Abstract

Temporal changes in groundwater chemistry can reveal information about the evolution of flow path connectivity during crustal deformation. Here, we report transient helium and argon concentration anomalies monitored during a series of hydraulic reservoir stimulation experiments measured with an in situ gas equilibrium membrane inlet mass spectrometer. Geodetic and seismic analyses revealed that the applied stimulation treatments led to the formation of new fractures (hydraulic fracturing) and the reactivation of natural fractures (hydraulic shearing), both of which remobilized (He, Ar)-enriched fluids trapped in the rock mass. Our results demonstrate that integrating geochemical information with geodetic and seismic data provides critical insights to understanding dynamic changes in fracture network connectivity during reservoir stimulation. The results of this study also shed light on the linkages between fluid migration, rock deformation and seismicity at the decameter scale.

Details

Title
In situ observation of helium and argon release during fluid-pressure-triggered rock deformation
Author
Roques Clément 1 ; Weber, Ulrich W 2 ; Brixel Bernard 3 ; Krietsch Hannes 3 ; Dutler Nathan 4 ; Brennwald, Matthias S 5 ; Villiger Linus 3 ; Doetsch, Joseph 3 ; Jalali Mohammadreza 6 ; Gischig Valentin 7 ; Amann Florian 6 ; Valley Benoît 4 ; Klepikova, Maria 8 ; Kipfer Rolf 9 

 ETH Zürich, Department of Earth Sciences, Zürich, Switzerland (GRID:grid.5801.c) (ISNI:0000 0001 2156 2780); University Rennes 1, Géosciences Rennes, UMR 6118, Rennes, France (GRID:grid.462934.e) (ISNI:0000 0001 1482 4447) 
 Eawag - Swiss Federal Institute for Aquatic Science and Technology, Department of Water Resources and Drinking Water, Dübendorf, Switzerland (GRID:grid.418656.8) (ISNI:0000 0001 1551 0562); University of Oslo, Department of Geosciences, Oslo, Norway (GRID:grid.5510.1) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 8921) 
 ETH Zürich, Department of Earth Sciences, Zürich, Switzerland (GRID:grid.5801.c) (ISNI:0000 0001 2156 2780) 
 University of Neuchâtel, Center for Hydrogeology and Geothermics, Neuchâtel, Switzerland (GRID:grid.10711.36) (ISNI:0000 0001 2297 7718) 
 Eawag - Swiss Federal Institute for Aquatic Science and Technology, Department of Water Resources and Drinking Water, Dübendorf, Switzerland (GRID:grid.418656.8) (ISNI:0000 0001 1551 0562) 
 RWTH Aachen, Department of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology, Aachen, Germany (GRID:grid.1957.a) (ISNI:0000 0001 0728 696X) 
 ETH Zürich, Department of Earth Sciences, Zürich, Switzerland (GRID:grid.5801.c) (ISNI:0000 0001 2156 2780); CSD INGENIEURE AG, Liebefeld, Switzerland (GRID:grid.5801.c) 
 University of Lausanne, Applied and Environmental Geophysics group, Institute of Earth Sciences, Lausanne, Switzerland (GRID:grid.9851.5) (ISNI:0000 0001 2165 4204) 
 Eawag - Swiss Federal Institute for Aquatic Science and Technology, Department of Water Resources and Drinking Water, Dübendorf, Switzerland (GRID:grid.418656.8) (ISNI:0000 0001 1551 0562); ETH Zürich, Department of Environmental System Science, Zürich, Switzerland (GRID:grid.5801.c) (ISNI:0000 0001 2156 2780); ETH Zürich, Department of Earth Sciences, Institute of Geochemistry and Petrology, Zürich, Switzerland (GRID:grid.5801.c) (ISNI:0000 0001 2156 2780) 
Publication year
2020
Publication date
2020
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2394528766
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2020. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.