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There is strong evidence that indicates that recent fracking activity(2009 and onwards) in Oklahoma is solely responsible for the earthquake activity they are s

by ahnick 12y ago

There is strong evidence that indicates that recent fracking activity(2009 and onwards) in Oklahoma is solely responsible for the earthquake activity they are seeing -> http://www.decodedscience.com/increasing-earthquake-frequency-oklahoma-signals-potential-damaging-future-quakes/45963 http://www.decodedscience.com/increasing-earthquake-frequenc... To indicate anything otherwise is disingenuous.

jessriedel 12y ago
From your link: > Another USGS analysis shows recent earthquake rate changes are likely not due to normal fluctuations in natural seismicity rates. Instead, the most likely cause is from wastewater being injected into deep geologic formations and causing faults to fail in a process called injection-induced seismicity. (Did I miss a stronger statement in there?) So random fluctuations are unlikely to be the explanation and, of the remaining explanations, the most likely one is fracking. As I read your articles, it does not claim strong evidence of fracking as the sole cause.
- fjarlq 12y ago
  This is my understanding as well. During the drilling and analysis process, a lot of saltwater is extracted. The recent earthquakes in Oklahoma are believed to be caused by pumping this saltwater back into the ground. The pressures involved are very high. Source: my uncle is a senior log analyst for an oil & energy company in Oklahoma, and this was his explanation to me last week.
  - ArkyBeagle 12y ago
    One hair to split - saltwater isn't a result of fracking - it's a byproduct of drilling. A small point ( they're simply stages in a larger process ) but ... with fracking, material is pushed down the hole. The opposite is true of drilling. Second, the case for increased seismic activity being caused by fracking is some where between "maybe" and "we dunno." It needs work. It will be hard because we can't observe it directly. I imagine your uncle sees ( or knows those who see ) nonlinearities in the data and fracking is just a darn good candidate for root cause.
- ahnick 12y ago
  The point is there are many people looking into this(not just Oklahoma either, Texas, Arkansas, the list goes on) and the only plausible explanation that has been put forward for this sudden increase in quake activity is the result of fracking related activities. (i.e. deep wastewater injection) There was a recent paper by a Cornell geophysicist that showed that 4 deep injection wastewater wells was responsible for a swarm of quakes in oklahoma -> http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2014/05/140502-scientists-warn-of-quake-risk-from-fracking-operations/ http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2014/05/14050... The bottom line is fracking is the new climate change. The Oil & Gas Industry is out there saying there is no evidence linking fracking activities to earthquakes and health issues when there absolutely is. They want to intentionally muddy the waters, so they can continue drilling and extracting shale oil. The burden of proof should not be whether fracking causes earthquakes and health issues, but rather that fracking does NOT cause earthquakes and health issues.

by ahnick 12y ago

jessriedel 12y ago

From your link: > Another USGS analysis shows recent earthquake rate changes are likely not due to normal fluctuations in natural seismicity rates. Instead, the most likely cause is from wastewater being injected into deep geologic formations and causing faults to fail in a process called injection-induced seismicity. (Did I miss a stronger statement in there?) So random fluctuations are unlikely to be the explanation and, of the remaining explanations, the most likely one is fracking. As I read your articles, it does not claim strong evidence of fracking as the sole cause.

fjarlq 12y ago
This is my understanding as well. During the drilling and analysis process, a lot of saltwater is extracted. The recent earthquakes in Oklahoma are believed to be caused by pumping this saltwater back into the ground. The pressures involved are very high. Source: my uncle is a senior log analyst for an oil & energy company in Oklahoma, and this was his explanation to me last week.
- ArkyBeagle 12y ago
  One hair to split - saltwater isn't a result of fracking - it's a byproduct of drilling. A small point ( they're simply stages in a larger process ) but ... with fracking, material is pushed down the hole. The opposite is true of drilling. Second, the case for increased seismic activity being caused by fracking is some where between "maybe" and "we dunno." It needs work. It will be hard because we can't observe it directly. I imagine your uncle sees ( or knows those who see ) nonlinearities in the data and fracking is just a darn good candidate for root cause.
ahnick 12y ago
The point is there are many people looking into this(not just Oklahoma either, Texas, Arkansas, the list goes on) and the only plausible explanation that has been put forward for this sudden increase in quake activity is the result of fracking related activities. (i.e. deep wastewater injection) There was a recent paper by a Cornell geophysicist that showed that 4 deep injection wastewater wells was responsible for a swarm of quakes in oklahoma -> http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2014/05/140502-scientists-warn-of-quake-risk-from-fracking-operations/ http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2014/05/14050... The bottom line is fracking is the new climate change. The Oil & Gas Industry is out there saying there is no evidence linking fracking activities to earthquakes and health issues when there absolutely is. They want to intentionally muddy the waters, so they can continue drilling and extracting shale oil. The burden of proof should not be whether fracking causes earthquakes and health issues, but rather that fracking does NOT cause earthquakes and health issues.