Seismicity induced during the development of the Rittershoffen geothermal field, France

Maurer, Vincent; Gaucher, Emmanuel; Grunberg, Marc; Koepke, Rike; Pestourie, Romain; Cuenot, Nicolas

doi:10.1186/s40517-020-0155-2

Cited by 23 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…These stimulation treatments have been shown to potentially increase the seismic hazard in the URG, thus posing safety concerns among the public (Egert et al, 2020). Different studies have investigated the mechanical response of specific targeted reservoirs during reservoir operations (Charléty et al, 2007;Calò et al, 2014;Maurer et al, 2020), though a regional investigation of the graben stability under the in-situ stress field is still lacking. Therefore, in this study, we investigate the thermomechanical configuration of the whole region with respect to the natural, that is, the tectonic and structural framework.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of Lithosphere Rheology on Seismicity in an Intracontinental Rift: The Case of the Rhine Graben

et al. 2020

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of Lithosphere Rheology on Seismicity in an Intracontinental Rift: The Case of the Rhine Graben

et al. 2020

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“…Got et al, 2011;Chevrot et al, 2011;Souriau et al, 2014;Theunissen et al, 2018;De Barros et al 2019;Ritz et al, 2020) and including sequence of earthquakes triggered or induced (e.g. Bollinger et al, 2010;Lengliné et al, 2017;Aochi and Burnol, 2018;Grasso et al, 2018;Maurer et al, 2020), while some other authors revisited historical observations thanks to more robust processing sometimes helped by recent data acquisition (e.g. Traversa et al, 2018;Kaub, 2019;Amorèse et al, 2020).…”

Section: Discussion: Implication For Seismic Hazard Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

A decade of seismicity in metropolitan France (2010–2019): the CEA/LDG methodologies and observations

Duverger¹,

Mazet‐Roux²,

Bollinger³

et al. 2021

BSGF - Earth Sci. Bull.

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We summarize ten years of the French seismicity recorded by the Geophysical and Detection Laboratory (LDG) of the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) network from 2010 to 2019. During this period, 25,279 natural earthquakes were detected by the LDG and located within metropolitan France and its immediate vicinity. This seismicity contributes to more than 47% of the natural earthquakes instrumentally recorded since 1962 (mainly due to the improvement of network capacity), and includes about 28% of the most significant earthquakes with a magnitude ML ≥ 4.0. Recent seismic events therefore significantly expand the available national catalogues. The spatial distribution of 2010-2019 earthquakes is broadly similar to the previous instrumental pattern of the seismicity, with most of the seismic activity concentrated in the French Alps, the Pyrenees, the Brittany, the upper Rhine Graben and the Central Massif. A large part of the seismic activity is related to the occurrence of individual events. The largest earthquakes of the last ten years include the November 11, 2019 Le Teil earthquake with ML 5.4 and maximal epicentral intensities VII to VIII, which occurred in the Rhone valley; the April 28, 2016 La Rochelle earthquake with ML 5.2 and epicentral intensity V, which occurred at the southernmost extremity of the Armorican Massif in the vicinity of the Oléron island; and the April 7, 2014 Barcelonnette earthquake with ML 5.1 and epicentral intensity VII, which occurred in the Ubaye valley in the Alps. In 2019, two other moderate earthquakes of ML 5.1 and ML 4.9 stroke the western part of France, in Charente-Maritime and Maine-et-Loire department, respectively. The recent moderate earthquake occurrences and the large number of small earthquakes recorded give both the potential to revise some regional historical events and to determine more robust frequency-magnitude distributions, which are critical for seismic hazard assessment but complex due to low seismicity rates in France. The LDG seismic network installed since the early 1960s also allows a better characterization of the temporal structure of seismicity, partly diffused and in the form of mainshock-aftershocks sequences or transient swarms. These aspects are important in order to lower the uncertainties associated to seismogenic sources and improve the models in seismic hazard assessment for metropolitan France.

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“…The geothermal systems at Insheim, Landau and Ritterhofen were developed using a multi-reservoir concept, where the interface of the granitic basement and the overlying tight, fractured sediments are both targeted (e.g. Schindler et al, 2010; Maurer et al, 2015; Baujard et al, 2017; Küperkoch et al, 2018; Vidal and Genter, 2018). At Bruchsal, only the tight, fractured Triassic–Carboniferous sandstone sediments were targeted at a depth of 2.5–3.5 km at a temperature of 100–150 °C (Meixner et al, 2016).…”

Section: Seismicity In Geothermal Systems: Case History Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review of induced seismicity in geothermal systems worldwide and implications for geothermal systems in the Netherlands

Buijze

Bijsterveldt²,

Cremer³

et al. 2019

Netherlands Journal of Geosciences

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Geothermal energy is a viable alternative to gas for the heating of buildings, industrial areas and greenhouses, and can thus play an important role in making the transition to sustainable energy in the Netherlands. Heat is currently produced from the Dutch subsurface through circulation of water between two wells in deep (1.5–3 km) geothermal formations with temperature of up to ∼100 °C. As the number of these so-called doublets is expected to increase significantly over the next decades, and targeted depths and temperatures increase, it is important to assess potential show-stoppers related to geothermal operations. One of these potential hazards is the possibility of the occurrence of felt seismic events, which could potentially damage infrastructure and housing, and affect public support. Such events have been observed in several geothermal systems in other countries. Here we review the occurrence (or the lack) of felt seismic events in geothermal systems worldwide and identify key factors influencing the occurrence and magnitude of these events. Based on this review, we project the findings for seismicity in geothermal systems to typical geothermal formations and future geothermal developments in the Netherlands. The case study review shows that doublets that circulate fluids through relatively shallow, porous, sedimentary aquifers far from the crystalline basement are unlikely to generate felt seismic events. On the other hand, stimulations or circulations in or near competent, fractured, basement rocks and production and reinjection operations in high-temperature geothermal fields are more prone to induce felt events, occasionally with magnitudes of M > 5.0. Many of these operations are situated in tectonically active areas, and stress and temperature changes may be large. The presence of large, optimally oriented and critically stressed faults increases the potential for induced seismicity. The insights from the case study review suggest that the potential for the occurrence of M > 2.0 seismicity for geothermal operations in several of the sandstone target formations in the Netherlands is low, especially if faults can be avoided. The potential for induced seismicity may be moderate for operations in faulted carbonate rocks. Induced seismicity always remains a complex and site-specific process with large unknowns, and can never be excluded entirely. However, assessing the potential for inducing felt seismic events can be improved by considering the relevant (site-specific) geological and operational key factors discussed in this article.

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Seismicity induced during the development of the Rittershoffen geothermal field, France

Abstract: The Upper Rhine Graben (URG) currently hosts several enhanced geothermal system (EGS) plants that are in the exploitation phase, such as those in Rittershoffen and Soultzsous-Forêts in France (

Cited by 23 publications

References 47 publications

Influence of Lithosphere Rheology on Seismicity in an Intracontinental Rift: The Case of the Rhine Graben

Influence of Lithosphere Rheology on Seismicity in an Intracontinental Rift: The Case of the Rhine Graben

A decade of seismicity in metropolitan France (2010–2019): the CEA/LDG methodologies and observations

Review of induced seismicity in geothermal systems worldwide and implications for geothermal systems in the Netherlands

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