During an earthquake, the potential energy stored in the Earth is released as frictional energy, fracture energy, and radiated energy in the form of seismic waves. The potential energy released is mainly comprised of elastic strain energy and gravitational energy. While several studies have considered estimating the radiated energy and energy partitioning, existing descriptions have not addressed the contribution of fluid pressurization to the potential and seismic energy budget—a key aspect toward understanding the physical mechanisms behind the link between fluid injection and induced earthquakes.
