Investigation of persistent Multiplets at the EGS reservoir of Soultz-Sous-Forêts, France

During the exploitation of geothermal reservoirs, abundant seismicity is generally observed, especially during phases of hydraulic stimulations. The induced seismicity at the Enhanced Geothermal System of Soultz-Sous-Forêts in France, has been thoroughly studied over the years of exploitation. The mechanism at its origin has been related to both fluid pressure increases during stimulation and aseismic creeping movements. The fluid-induced seismic events often exhibit a high degree of similarity and the mechanism at the origin of these repeated events is thought to be associated with slow slip process where asperities on the rupture zone act several times.To have a better understanding of the mechanisms associated with such events and on the damaged zones involved during the hydraulic stimulations, we investigate the behavior of the multiplets and their persistent nature over several water injection intervals. For this purpose, we analyzed large datasets recorded from a borehole seismic network for several water injection periods (1993, 2000). For each stimulation interval, thousands of events are recorded at depth. We detected the events using a STA/LTA approach and classified them into families of comparable waveforms using an approach based on cross-correlation analysis. Classification of the seismic events is then improved depending on their location within the multiplets. For this purpose, inter-event distances within multiplets are examined and determined from cross-correlation analysis between pairs of events. These distances are then compared to the source dimensions derived from the estimation of the corner frequencies estimation. The multiplets properties (location, events size) are then investigated within and over several hydraulic tests. Hopefully these steps will lead to increase the knowledge on the repetitive nature of these events and the investigation of their persistence will outline the heterogeneities of the structures (regional stress perturbations, fluid flow channeling) regularly involved during the different stimulations.