In autumn 2017 a network of 14 broadband seismic stations was deployed at the Theistareykir high temperature geothermal field (NE Iceland). This experiment was conducted as part of the current efforts to characterize the field's main structures, and possible short and long term stress variations due to the ongoing fluid injection and extraction operations which started in autumn 2017. In this work, we use two years of continuous seismic records (October 2017–October 2019) to compute a 3D shear wave velocity model of the geothermal field and to detect possible crustal stress changes related to the injection and production activities. From phase cross-correlations of the vertical component recordings, we measure the Rayleigh wave group velocity dispersion curves to obtain 2D group velocity maps between 1 and 5 s. Subsequently, we use a neighborhood algorithm to retrieve the 3D shear wave velocity model of Theistareykir. Mainly, two sets of elongated high and low velocity anomalies can be observed oriented in a NW/WNW direction, parallel to the lineaments of the active Tjörnes fracture zone. Velocity reductions west of Ketilfjall and at Baerjafjall could indicate the location of upflow zones of the magmatic reservoir or hydrothermal system. We analyzed the temporal evolution of phase and amplitude of phase auto-correlations using the stretching technique and discuss their behavior in relation to the geothermal field operations. We notice a slightly stronger long-term velocity decrease in the reservoir region compared to outer regions. This could be related to the mass depletion in that area (higher fluid extraction compared to the water reinjection). In summary, our findings show how a monitoring network can be set up to enable a detailed imaging and monitoring of reservoir behavior in general.

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The Reykjanes Geothermal System (RGS) is a high-temperature geothermal system located on the Reykjanes peninsula, a transtensional plate-boundary zone located on the southwestern tip of Iceland. The area is characterized by high seismicity, recent volcanism, and high-temperature geothermal fields. We use seismic noise records from April 2014 to August 2015 to study stress changes and potential deformation of the subsurface caused by injection and production operations at RGS through seismic interferometry. We retrieve continuous time series of waveform similarity values and seismic velocity changes during this period. The S-transform of the similarity values allows us to clearly identify three variations in the mechanical properties of the Reykjanes peninsula related to rapid changes of RGS production. In addition, we observe a slow seismic velocity decrease of 0.36%/year in the reservoir due to the water deficit and seasonal variations associated with the energy production demand.

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Integration of results from active seismic, passive seismic and well data reduces the uncertainties of several subsurface parameters that are of interest for cost-effective geothermal production operations in Los Humeros. In this study, we present results from the application of ambient noise seismic interferometry (ANSI) to retrieve zero-offset reflected P-waves from continuous seismic data recorded at the Los Humeros geothermal field, Mexico. This study is inspired by encouraging results from the application of ANSI for body wave reflection retrieval that was reported in 2016 for a geothermal field located at Reykjanes peninsula, Iceland (Verdel et al., 2016). Continuous broadband and short-period seismic recordings provided insightful reflection information that corresponded well, in relevant depth intervals, with reflectivity retrieved from the correlation of coda waves from a distant but very strong earthquake. That work was carried out within the context of EU’s Seventh Framework research and innovation program IMAGE. Encouraged by these findings, it was decided to conduct a new study following a similar approach within the context of the GEMex project, a European-Mexican collaboration. The purpose of GEMex is to gain an improved understanding of the geological structure and geothermal reservoir behaviour for two geothermal fields: Los Humeros and Acoculco. In the following, we address data selection and processing aspects related to the retrieval of reflected P-waves from Los Humeros seismic noise recordings. The retrieved reflections are compared with modelled reflectivities at two station locations at a close distance from the location where the seismic interval velocities that are used in the modelling were available from the literature. The reflected P-wave information provides structural detail about the field at locations directly underneath the employed seismic stations.@en

We report on the results obtained from a dense seismic deployment over a geothermal reservoir. The reservoir has been producing continuously for almost a decade and is located on the tip of the Reykjanes peninsula, SW Iceland. The seismic stations on top of the reservoir have continuously recorded the ambient seismic wavefield between April 2014 and September 2015. The density of the seismic network makes the data well suited for time-lapse seismic imaging of the reservoir. To that end we compute time-lapse responses through the application of seismic interferometry. These interferometric lapse responses are obtained by simple crosscorrelation of the seismic noise recorded by the different seismic stations. We subsequently evaluate the temporal variation of the coda of these crosscorrelations. The term coda refers to the later arriving, multiple scattered waves. The multiple scattering implies that these waves have sampled the subsurface very densely and hence become highly sensitive to tiny mechanical and structural changes in that subsurface. This sensitivity allows one, in principle at least, to monitor the geothermal reservoir. Preliminary results indeed suggest a relation between the temporal variation of the coda waves and the reservoir. Ultimately, this method may lead to a means to monitor a geothermal reservoir in both space and time. @en

We report on the results obtained from a dense seismic deployment over a geothermal reservoir located on the tip of the Reykjanes peninsula, SW Iceland. The available seismic stations have continuously recorded the ambient-seismic wave field between April 2014 and August 2015. Using seismic interferometry (SI), seismic responses were generated between these receivers. SI allows one to turn one receiver of a receiver pair into a so-called ‘virtual source’, whose response is then retrieved by the other receiver. The retrieved virtual-source response approximates the medium’s Green’s function between the two receiver locations. For the ambientseismic recordings used in this study, virtual-source retrieval involves simple time-averaging of the crosscorrelations between these recordings. The virtual-source responses were retrieved in a time-lapse manner. The temporal variation of the ‘coda’ of these virtual-source responses has been evaluated, where the term coda refers to the later arriving, multiply scattered waves. The multiple scattering implies that these waves have sampled the subsurface very densely and hence have become highly sensitive to tiny mechanical and structural changes in that subsurface. We did not find a clear relation between the temporal variation of the coda waves and the injection/ extraction rates of the geothermal reservoir. @en