Review of Hydrofracturing and Induced Seismicity

This record summarises seismicity induced by hydrofracturing. It begins with a list of issues of concern to the public about hydrofracturing.

The types of fracturing are then defined-tension, shear and hybrid tension and shear-and a failure mode diagram that explains the fluid pressure and stress regimes under which each is likely to occur is introduced. The report sets out the conditions under which fresh rock is fractured and pre-existing weak faults are reactivated. Fractures grow by small increments, with each increment causing a small earthquake. Earthquake magnitudes and intensities are explained so that the fracture size can be related to earthquake magnitude. What people feel is explained in terms of earthquake intensity. The size distribution of earthquakes induced by hydrofracturing of both intact rock and reactivating existing weak faults is then summarised based on case studies in the scientific literature.

The background established in the first part of the record is then applied to hydrofracturing in the coal seam gas, shale gas, enhanced geothermal and carbon sequestration sectors. The record concludes by explaining how hydrofracturing and induced seismicity contribute to a discussion of the issues of public concern listed in the introduction to the record.

The record is in two parts-the main body of the record and four appendices. The main body is written in a form readable to non-seismologists, although a basic understanding of the scientific principles considered in the record would be an advantage. A more theoretical treatment of the hydrofracture process and earthquake size is given in the first two appendices. The third appendix discusses larger induced earthquakes attributed to a number of causes, including the reinjection of waste water from the unconventional gas industry. The fourth appendix summarises the current approaches to the regulation of the hydrofracturing process in several jurisdictions in Australia.

Simple

Identification info

Date (Publication)
2016-01-01T00:00:00
Citation identifier
Geoscience Australia Persistent Identifier/https://pid.geoscience.gov.au/dataset/ga/83880

Citation identifier
Digital Object Identifier/http://dx.doi.org/10.11636/Record.2016.002

Cited responsible party
Role Organisation / Individual Name Details
Publisher

Geoscience Australia

 Canberra
Author

Drummond, B.J.

 1
Name

Record

Issue identification

2016/002

Point of contact
Role Organisation / Individual Name Details
Custodian

Corp
Owner

Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)
Custodian

Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)

 Voice
Topic category
  • Geoscientific information
Maintenance and update frequency
Unknown

Resource format

Title

Product data repository: Various Formats

Website

Data Store directory containing the digital product files

Data Store directory containing one or more files, possibly in a variety of formats, accessible to Geoscience Australia staff only for internal purposes

Keywords

  • GA Publication

  • Record

Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC)

  • Earth Sciences

Keywords

  • Published_External

Resource constraints

Title

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence

Alternate title

CC-BY

Edition

4.0

Website

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/

Access constraints
License
Use constraints
License

Resource constraints

Title

Australian Government Security ClassificationSystem

Edition date
2018-11-01T00:00:00
Website

https://www.protectivesecurity.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx

Classification
Unclassified
Language
English
Character encoding
UTF8

Distribution Information

Distributor contact
Role Organisation / Individual Name Details
Distributor

Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)

 Voice
OnLine resource

File download

Download the Record (docx)

Distribution format

  • docx

OnLine resource

File download

Download the Record (pdf)

Distribution format

  • pdf

Resource lineage

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Unknown

Hierarchy level
Non geographic dataset
Other

GA Publication

Description

Source data not available.

Metadata constraints

Title

Australian Government Security ClassificationSystem

Edition date
2018-11-01T00:00:00
Website

https://www.protectivesecurity.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx

Classification
Unclassified

Metadata

Metadata identifier
urn:uuid/1a2e0d50-845a-9899-e053-10a3070adfb4

Title

GeoNetwork UUID

Language
English
Character encoding
UTF8
Contact
Role Organisation / Individual Name Details
Point of contact

Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)

 Voice

Type of resource

Resource scope
Document
Name

GA Record

Alternative metadata reference

Title

Geoscience Australia - short identifier for metadata record with

uuid

Citation identifier
eCatId/83880

Metadata linkage

https://ecat.ga.gov.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/1a2e0d50-845a-9899-e053-10a3070adfb4

Date info (Revision)
2018-04-20T06:03:56
Date info (Creation)
2015-07-06T00:00:00

Metadata standard

Title

AU/NZS ISO 19115-1:2014

Metadata standard

Title

ISO 19115-1:2014

Metadata standard

Title

ISO 19115-3

Title

Geoscience Australia Community Metadata Profile of ISO 19115-1:2014

Edition

Version 2.0, September 2018

Citation identifier
https://pid.geoscience.gov.au/dataset/ga/122551

 
 

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