Koyna Deepbore Drilling Project

Reservoir-triggered earthquakes have been a persistent phenomenon in the Koyna-Warna region since the creation of Shivajisagar Lake in 1962. Studies have shown a strong link between the ongoing earthquake activity and the seasonal loading and unloading cycles of the Koyna and nearby Warna reservoirs. However, developing a model to fully understand the origins of these reservoir-triggered earthquakes has been challenging, largely due to the lack of near-field observational data. To address this gap, the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Government of India, established the Borehole Geophysics Research Laboratory (BGRL) in Karad, Maharashtra, in October 2014.

The BGRL has undertaken several exploratory core drillings across nine sites, reaching depths of up to 1500 meters. On December 20, 2016, the next phase began with the drilling of a pilot borehole to a depth of 3 kilometers. BGRL has served as the hub for this ambitious project, which involves multi-disciplinary studies of core samples, deep borehole drilling to depths of 3-5 kilometers, downhole geophysical measurements, laboratory analyses, and the establishment of a deep borehole observatory at the hypocentral depth for long-term monitoring.

I had the opportunity to document this monumental drilling project through photography and film, capturing each stage of this groundbreaking scientific endeavor.