A Study Of Fluid Pressure Migration Within The North-Central Oklahoma Seismic Gap

Abstract:

The rise in seismicity in Oklahoma since 2008 provides an unusual opportunity to study fluid migration and the interaction of fluids with faults. One unique area in north-central Oklahoma is a current seismic gap between large clusters in northern and central Oklahoma, providing a window into the temporal evolution of local seismicity. The gap in seismicity occurs across the NNE-SSW trending Nemaha uplift, with long faults relatively well-oriented in the regional stress field. Wastewater disposal occurs both within and on either side of the gap, and seismicity approached both sides of the uplift in 2014. To record seismicity and seismic migration through time within the uplift and along the bounding faults on either side, we deployed a ten station array of broadband sensors in April 2015. Our goal is to detect possible seismic signals related to fluid pressure migration and to ultimately increase our understanding of the fault response to perturbations in fluid pressure. Here we present local earthquake locations from the first months of data and initial focal mechanisms. We detect higher numbers of earthquakes happening within the Nemaha uplift than recorded in existing catalogs. The seismicity is typically <M2 and occurs near injection wells, suggesting that increased fluid pressure within the fault zone is characterized by higher frequencies of low magnitude events. This pattern of seismicity may represent deformation on small faults as the pressure perturbation migrates into the Nemaha uplift from either side and away from wells within the uplift.