-dyn-9e96be06\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/geothermal-energy-is-our-low-hanging-fruit-lets-not-waste-it\/\" class=\"vlp-link\" title=\"&#039;Geothermal energy is our low-hanging fruit. Let&#039;s not waste it&#039;\"><\/a><div class=\"vlp-layout-zone-side\"><div class=\"vlp-block-2 vlp-link-image\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"vlp-layout-zone-main\"><div class=\"vlp-block-0 vlp-link-title\">&#8216;Geothermal energy is our low-hanging fruit. Let&#8217;s not waste it&#8217;<\/div><div class=\"vlp-block-1 vlp-link-summary\">Now that we have to get rid of gas, alternative and sustainable energy sources are coming into the picture to heat our buildings. Geothermal energy, &hellip; <a href=\"\">Continued<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Underlying mechanisms of induced seismicity<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The risk of an induced earthquake is especially problematic since it doesn\u2019t go away once the fluid injection stops, but rather continues for quite some time afterwards. Alexis S\u00e1ez, a PhD student at GEL and a co-author of the study, explains: \u201cWe looked particularly at earthquakes that occur between a few days and a few months after the end of fluid injection. Our research sheds light on a new physical mechanism that can trigger these delayed earthquakes.\u201d He and Lecampion developed a 3D computer model and ran comprehensive technical analyses of how fluid injection and fractures interact. They described how fractures keep deforming after the fluid injection has ended, and how this delayed deformation process may promote the triggering of an earthquake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOur model gives engineers guidance and new calculation methods that can be integrated into more general strategies to mitigate the seismic risk associated with these operations,\u201d says S\u00e1ez.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFor now, it\u2019s really hard to predict the occurrence of injection-induced earthquakes \u2013 engineers rely mostly on statistical approaches, similar to what they do for natural earthquakes. Our research provides a better understanding of the physical forces at work. This is a step forward in the implementation of physics-based approaches to manage the inherent seismic risk of these operations and to ultimately unlock the vast potential of geothermal energy to facilitate the decarbonization of our energy system.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Scientists have developed a model that sheds light on the seismic risks arising from subsurface fluid injections, that are carried out as part of geothermal energy extraction, says science and technology institution EPFL in a&nbsp;press release.&nbsp; Geothermal energy: a key to a carbon-free economy To support the shift to a carbon-free economy, energy producers are [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2591,"featured_media":495518,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[51408,41012,74243,76072],"location":[52892],"article_type":[36684],"serie":[],"archives":[],"internal_archives":[],"reboot-archive":[],"class_list":["post-453290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sustainability-nl","tag-earthquake","tag-geothermal-energy","tag-net-zero-2","tag-seismology","location-switzerland","article_type-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"acf":{"subtitle":"Scientists at EPFL have created a 3D model to analyze seismic risks from subsurface fluid injections in geothermal energy extraction.","text_display_homepage":false},"author_meta":{"display_name":"Shwet Parag","author_link":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/author\/shwet-parag\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/earthquake-3167693.jpg","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["<a href=\"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/category\/sustainability-nl\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Sustainability<\/a>"],"unlinked":["<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Sustainability<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["<a href=\"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/category\/sustainability-nl\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">earthquake<\/a>","<a href=\"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/category\/sustainability-nl\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">geothermal energy<\/a>","<a href=\"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/category\/sustainability-nl\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">net zero<\/a>","<a href=\"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/category\/sustainability-nl\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">seismology<\/a>"],"unlinked":["<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">earthquake<\/span>","<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">geothermal energy<\/span>","<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">net zero<\/span>","<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">seismology<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"0","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 3 years ago","modified":"Updated 3 years ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on July 25, 2023","modified":"Updated on July 25, 2023"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on July 25, 2023 10:04 am","modified":"Updated on July 25, 2023 10:04 am"},"featured_img_caption":"","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453290","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2591"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=453290"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453290\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/495518"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=453290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=453290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=453290"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=453290"},{"taxonomy":"article_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_type?post=453290"},{"taxonomy":"serie","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/serie?post=453290"},{"taxonomy":"archives","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/archives?post=453290"},{"taxonomy":"internal_archives","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal_archives?post=453290"},{"taxonomy":"reboot-archive","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reboot-archive?post=453290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}