By Matthew Hilburn
The number of earthquakes (click here) in the central and eastern United States has increased dramatically over the past few years, and scientists think the reason could be due to the disposal of wastewater associated with oil and gas production.
According to a report by the U.S. Geological Survey, there were more than 300 earthquakes above magnitude 3.0 from 2010 to 2012. That’s a five-fold increase from earthquakes observed from 1967 to 2000, when the average number was 21 per year.
In 2011, a 5.6 magnitude quake struck central Oklahoma, injuring several people and damaging over a dozen homes. According to the report, wastewater disposal appears to have been the cause of the temblor. Had an earthquake that size hit a more populated area, there would be the potential for severe damage and possible deaths....
Seismicity of the coterminous United States (click here) and surrounding regions,
2009–2012. Black dots denote earthquakes with a magnitude ≥ 3.0 are
shown; larger dots denote events with a magnitude ≥ 4.0. Background
colors indicate earthquake hazard levels from the U.S. National Seismic
Hazard Map (NSHM).Scientists found that earthquakes half a world away can also set off quakes at sites of more conventional oil production. (click here)
Thursday
By Todd Woody
...The paper published in the journal Science has implications beyond hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, the process that injects pressurized chemical-laced water to break up subterranean rock formations that contain oil and natural gas. Scientists at Columbia University and the University of Oklahoma found that earthquakes half a world away can also set off quakes at sites of more conventional oil production.
For instance, the magnitude 9.0 quake in March 2011 that devastated Japan set off a 4.5 quake in the west Texas town of Snyder six months later as seismic waves caused faults in the nearby Cogdell oil fields to slip. Historically, the region has been relatively seismically calm but for decades drillers have injected fluids into the fields to extract oil and the growing pressure has weakened fault lines....
It is akin to the ancient Egyptian slaves greasing the skids of which the huge carved boulders rode on the way to building pyramids. The problem with the fracking grease is that it is a corrosive and not just a lubricant.
From Smithsonian's Blog: (click here)
July 12, 2013
From the late 1960s until 2000, there were only 21 earthquakes a year with a magnitude greater than 3 in the Midwest. But from 2010-2012, the region experienced over 300.......From the New York Times:
When waste water is injected into rock
formations, it increases pressure enough that long-dormant faults are
primed to slip once again, shaking the earth. Dr. van der Elst suggested
that small stresses from the passing seismic waves in effect “squeezed”
the rocks at the injection sites, raising the pressure past the tipping
point so that the faults slip and the earth shakes....
