We describe a modification to the collapsing method, a technique that aims
to find the simplest structures in a cloud of microearthquakes by utilizing
the statistical uncertainties in the data. In the modified collapsing meth
od, the movements of the locations are dependent on the shape of the distri
bution of the locations within the confidence ellipsoid, and not just the p
osition of the center of gravity, as is the case in the original method. Ad
ditionally, whereas the original collapsing method implicitly assumes that
all locations belong to point structures, in this modified version three ty
pes of structure are considered: point, line, and plane. Principal componen
t analysis of the locations is used to evaluate to which type of structure
each location most probably belongs. The modified technique has been applie
d to microseismic events associated with hydraulic stimulation at the Fento
n Hill HDR Field, New Mexico, and known small-scale structures were imaged.