Micro-Earthquake At Kilauea East Rift Geothermal Area (Kenedi, Et Al., 2010)

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

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Exploration Activity: Micro-Earthquake At Kilauea East Rift Geothermal Area (Kenedi, Et Al., 2010)

Exploration Activity Details
Location	Kilauea East Rift Geothermal Area
Exploration Technique	Micro-Earthquake
Activity Date	2006 - 2010
Usefulness	useful
DOE-funding	Unknown

Exploration Basis

This study was conducted to gain a more detailed seismic velocity model.

Notes

A network eight of down-hole seismometers were placed in the Puna geothermal field. The instruments range in depth from 24 - 210 m. Five stations were equipped with 2 Hz Geophones and three had 4.5 Hz Geophones. Over 4000 microseismic events were recorded during this study. Most earthquakes recorded in the region were less than 0.5 and occurred 2-3 km deep. Three analytical techniques were applied to this study: Shear wave splitting, double difference earthquake location, and 3-D tomography. This study was beneficial in helping to improve the local velocity model, identify fault and fracture orientations, and locate zones of high and low velocities. Based on earthquake sizes, locations, and depths the evidence from this study suggests that the power plant does have an affect on local seismicity.

References

• Catherine Lewis Kenedi, Eylon Shalev, Alan Lucas, Peter Malin (2010) Microseismicity and 3-D Mapping of an Active Geothermal Field, Kilauea Lower East Rift Zone, Puna, Hawaii