Human-induced geohazards in Permian Basin, USA revealed by InSAR and numerical modeling

The Permian Basin, encompassing ~170,000 km² of southeastern New Mexico and west Texas, consists of ancient marine rocks underlain by water-soluble rocks and multiple hydrocarbon-rich formations. Densely populated oil and gas producing facilities have impacted the stability of the solid-Earth, inducing long-lasting surface subsidence and uplift and the formation of sinkholes and fissures. The ground instability and the associated geohazards threaten the safe operation of key infrastructure such as roads, hydrocarbon facilities, pipelines, and water management facilities. Using multi-temporal and multi-band interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) datasets, we have mapped temporal behaviors of the geohazards on a weekly to monthly basis. The time-lapse InSAR measurements are compared to collected human activity data to reveal and correlate the causality of the geohazards with the type of anthropogenic perturbation (e.g., wastewater injection, CO₂ flooding, abandoned well, salt dissolution, mining, etc.). We have quantified the impacts of human activities on the stability of the solid-Earth through numerical poroelastic modeling, which simulates the induced stress/pressure distribution in the strata and the resulting surface subsidence/uplift. By identifying the triggering factor(s) behind human-induced geohazards that have already occurred, our in-depth study provides insights for the mitigation of environmental impacts and assists the decision-making of public authorities and private oil and gas companies as they strive to minimize negative environmental impact and financial risk while supporting the sustainable growth of the Permian Basin’s petroleum industry.