Abstract

Seismologist G. Hillers explains the basic concept of an Enhanced Geothermal System for carbon-free energy production using the example of the 2018 Otaniemi/Espoo stimulation experiment that took place some 6 km below the campus of Aalto University. The st1 Deep Heat company injected between May and July 2018 water into the rock mass to create fractures that will allow water to circulate and to heat up. This process is accompanied by the occurrence of thousands of small earthquakes. The Institute of Seismology faces the challenge to analyze the terabytes of seismic time series data and later the earthquake catalog data that were collected from a network consisting of borehole and surface stations. The presentation introduces the traditional analysis techniques, what observables they yield, how this informs about the processes at depth, as well as the algorithmic and computational challenges associated with this “big” data set, and sketches why ML and AI techniques are also becoming increasingly popular in seismological contexts. The intention is to initiate collaboration between the institute and the CS community at Kumpula and Aalto.

Speaker: Gregor Hillers
Affiliation: Professor of Seismology, University of Helsinki