Using state-of-the-art laboratory facilities, we investigate why natural rocks deform, and how this changes local fluid transport. We perform mechanical and permeability tests in combination with micro and nanoscale analysis/imaging to identify the mechanisms that control bulk deformation, fault movement and fluid transport at the crustal & reservoir scale.
Our group carries out a variety of studies that approach problems of faulting and crustal mechanics in geologic environments by integration of various types of data. Typically, these studies involve working with data on the magnitude and orientation of in situ stresses, seismological data, geodetic data, etc.
We are carrying out a series of studies, usually in close collaboration with the oil and gas industry, on problems in oil and gas reservoirs, potential CO2 repositories and geothermal reservoirs. The emphasis of this research recently has been on shale gas, tight gas and tight oil reservoirs.
Researchers have mapped more than 250 faults totaling more than 1,800 miles in combined length, finding that the majority of faults underlying the Fort Worth Basin are as sensitive to changes in stress that could cause them to slip and generate earthquakes.
A new study shows that the majority of faults underlying the Fort Worth Basin are as sensitive to changes in stress that could cause them to slip as those that have generated earthquakes in recent years.
Quality criteria for maximum horizontal stress orientation (SHmax) and relative principal stress magnitude (Aϕ) measurements were recently updated by Lund Snee and Zoback (2018). The latest quality criteria can be found here.
The Stress and Crustal Mechanics Group uses knowledge of the state of stress in the Earth and the mechanical properties of Earth materials to investigate a variety of geophysical problems.