Post by sallywalker on Jul 27, 2015 13:57:06 GMT -5
We just had a 4.0 followed by a 4.5. The 4.5 last longer than I have felt before. Of course everyone on FB is yelling about fracking. What are you science people's opinions?
Religious conservatives believe the end times are upon us (floods, famine, earthquakes, pestilence). The corporate overlords are doing their best to make it happen.
Oh, wait. You asked for science not conspiracy theories ;-)
We just had a 4.0 followed by a 4.5. The 4.5 last longer than I have felt before. Of course everyone on FB is yelling about fracking. What are you science people's opinions?
We just had a 4.0 followed by a 4.5. The 4.5 last longer than I have felt before. Of course everyone on FB is yelling about fracking. What are you science people's opinions?
Post by fuckyourcouch on Jul 27, 2015 14:31:31 GMT -5
Ha. This is a point of contention in the industry.
Induced seismicity is definitely a thing. Look up induced seismicity in Denver in the 1960s, crazy stuff.
However, the sticking point for defenders is it's not the fracking. The fracking process itself is actually very localized and doesn't extend into untouched rock. What is causing the earthquakes is the wastewater disposal from all that fracking. So, personally, I say the fracking is to blame because the wastewater disposal is a necessary part of fracking itself, so I don't separate them. I guess because other sites (including regular oil wells) produce wastewater, people feel justified to say it's not fracking. I just don't see a point in separating them. But, it's also important to note not every disposal well causes earthquakes. It has to do with a complicated set of parameters including the geology, volume of disposal, faults, etc. and the resulting seismicity can occur close to these wells or far away, depending on many things. Wherever the wastewater comes from, it's causing either re activation of microfaults under the surface, or its building pressure in the surrounding rocks and until it is released and you get a quake.
I pulled up the moment data from the 2 earthquakes you mentioned and overlaid them with oil and gas production in that location and there is a metric fuck ton of wells. So this is not surprising to me at all, all that wastewater has to go somewhere. I do think in Oklahoma most wastewater comes from oil production/saltwater, but yeah.
Ha. This is a point of contention in the industry.
Induced seismicity is definitely a thing. Look up induced seismicity in Denver in the 1960s, crazy stuff.
However, the sticking point for defenders is it's not the fracking. The fracking process itself is actually very localized and doesn't extend into untouched rock. What is causing the earthquakes is the wastewater disposal from all that fracking. So, personally, I say the fracking is to blame because the wastewater disposal is a necessary part of fracking itself, so I don't separate them. I guess because other sites (including regular oil wells) produce wastewater, people feel justified to say it's not fracking. I just don't see a point in separating them. But, it's also important to note not every disposal well causes earthquakes. It has to do with a complicated set of parameters including the geology, volume of disposal, faults, etc. and the resulting seismicity can occur close to these wells or far away, depending on many things. Wherever the wastewater comes from, it's causing either re activation of microfaults under the surface, or its building pressure in the surrounding rocks and until it is released and you get a quake.
I pulled up the moment data from the 2 earthquakes you mentioned and overlaid them with oil and gas production in that location and there is a metric fuck ton of wells. So this is not surprising to me at all, all that wastewater has to go somewhere. I do think in Oklahoma most wastewater comes from oil production/saltwater, but yeah.
Also can I just say I have been waiting 28 years to feel an earthquake (lifelong nerd) and nothing!! (Sobs)
Haha come spend a week or so here and you will definitely feel one!
Your above information is so interesting! Why do you think the frequency of earthquakes are increasing? OK had always had a shit ton of oil wells. Are they doing something different?
Also can I just say I have been waiting 28 years to feel an earthquake (lifelong nerd) and nothing!! (Sobs)
Haha come spend a week or so here and you will definitely feel one!
Your above information is so interesting! Why do you think the frequency of earthquakes are increasing? OK had always had a shit ton of oil wells. Are they doing something different?
There's a fault system southwest of OKC, so it makes sense that there are earthquakes. The waste water from drilling activities could be encouraging more small quakes, but if there were any dangerous quakes brewing (which there wouldn't be. It's a small fault system) the constant small relieving of pressure through little quakes would be a good thing. Constant slippage relieves stress and strain and prevents huge progress along a fault that would cause a big quake.
Also can I just say I have been waiting 28 years to feel an earthquake (lifelong nerd) and nothing!! (Sobs)
Haha come spend a week or so here and you will definitely feel one!
Your above information is so interesting! Why do you think the frequency of earthquakes are increasing? OK had always had a shit ton of oil wells. Are they doing something different?
This of course totally varies by area even within the same county, but it is most likely to do production rates being higher than they have been (hence supply glut and market prices are cheaper), and therefore more wastewater to deal with. In some areas of Oklahoma it's the fracking wastewater, and in others it's the formation saltwater from oil production. Also, there are a lot stricter rules now about how companies can get rid of the wastewater, so I'm sure the fact that it can't be dumped on the ground and forgotten about, for example, matters too.
You are like my boss. She NEVER feels them. Our whole building will shake and she feels nothing.
I was in the bay area for the loma prieta quake in '89. (The 6.9 quake during the world series which knocked down freeways and a portion of the bay bridge). I felt nothing.
I was in the bay area for the loma prieta quake in '89. (The 6.9 quake during the world series which knocked down freeways and a portion of the bay bridge). I felt nothing.
That is impressive. I remember the ground doing a full on rolling thing during the 2001 6.8 Nisqually earthquake. It was infuckingsane.
YES. I was in P.E. class (still in high school) and the gymnastics gym floor literally rolled. Then we evacuated to the football field, which also rolled during an aftershock.
Apparently we've had several quakes felt in PA. The only one I've felt was the one in 2011 that hit DC. I was on the 6th floor of our building at work, and yeah, the floor and walls shook. It wasn't much, but it was disorienting as fuck.