Editors’ Highlights are summaries of recent papers by AGU’s journal editors.
Source: Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth
Unlocking the physics of natural and induced earthquakes remains a major challenge. Gischig et al. [2026] performed the “Mzero” hydraulic stimulation experiments within the BedrettoLab, which aimed to find a stimulation procedure to enhance seismicity up to an induced moment magnitude (Mw) 0 earthquake. The multi-sensor network enabled detailed measurements of pressure, fluid flow, and deformation during the stimulations. Some experiments were conducted in a pre-conditioned rock mass, where fluids had previously been injected at pressures just below the fault reactivation threshold.
The results show that earthquake evolution, migration, and magnitude strongly depend on both the injection procedure and the site’s stimulation history. Pre-conditioning induced a mainshock-aftershock sequence and altered rock deformation and fluid flow patterns. In contrast, experiments without pre-conditioning produced no mainshock but exhibited higher seismicity rates and more pronounced outward migration of micro-earthquakes.
These findings are highly relevant for developing strategies to mitigate or even suppress injection-induced felt earthquakes in geo-energy applications.
Citation: Gischig, V. S., Meier, M.-A., Lambiase, A., Jiang, D., Hertrich, M., Gholizadeh Doonechaly, N., et al. (2026). Hydraulic stimulation experiments attempting to enhance induced seismicity for earthquake physics research. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 131, e2026JB033768. https://doi.org/10.1029/2026JB033768
—Birgit I. Mueller, Associate Editor, JGR: Solid Earth