GEO-PROBE
GPU-accelerated multi-physics spectral boundary-element modeling of induced seismicity during underground gas storage
Storing CO and hydrogen underground can help cut emissions and balance renewable energy, but₂ it can also trigger some small “micro” earthquakes. This is a major concern for nearby populations and project operators. While the seismic risk is rather well constrained for deep geothermal operations, CO and hydrogen storage raise new challenges₂: injected fluids can be much cooler than the surrounding rock, and H2 storage often involves repeated injection/withdrawal cycles. Together, these effects drive long-lasting changes in pressure and temperature throughout the reservoir, which can progressively alter the stability of pre-existing faults.
GEO-PROBE will build a faster, high-fidelity physics simulation software to understand why these earthquakes happen. The key idea is to model the whole range of fault motion in one go: from very slow, almost invisible sliding over months or years, to sudden fast slip during an earthquake. Capturing both matters for safety, because slow changes can “prepare” a fault for a fast event.
To make multi-year simulations affordable while still resolving sub-second rupture dynamics, GEO-PROBE will use a “time-compression” strategy: instead of storing the complete history of fluid and heat flow, the method tracks a finite set of internal time signals that represent past couplings across many temporal and spatial scales. The resulting open-source software will help test storage scenarios efficiently and support safer operating strategies for CO and hydrogen storage.
