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20 Earthquakes hit Oaklahoma in one day


Socio

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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2561473/Scientists-mystified-20-earthquakes-hit-Oklahoma-one-day.html

Residents of Oklahoma were left feeling rattled over the weekend after a strong of some 20 earthquakes as powerful as 3.5 magnitude rocked the central part of the state on Saturday alone.

Unfortunately, scientists don't yet have an answer.

One possibility is geological.

'We have a lot of pre-existing faults in Oklahoma,' seismologist Austin Holland told KOCO.

However, with little history of seismic activity in the area, it's unclear why the quakes would become so

frequent now.

Another potential cause is the change in water levels at nearby LIberty Lake, where a swarm of the earthquakes were centered Saturday.

The controversial hydraulic fracturing or 'fracking' method pumping millions of gallons of water, sand and chemicals into fractures in the Earth.

Odd you don't hear much about earthquakes in the middle of the US.

Edited by Socio
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I live about 45 miles south of the epicenter(s)... and didn't feel a thing... We've had minor tremors like this for as long as I can remember here, but it is odd having so many

so close togther....

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Crazy! I would have to point my finger at the fracking though. The consequences of that are mind blowing... but the Gov't doesn't care so much about the environment as it does about getting the precious oil and natural gas.

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Crazy! I would have to point my finger at the fracking though. The consequences of that are mind blowing... but the Gov't doesn't care so much about the environment as it does about getting the precious oil and natural gas.

I suspect you're right, but there is only enough data to implicate one well - the Lone Star Well near Jones. That is an injection well where they dispose of waste salt water.

There is a simple solution to the problem - quit using the wells that cause quakes! But that requires a governmental agency with the authority to order a well capped or sealed. And the oil industry doesn't want to open the door to regulation - so they buy off the politicians. Since Citizens United, bribery has been legal in the US.

Doug

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Oklahoma isn't without fault lines.

ok.geo.provinces.large.gif

Just throwing this out there.

Edited by DumpsterJesus
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Crazy! I would have to point my finger at the fracking though. The consequences of that are mind blowing... but the Gov't doesn't care so much about the environment as it does about getting the precious oil and natural gas.

I think it was in Mother Jones a few issues back that they did an article about the seismic results from fracking and deep well injection in Oklahoma. An interesting story, but nothing one would see on NBC.

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Oklahoma isn't without fault lines.

Just throwing this out there.

Practically everyplace has faults. Just some have more than others.

Doug

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We had similar unusual, multiple tremors a few years ago when my city hosted the World Convention for Recovering Alcoholics. Maybe it's in Oklahoma this year.

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Look at this and tell me, is there a correlation between these 20 "unexplained" earthquakes and fracking in OK?

Oklahoma Fracking Map

statewells_big.jpgPlease note that the most dense areas of fracking are precisely where the earthquake cluster hit. Scientists miffed indeed <_<

Edited by OverSword
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I live about 45 miles south of the epicenter(s)... and didn't feel a thing... We've had minor tremors like this for as long as I can remember here, but it is odd having so many

so close togther....

Not unusual from a geological sense. Earthquake swarms happen often enough for people who experience them to know what they are and what to expect. It's fairly obvious that fracking cause or is a part of the cause of these earthquakes either directly by the fracking itself or accidentally activating one of the faultlines underneath Oklahoma which are probably inactive.

What the state government should do is study them and see if they have been active in the past, try to figure out how often rupture events occur and how powerful they are. That way, they can plan ahead if something occurs that's bigger than a 3.5 (which is tiny). And I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't feel anything although flat land is more conducive for the shock waves to be felt further. They're probably of a magnitude that can only be felt with in a radius maybe about five or so miles from the epicenter.

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Practically everyplace has faults. Just some have more than others.

Doug

A fault needs to be "active" in order to produce quakes i.e needs to build up and release enough pressure to generate the shockwaves that classify as an earthquake. Active faults mean more quakes.

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Look at this and tell me, is there a correlation between these 20 "unexplained" earthquakes and fracking in OK?

Oklahoma Fracking Map

statewells_big.jpgPlease note that the most dense areas of fracking are precisely where the earthquake cluster hit. Scientists miffed indeed <_<

It's hard to find a place on that map that doesn't have a well nearby - there are something like 270,000 of them in Oklahoma. The faults (and most of the quakes) tend to be scattered from Jones south and west. Oklahoma is situated in part of a failed triple-junction with the Rio Grande Rift. Some of these quakes may have something to do with a reactivation of that. And/or the drilling is awakening faults that haven't built up enough pressure to slip naturally. Most of the quakes have been small, as would be expected from drilling-associated quakes. The largest was 5.6 and we definitely felt that one. Most just make you wonder what the Physical Plant did this time.

Doug

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MordorOrc... is that your kid in your avatar pic?... He does not look happy at all!

No. Random pic from the 'net.

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Drilling. a.k.a. fracking is theoretically connected to earthquakes, since OK is a state known for fracking in areas known for oil and gas production. Pressure from fracking on or near faults can generate new seismic events. What you get are Man-made earthquakes in fault lines not known for historic activity.

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Drilling. a.k.a. fracking is theoretically connected to earthquakes, since OK is a state known for fracking in areas known for oil and gas production. Pressure from fracking on or near faults can generate new seismic events. What you get are Man-made earthquakes in fault lines not known for historic activity.

The only Oklahoma well that has been definitely linked to these small quakes is the Lone Star well. The first few rounds concentrated around the triple-junction rift, but they seem to be moving out from there. And that would be consistent with fracking.

Doug

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OK is always having earthquakes of small magnitudes all the time. There is an app that keeps track of that. I just check it daily.

Twenty is not normal, tho.

http://www.dailymail...ma-one-day.html

Odd you don't hear much about earthquakes in the middle of the US.

Edited by regeneratia
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Drilling. a.k.a. fracking is theoretically connected to earthquakes, since OK is a state known for fracking in areas known for oil and gas production. Pressure from fracking on or near faults can generate new seismic events. What you get are Man-made earthquakes in fault lines not known for historic activity.

Oh yes, and there is a huge oil boom in SW Kansas. That could be helping the quakes.

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The nemeha uplift is the one I have seen mentioned with regards to quake zones.

Oklahoma isn't without fault lines.

ok.geo.provinces.large.gif

Just throwing this out there.

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Twenty is not normal, tho.

Earthquake swarms aren't unusual at all. Perhaps one of the fault lines in southern Oklahoma is becoming seismically active?

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Earthquake swarms aren't unusual at all. Perhaps one of the fault lines in southern Oklahoma is becoming seismically active?

That's been the talk for several years, along with fracking. There has been a lot of drilling in this area of late.

Doug

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That's been the talk for several years, along with fracking. There has been a lot of drilling in this area of late.

Doug

Fault lines are sort of like volcanoes in that some have periods of inactivity and periods of activity. Sometimes, quake swarms are indicative of a fault reawakening or even a new fault coming into existence. An example I can cite of that I have first hand experience with was a series of earthquakes of the northeastern coastline of the South Island of New Zealand which hundreds of quakes occurred on what appear to be two different fault lines that were previously unknown to geoscientists. It's possible that fracking could be the cause of these quakes or the fault lines have re-awakened.

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