*Induced Seismicity Indicated by Cross Correlation

Ivo Oprsal¹ and Leo Eisner²

Abstract

The qualitative correlation between earthquake rates (i.e., the number of observed earthquakes larger than the magnitude of completeness) and the injected volume, has been an established tool for investigating possible induced or triggered seismicity (Evans 1966, Healy et al 1968, Hsieh and Bredehoeft, 1981), however, the method using direct values of the earthquake rates and the injected volumes for normalized cross-correlation is a recent development (Horton 2012). The use of cross-correlation indicates e.g., the temporal dependence of seismic activity resulting from man-made actions without implying physical dependence of the phenomena. At the same time the maximum cross-correlation value of positive functions can inherently have a relatively high maximum regardless of its physical meaning.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90188 ©GEO-2014, 11th Middle East Geosciences Conference and Exhibition, 10-12 March 2014, Manama, Bahrain