Seismicity induced by fluid perturbations became an important societal concern since felt earthquakes (Mw up to 6) occurred after anthropogenic activities. In order to mitigate the risks associated with undesired seismicity, as well as to be able to use the micro-seismicity as a probe for in-depth investigation of fluid-driven processes, it is of crucial importance to understand the links between seismicity, fluid pressure and flow. We have developed a series of in-situ, decameter-scale experiments of fault zone reactivation by controlled fluid injection, in order to improve the near-source geophysical and hydromechanical observations. The deployed geophysical monitoring close to the injection allows one to cover the full frequency range of the fault responses from the static deformation to the very high-frequency seismic emissions (up to 4 kHz). Here, we focus on the microseismicity (Mw ∼ –4 to –3) recorded during two fluid injection experiments in low-permeable shale and highly-fractured limestone formations. In both experiments, the spatio-temporal distribution of the seismic events, the energy balance, and the seismic velocity changes of the fractured medium show that most of the deformation does not actually emit seismic signals. The induced deformation is mainly aseismic. Based on these high-resolution multiparametric observations in the near-field, we therefore proposed a new model for injection-induced seismicity: the seismicity is not directly induced by the increasing fluid pressure, but it is rather triggered by the stress perturbations transferred from the aseismic motion caused by the injection.

Fluid pressure plays an important role in the stability of tectonic faults. However, the in situ mechanical response of faults to fluid pressure variations is still poorly known. To address this question, we performed a fluid injection experiment in a fault zone in shales while monitoring fault movements at the injection source and seismic velocity variations from a near-distance (<10 m) monitoring network. We measured and located the P and S wave velocity perturbations in and around the fault using repetitive active sources. We observed that seismic velocity perturbations dramatically increase above 1.5 MPa of injection pressure. This is consistent with an increase of fluid flow associated with an aseismic dilatant shearing of the fault as shown by numerical modeling. We find that seismic velocity changes are sensitive to both fault opening by fluid invasion and effective stress variations and can be an efficient measurement for monitoring fluid-driven aseismic deformations of faults.

Clay formations are present in reservoirs and earthquake faults, but questions remain on their mechanical behavior, as they can vary from ductile (aseismic) to brittle (seismic). An experiment, at a scale of 10 m, aims to reactivate a natural fault by fluid pressure in shale materials. The injection area was surrounded by a dense monitoring network comprising pressure, deformation, and seismicity sensors, in a well-characterized geological setting. Thirty-two microseismic events were recorded during several injection phases in five different locations within the fault zone. Their computed magnitude ranged between −4.3 and −3.7. Their spatiotemporal distribution, compared with the measured displacement at the injection points, shows that most of the deformation induced by the injection is aseismic. Whether the seismicity is controlled by the fault architecture, mineralogy of fracture filling, fluid, and/or stress state is then discussed. The fault damage zone architecture and mineralogy are of crucial importance, as seismic slip mainly localizes on the sealed-with-calcite fractures which predominate in the fault damage zone. As no seismicity is observed in the close vicinity of the injection areas, the presence of fluid seems to prevent seismic slips. The fault core acts as an impermeable hydraulic barrier that favors fluid confinement and pressurization. Therefore, the seismic behavior seems to be strongly sensitive to the structural heterogeneity (including permeability) of the fault zone, which leads to a heterogeneous stress response to the pressurized volume.