In-Situ Stress Assessment in Geological Formations

In-situ stress assessment underpins our understanding of the forces acting within Earth’s crust and informs the safe and efficient development of subsurface resources. Measurements of stress magnitudes and orientations guide the design of wells, tunnels and underground excavations, whilst also shaping our interpretation of tectonic processes and seismic hazards. Techniques fall into two broad categories: direct methods, such as overcoring and hydraulic fracturing tests that physically relieve stress to gauge its original state; and indirect methods, which infer stress from borehole wall failures, fracture patterns, or geophysical imaging. Borehole breakouts and drilling-induced tension fractures reveal the principal stress directions and relative magnitudes by their characteristic orientations and geometries. Advances in numerical and semi-analytical modelling enable researchers to simulate these features under varying lithologies and loading conditions, improving our capacity to invert observed data for the complete stress tensor. Complementary statistical and machine-learning approaches exploit fracture conductivity or borehole deformation data to derive stress parameters where traditional inputs are sparse. Together, these methods have been applied globally—from crystalline shields to sedimentary basins—to calibrate three-dimensional stress fields, inform geothermal and hydrocarbon developments, and assess stability in civil and mining operations.

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In-Situ Stress Assessment in Geological Formations publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in in-situ stress assessment in geological formations across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Borehole breakout: A shear-induced enlargement of the borehole wall occurring along the direction of the minimum horizontal stress, used to infer stress orientation and magnitude.

Hydraulic conductivity: A measure of a rock or fracture’s ability to transmit fluid, often used to relate fracture transmissivity to stress conditions.

Stress inversion: A computational technique to derive the full stress tensor from observations such as fracture orientations, breakouts or focal mechanisms.

Borehole televiewer: An acoustic or optical imaging tool that produces continuous, high-resolution images of the borehole wall for structural and deformation analyses.

References

1. Numerical investigation of borehole breakout and rock spalling based on strain energy criteria. International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences (2023).
2. Determination of the crustal friction and state of stress in deep boreholes using hydrologic indicators. Rock Mechanics Bulletin (2023).
3. Borehole deformation based in situ stress estimation using televiewer data. Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (2023).