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One of the concerns of underground CO2 onshore storage is the triggering of induced seismicity and fault reactivation by the pore pressure increasing. Hence, a comprehensive analysis of the tectonic parameters involved in the storage rock formation is mandatory for safety management operations. Unquestionably, active faults and seal faults depicting the storage bulk are relevant parameters to be considered. However, there is a lack of analysis of the active tectonic strain field affecting these faults during the CO2 storage monitoring. The advantage of reconstructing the tectonic field is the possibility to determine the strain trajectories and describing the fault patterns affecting the reservoir rock. In this work, we adapt a methodology of systematic geostructural analysis to underground CO2 storage, based on the calculation of the strain field from kinematics indicators on the fault planes (ey and ex for the maximum and minimum horizontal shortening, respectively). This methodology is based on a statistical analysis of individual strain tensor solutions obtained from fresh outcrops from the Triassic to the Miocene. Consequently, we have collected 447 fault data in 32 field stations located within a 20 km radius. The understanding of the fault sets' role for underground fluid circulation can also be established, helping further analysis of CO2 leakage and seepage. We have applied this methodology to Hontomín onshore CO2 storage facilities (central Spain). The geology of the area and the number of high-quality outcrops made this site a good candidate for studying the strain field from kinematics fault analysis. The results indicate a strike-slip tectonic regime with maximum horizontal shortening with a 160 and 50 ∘ E trend for the local regime, which activates NE–SW strike-slip faults. A regional extensional tectonic field was also recognized with a N–S trend, which activates N–S extensional faults, and NNE–SSW and NNW–SSE strike-slip faults, measured in the Cretaceous limestone on top of the Hontomín facilities. Monitoring these faults within the reservoir is suggested in addition to the possibility of obtaining a focal mechanism solutions for micro-earthquakes (M<3). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Image correlation techniques have provided new ways to analyse the distribution of deformation in analogue models of tectonics in space and time. Here, we demonstrate, using a new version of our software package (TecPIV), how the correlation of successive time-lapse images of a deforming model allows not only to evaluate the components of the strain-rate tensor at any time in the model but also to calculate the finite displacements and finite strain tensor. We illustrate with synthetic images how the algorithm produces maps of the velocity gradients, small-strain tensor components, incremental or instantaneous principal strains and maximum shear. The incremental displacements can then be summed up with Eulerian or Lagrangian summation, and the components of the 2-D finite strain tensor can be calculated together with the finite principal strain and maximum finite shear. We benchmark the measures of finite displacements using specific synthetic tests for each summation mode. The deformation gradient tensor is calculated from the deformed state and decomposed into the finite rigid-body rotation and left or right finite-stretch tensors, allowing the deformation ellipsoids to be drawn. The finite strain has long been the only quantified measure of strain in analogue models. The presented software package allows producing these finite strain measures while also accessing incremental measures of strain. The more complete characterisation of the deformation of tectonic analogue models will facilitate the comparison with numerical simulations and geological data and help produce conceptual mechanical models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]