Naturally fractured reservoirs and faulted rock masses govern fluid flow, mechanical behaviour and long-term performance across a wide range of subsurface applications, including hydrogeology, geothermal energy, hydrocarbons, nuclear waste disposal and CO₂ storage. This joint session brings together contributions that advance our understanding of fracture and fault systems, their hydraulic and mechanical properties, and the complex interactions between fluids, stresses and evolving discontinuities.
Fractures and faults can modify bulk rock properties by orders of magnitude, impose strong anisotropy, and form the primary conduits for fluid flow and transport. Their behaviour is inherently nonlinear and highly sensitive to fluid-rock interactions, which can enhance or diminish transmissibility over time. These dynamic processes influence reservoir productivity, containment performance, induced seismicity potential and operational risks in geoenergy and storage projects.
Representing and modelling these systems remains a challenging task due to their structural complexity, spatial variability in physical properties, and multi-scale deformation processes. Integrating field observations, monitoring data, laboratory measurements and numerical modelling is essential to capture fracture-network evolution and fluid-driven changes. We especially welcome contributions addressing:
• Structural characterisation of fractures and faults using deterministic or stochastic approaches
• Numerical methods for continuous, discontinuous (DFN), or hybrid representations of fractured media
• Simulation of coupled hydraulic, mechanical and THMC processes in faulted and fractured systems
• Deterministic and stochastic inversion techniques for model calibration and uncertainty reduction
• Interdisciplinary studies linking deformation processes, transmissibility changes and fluid-rock interactions
• Applications to geothermal, groundwater, petroleum, CO₂ storage, waste repositories and other low-carbon subsurface technologies
We encourage submissions spanning multiple scales from laboratory experiments to reservoir-scale analyses and studies that bridge the gap between observation, measurement and simulation. Research integrating diverse methods to improve predictive understanding of fault and fracture behaviour in subsurface energy systems is particularly welcome, and early-career scientists are warmly encouraged to contribute.
Peter Eichhubl