On fracking and seismic hazards: better data, more quakes

On fracking and seismic hazards: better data, more quakes

by Jeff Tollefson

US Geological Survey

A detailed analysis of seismic activity around hydraulic fracturing operations in Texas suggests that small earthquakes generated as a result of the reinjection of waste fluids could be more common than once believed.
Cliff Frohlich, a seismologist at the University of Texas, Austin, used highly sensitive data from the seismic component of the National Science Foundation’s EarthScope initiative to investigate the impact of hydraulic fracturing operations tapping into the Barnett Shale. Operating across a 70-kilometre grid, Frohlich identified 67 tremors with magnitudes as small as 1.5 from November 2009 and September 2011, according to the study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. All of the 24 earthquakes for which the epicenter could be reliably located were within 3.2 kilometres of at least one injection well.
http://blogs.nature.com/news/2012/08/on-fracking-and-seismic-hazards-better-data-more-quakes.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+news%2Frss%2Fnewsblog+%28News+Blog+-+Blog+Posts%29&utm_content=Google+Reader