Kusumita Arora

Investigations of continued reservoir triggered seismicity at Koyna, India

Abstract Koyna, located in the Deccan Volcanic Province in western India, is the most significant site of reservoir triggered seismicity (RTS) globally. The largest RTS event of M 6.3 occurred here on December 10, 1967. RTS at Koyna has continued. This includes 22 M≥5.0 and thousands of smaller events over the past 50 years. The annual loading and unloading cycles of the Koyna Reservoir and the nearby Warna Reservoir influence RTS. Koyna provides an excellent natural laboratory to comprehend the mechanism of RTS because earthquakes here occur in a small area, mostly at depths of 2–7 km, which are accessible for monitoring. A deep borehole laboratory is therefore planned to study earthquakes in the near-field to understand their genesis, especially in an RTS environment. Initially, several geophysical investigations were carried out to characterize the seismic zone, including 5000 line kilometres of airborne gravity gradiometry and magnetic surveys, high-quality magnetotelluric data from 100 stations, airborne LiDAR surveys over 1064 km2, drilling of 8 boreholes of approximately 1500 m depth and geophysical logging. To improve the earthquake locations a unique network of borehole seismometers was installed in six of these boreholes. These results, along with a pilot borehole drilling plan, are presented here.

Characterization of seasonal and longitudinal variability of EEJ in the Indian region

This paper presents the seasonal and longitudinal variability of the equatorial electrojet (EEJ) based on geomagnetic variation data from two electrojet stations in the northern Indian Ocean at a longitudinal separation of ~15°: i.e., at 77°E and at 93°E. One complete year of data is used (i.e., from November 2011 to October 2012) at the two longitudes and compared with the climatological model of the equatorial electrojet (EEJM-2.0). The results of our analysis show that (i) the monthly averaged hourly values of EEJ strength at 77°E and 93°E are overall in agreement with global characteristics of EEJ with significant departures over the year of study, (ii) the monthly average hourly daytime values at Campbell Bay and Vencode show poor correlation (r  10 nT, >20 nT for 30% of quiet days, sorted by planetary index (Kp) <1 and <2. This variability is reflected in monthly average values (V) mechanisms for persistent differences in EEJ on day-to-day basis are sought from perturbation of westward ion drifts by neutral winds caused by the upward propagation of gravity waves from troposphere/stratosphere into the mesosphere. These mechanisms have been identified theoretically and experimentally. The four-wave structure of ionospheric current densities obtained by EEJM-2.0 and other contemporary models closely resembles atmospheric tidal signatures and has a common origin. The magnitude and persistence of these differences, at short spatial scales (15°), are significant observation. These effects are reflected in the monthly and seasonal signatures of EEJ and contribute to the contemporary models.

Variability of equatorial counter electrojet signatures in the Indian region

[1] The limited longitudinal extent of equatorial counter electrojet (CEJ) has been inferred by several workers based on the analysis of ground data. However the scale length of CEJ characteristics at 2 hours or less has not been estimated so far. The present study seeks to characterize the longitudinal variability of CEJ phenomena at a longitudinal separation of ~15° using hourly averaged variations at two equatorial electrojet (EEJ) pairs of stations: Hyderabad & Vencode at 77°E and Port Blair & Campbell Bay at 93°E. The nature of CEJ events are classified by time of occurrence and studied using 12 months of concurrent data at the two longitudes. From examination of 323 CEJ events at VEN (Vencode) and 239 at CBY (Campbell Bay) over a period of 346 days, the observations are: i) the occurrence of CEJ is not simultaneous at VEN and CBY for about 40% of events; (ii) the amplitude and occurrence frequency of CEJ events is greater at VEN than CBY during both Kp < 2 and Kp ≥ 2; (iii) the influence of westward currents on the EEJ peak was evidenced by early or late peak occurrences comprising about 175 days at VEN and 89 days at CBY. It is established here that considerable variability of CEJ signatures is observed between the two longitudes at 15° separation revealing the impact of local electrodynamics. These local processes therefore significantly influence the characteristics of EEJ.

Lineament fabric from airborne LiDAR and its influence on triggered earthquakes in the Koyna-Warna region, western India

We present the results of the first airborne LiDAR survey flown in the Koyna-Warna region and examine the relationship between the lineament fabric and the ongoing seismicity in the region. Our studies reveal that earthquakes of M≥4.0 for the period 1968 to 2016 are strongly correlated with a 10 km wide N-S fracture zone, which not only represents the surface expression of seismically active basement faults, but also act as conduits for water percolation between the Koyna and Warna reservoirs. A decreasing trend in the annual distribution of earthquakes was observed from 1985. A new burst of seismic activity in 1993 followed the impoudment of the Warna reservoir. We report a change in annual seismicity pattern, where seismicity peaks during September and December in the pre-Warna period, with a new peak emerging during March-April subsequent to the impoundment of Warna reservoir. A model is proposed to explain the seismicity along dominant N-S lineaments and the impact of Warna reservoir impounding which altered the hydrogeologic regime in the region.

New Data on the Olyutorskii Earthquake Acquired via SAR Interferometry

A coseismic displacement field based on SAR interferometry data was determined for the area of the April 20, 2006 Olyutorskii earthquake. The resulting image shows displacements toward the satellite (“uplifts”) to the northwest of the surface rupture area where the epicenters of most aftershocks lie. The displacement- affected area extends as far as the Vyvenka–Vatyna tectonic suture. We have developed a model for the rupture surface that is in agreement with the hypothesis of A.V. Lander and T.K. Pinegina stating that the largest displacements occurred along a fault northwest of the surface rupture zone; the fault dips southeast and is not exposed. The slip on the fault is close to a pure thrust type. These results furnish another confirmation of the fact that advanced satellite technologies can provide important additional information on the dynamics of seismic regions, especially where the existing observing networks are sparse.

Delineation of Fractures through Acoustic Televiewer Log

Boreholes are the only sources for direct measurements of geological and geophysical characteristics of the shallow subsurface of the earth. Borehole imaging tool “Acoustic Televiewer (ATV)” is an advanced probe, which records 3D image of the bore hole wall and is used to obtain oriented images of bore hole and provides substantial information regarding lithology, structural information, detection of fractures and casing of the borehole. The images are highly sensitive to the presence of fractures, the delineation of which becomes accurate and reliable based on these acoustic images. Features identified on log-derived images can be correlated with core samples or can be used as substitute in the poor core recovery zones. In the present study, ATV log from a deep borehole drilled at Khadi Kolavan in Koyna-Warna region of Ratnagiri district, Maharashtra located west of the Western Ghat escarpment in the Deccan Volcanic province, India, is used for interpretation of structural characteristics of the formation. The same was correlated with other conventional logging methods such as resistivity and full waveform sonic (FWS) as well as core logging and rock quality designations (RQD) which generated new understanding of the basement and basalt cover in this region.

On the Dynamics of the Seasonal Components of Induced Seismicity in the Koyna–Warna Region, Western India

The spatial and time dynamics are analyzed for the seasonal components of induced seismicity in the Koyna–Warna region of Western India. The peculiarities of the variations in these components are compared to the changes in the local tectonic regime inferred from the focal mechanism data of the earthquakes. Based on this, the hypotheses about the probable nature of the dynamics in the seasonal components of seismicity are suggested. It is noted that the variations in the seasonal seismic activity after the impoundment of the Koyna reservoir in the north are caused by the spatial migration of the induced seismicity and activation of the normal faults in the south. It is hypothesized that the process of fracture migration from the north to the south at this stage advanced the diffusion of the fluid from the Koyna reservoir, and as the water front reached the southern zone of normal faulting, this caused reactivation of the seasonal seismicity. An explanation is suggested for the stronger response of the seasonal activity in the region of Warna reservoir compared to the Koyna area: in contrast to Koyna, filling the Warna reservoir was geographically close to the area of activated seismicity. It is shown that the localization and sizes of the areas of the instantaneous and delayed components in the seasonal activity of the induced seismicity are determined by the localization and sizes of the areas of high stresses created by the increase in the pore pressure in highly permeable fault zones.

Method of analysis of geomagnetic data based on wavelet transform and threshold functions

The suggested method is aimed at studying the dynamics of the magnetospheric current systems during magnetic storms. The method is based on algorithmic solutions for processing of geomagnetic field variations, detection of local increases in geomagnetic disturbance intensity and estimation of their dynamic characteristics. Parameters of the algorithms allow us to evaluate the characteristics of small-scale local features emerging during geomagnetic activity slight increases and large-scale variations observed during magnetic storms. To evaluate the method, geomagnetic data from the stations located in the north-east of Russia and equatorial India were used. The method testing showed the possibility to apply it for the detection of pre-storm anomalous effects in geomagnetic data.