Seismic Characterization of the Decatur, Illinois (USA) Carbon Capture and Storage Site

To improve the detection of microearthquakes down to very small magnitude levels, we apply the empirical Matched Field Processing (MFP) method to 14.5 months of continuous borehole seismic data from the USGS seismic network at Decatur, Illinois and identify 95% more events than were detected in the original catalog. Improved microseismic event detection is one component of a new Microseismic Toolkit that aims to reduce specific technical difficulties that make seismic hazard assessments for CO2 injection and storage projects difficult. These tools can also allow for an improved understanding of the subsurface reservoir at the Illinois Basin Decatur Project (IDBP) site as observed through changes in the dynamic microearthquake activity and in the more slowly-varying subsurface medium changes associated with CO2 plume growth. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.