From Cornell University , another one of the numerous studies that tries to make fracking (via wastewater products) look bad because it is claimed to cause small earthquakes as far as 30km away, which seems more than a bit of a stretch to me. There’s quite a bit of irrational hysteria and outright lies surrounding the issue, so much so that terrified eco-activists in my own county successfully got a ballot initiative on the Nov 4th election to ban fracking, even though there hasn’t been an oil/gas well drilled here in 25 years, making the ban pretty much a moot point. Meanwhile the fracking process is set to help the U.S. overtake Saudi Arabia, so one wonders if the inconvenience of small quakes might be acceptable.
Oklahoma quakes induced by wastewater injection, study finds
ITHACA, N.Y. – The dramatic increase in earthquakes in central Oklahoma since 2009 is likely attributable to subsurface wastewater injection at just a handful of disposal wells, finds a new study published in the journal Science on July 3, 2014.
The research team was led by Katie Keranen, professor of geophysics at Cornell University, who says Oklahoma earthquakes constitute nearly half of all central and eastern U.S. seismicity from 2008 to 2013, many occurring in areas of high-rate water disposal.
“Induced seismicity is one of the primary challenges for expanded shale gas and unconventional hydrocarbon development. Our results provide insight into the process by which the earthquakes are induced and suggest that adherence to standard best practices may substantially reduce the risk of inducing seismicity,” said Keranen. “The best practices include avoiding wastewater disposal near major faults and the use of appropriate monitoring and mitigation strategies.”
The study also concluded:
- Four of the highest-volume disposal wells in Oklahoma (~0.05% of wells) are capable of triggering ~20% of recent central U.S. earthquakes in a swarm covering nearly 2,000 square kilometers, as shown by analysis of modeled pore pressure increase at relocated earthquake hypocenters.
- Earthquakes are induced at distances over 30 km from the disposal wells. These distances are far beyond existing criteria of 5 km from the well for diagnosis of induced earthquakes.
- The area of increased pressure related to these wells continually expands, increasing the probability of encountering a larger fault and thus increasing the risk of triggering a higher-magnitude earthquake.
“Earthquake and subsurface pressure monitoring should be routinely conducted in regions of wastewater disposal and all data from those should be publicly accessible. This should also include detailed monitoring and reporting of pumping volumes and pressures,” said Keranen. ‘In many states the data are more difficult to obtain than for Oklahoma; databases should be standardized nationally. Independent quality assurance checks would increase confidence. “
Top marks though to Cornell researchers, who made their data and SI available here, along with the paper. Contrast that to NOAA/NCDC that puts their papers behind the paywall of the AMS.
Download the study, data, and SI: https://cornell.box.com/okquakes
American lives should be more important than a few cracks in a wall. By the way, show me the property damage. I’m sure it exists, but the evidence needs to be clear. For example it has to be from fracking only and not subsidence, blamed on fracking. I think you know what I’m asking here.
Do you realise the amount of money and blood spent on wars with Iraq? Fracking can release America from dependence on oil from unstable and unfriendly regions. The war was not about democracy, it was about OIL. You worry about cracks in walls, you should worry more about long term American economic decline if you don’t frack. Sorry, but there it is.
Call me a twisted hairpin, but as a resident of two of the most active regions of the Pacific Ring of Fire, I must admit that I actually enjoy magnitude 6 & 7 earthquakes & look forward to them, since both the Pacific NW & Chile have invested in seismic-safe structure engineering.
I also admit however that I’m glad I wasn’t in Concepcion for the magnitude 8.8 (sixth largest ever recorded on a seismograph) 27 Feb 2010 event. Had I not decided to fly back to the US earlier than usual that year (a day before the quake), I’d have been stuck there for some time.
ATheoK says: “In spite of alarmist claims, there is zero evidence linking that earthquake to a wells of any kind.”
Start with old news – “The risk of setting off earthquakes by injecting fluid underground has been known since at least the 1960s, when injection at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal near Denver was suspended after a quake estimated at magnitude 4.8 or greater struck nearby—the largest tied to wastewater disposal until the one near Prague, Okla.”
As of recently, “Oklahoma has had nearly double the number of earthquakes as California” and “Previously, the state averaged about one quake per year, but that has increased to at least one a day”. That would be increase of over 360 times.
ATheoK says”: Coincidence is not correlation, correlation is not causation!”
True, but ignoring possible linkage isn’t smart either.
Faulkner county, Arkansas – “Days after the state’s oil and gas commission issue an emergency suspension on two injection wells, the number of reported earthquakes drops”
Youngstown, Ohio – “For instance, the first earthquake recorded in Youngstown occurred 13 days after pumping began, and the tremors ceased shortly after the Ohio Department of Natural Resources shut down the well in December 2011. In addition, dips in earthquake activity lined up with Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and other times when injection at the well was temporarily stopped.”
imbo says: “You worry about cracks in walls, you should worry more about long term American economic decline if you don’t frack. Sorry, but there it is.”
Put your money where your mouth is and start paying for all “cracks in walls”.
Sorry, but there it is.
Jimbo says: “American lives should be more important than a few cracks in a wall. By the way, show me the property damage.”
People were hurt in Prauge, OK earthquake. Had that quake happened in a major city instead of rural area, a lot of people would have been hurt and some killed.
As for seeing damage, you have should gone by homes after the quake, like some of us did when visiting friends in area.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/03/27/article-0-18F1D614000005DC-839_638x421.jpg
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/03/27/article-0-18F0675C000005DC-770_638x444.jpg
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/03/27/article-0-18F03D03000005DC-677_638x508.jpg
What you deem “a few cracks in a wall” amount to cracked foundations, busted waterlines, crumbling brick walls, chimneys falling through roofs, warped door frames, entire buildings shifted off their foundations.
Damages that ranged from few thousand to tens of thousands for homeowners. “The magnitude-5.6 convulsion toppled her chimney and buckled her tornado cellar. It inflicted about $50,000 in damage to the farmhouse she shares with her husband, John, and their two young children.” As for buildings, “Following the Prague earthquake, an historical building 18 km away lost a whole turret. The damage was in the millions of dollars.”
Because few people in area had Earthquake insurance they are stuck with paying for all the damages out of their pockets. They will also be stuck without Earthquake insurance for future, even though normal periods without earthquakes have occurred, because insurance companies know the risk from further fracking / injection causing more earthquakes is too high. One company which did provide earthquake insurance has already pulled out of Oklahoma.
What’s Oklahoma complaining about? In fact, I haven’t heard people living there complaining much if at all. Now let’s compare.
If you haven’t seen this video showing mapped earthquakes around Japan before and after the Tohoku quake, it’s really amazing. It was very quiet around Sendai, until….
And interestingly, it’s very quiet in the Ft. Tejon region of the San Andreas, but all around it has gotten progressively more active over the past 4 years. So what does that mean?
Induced seismicity is a bizarre notion. Sure you can make the land shake with explosions or any other kinds of impact.
What counts is the intensity of the seismic response. Given US building codes and the fact that the Richter scale is logarithmic, induced seismicity from fracking is not more harmful than induce seismicity from square dancing.
The ME was relatively peaceful until the US meddled in it’s affairs. Terrorism is a response to outside threats and right now terrorism is a growth industry as the US, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar bankroll regime changes. The eruptions in Libya and Syria were insurgencies supported by the US and it’s allies, not peaceful demonstrations as reported by the compliant press, which have led to the ME going up in flames. The interventions and invasions have not been about oil for a long time, but about power and control. If there were no interventions all the countries of the ME would be pumping oil flat out as they need to sell it worse than the US or anyone else needs to buy it. Until recently. IMHO it is now about oil, making sure it never gets pumped. The wackies and their stooge Obama keeping oil off the market to force the world to renewables. Same with the US manufactured crisis in Ukraine and their demonizing and trying to sanction Russian oil and gas. The US resurgence of gas and oil is being done on the state and local level despite Obama doing everything he can to hinder it. For those commenting above about dealing with ISIS, just like Al Qaida and the Taliban, they are a result of ignorant failed policies of the power hungry trying to shape the world to their liking. Now Obama wants billions more to stoke the flames of the ME even higher.
As a professional geologist from the State of Oklahoma I have to weigh in on this topic. Please understand that the best lies are often half or partial truths . Most if not all lies are supported by statistics. This is because they have no real supporting data. If they did they would have used it.
For example: Global warming is a fact. The earth has generally warmed since the last ice age and no longer has huge continental ice sheets. But it is also a fact that humans had nothing to do with the thaw. Humans can change environments and do so all the time Think of draining a bog or altering the course of a river. However, the scale of our impacts are for the most part a trifle and localized.
The alarmist formula:
Fact: Globe is warmer + Fact: Humans change environments = Partial truth: Humans cause global warming. Supporting evidence: Statistics and models. Scape goat: Carbon dioxide.
Now using the same alarmist formula: Fact: Humans can cause minor earthquakes injecting fluids into the ground. + Fact: There has been an increase in observed earthquakes in Oklahoma. = Partial Truth: Humans are the cause of the increased earthquakes. Supporting evidence: Statistics and models. Scape goat: Well stimulation hydraulic fracturing.
Really? Is this what passes for science at our universities? The petroleum industry has been conducting similar waste water disposal operations for over 50 years and no one noticed significant damaging earthquakes until now. To top it off it took an academic team from New York state to mine this statistical cause information from the Oklahoma regulatory databases. Confirmation bias of this fashion is actually just another form of bigotry.
Please consider that not all fluid injections are for waste brine disposal. These kinds of grant seeking academics in their zeal to stop irresponsible waste disposal (the alarmist perceived and artificial issue) will do significant damage to our counties petroleum reserves. To achieve efficient and full recovery of our ultimately recoverable reserves requires secondary and tertiary recovery efforts. What the heck do these people think a secondary recovery water flood or carbon dioxide pressure maintenance injection system does? Do these cause earthquakes as well?
The unintended consequence of tar and feathering our brine waste disposal injections will potentially force us to leave 20 to 30 per cent of our known reserves in the ground. Unfortunately lies can have significant consequences. Therefore, this one needs to be confronted and debunked.
nickreality65 says:
July 5, 2014 at 6:54 am
The only reason O&G companies reinject the waste water is because treatment is more expensive. There are lots of industry wastewater companies who could easily (though not cheaply) treat that water to good as new (wonderful property of water) on or off-site, but remote locations, transportation restrictions and costs are relatively too high. (I observed the first fracing operation of my career in 1966 or 67.)
______________________________
You made a good point here saying “costs are relatively too high.” I suppose we all agree that fresh water is essential for humans, animals and agriculture of all kind. I am thinking about a certain quota of wastewater to be treated to meet drinking water standard and being fed into the freshwater systems. Thus, a company might centralize processing and deliver fresh water at certain transfer points and reinject wastewater from remote areas back into the ground somewhere in the wilderness. And I can well think about water being treated just to meet the standard of agricultural needs.
FWIW. . . . . .
About fracking, but I’ve seen so many lies from the tree huggers that I distrust ANYTHING that they claim. This is not inborn anti-tree-huggers; I had to LEARN this distrust.
I live in central Mexico, so when someone on a forum posted a link to an article about fracking moving into Mexico, I thought I’d do a little looking into the assertions. . .
The main claim was that the state of Nuevo León had had no quakes at all for like ten years and then from October 2013 to March 2014 they had like 31. Easy enough to check, I got on USGS and damned if they were not lying about that. So – lesson for me: sometimes tree huggers don’t lie. Still, there were a couple of things – like causation – to look into.
http://www.ipsnews.net/2014/04/fracking-seismic-activity-grow-hand-hand-mexico/
I found out the following:
…(don’t take my numbers literally, but they are close enough)…
1. The Nuevo León quakes all were in the really weak 3.5-4.3 range OR LESS – barely detectable if at all by humans without instruments. (People in the quake zone in southern Mexico wouldn’t even pay them any attention.)
2. The ONLY fracking that had been done in that entire region was test wells – about 10 of them.
3. IMMEDIATELY across the border in Texas, on a map is the densest population of WORKING fracking wells in the state, in the very same geological formation as the one south of the border.
4. Quakes are pretty freaking rare ANYWHERE in Texas.
5. The number of quakes in the whole history of Texas – all 240,000 sq miles of it – is listed below.
6. The number of quakes within the fracking zone of Texas? Listed here:
1882 Near or in OK or Arkansas
1891 East Texas
1917 Panhandle
1925 Panhandle
1931 West Texas (6.4)
1932 Mexia-Wortham area
1936 Panhandle
1948 Panhandle
1951 Panhandle
1957 Near Arkansas and Louisiana border
1964 Near Arkansas and Louisiana border on four days in late April (3.4 to 4.4)
1966 Panhandle
1969 Near El Paso 4 shocks (3.3 to 3.4 and less)
1974 Panhandle
After 1975 USGS shows only 22 quakes 2.5 or stronger, anywhere in southern Texas that were anywhere near the fracking zone. One was 4.8, one 4.1, and the other 20 were 3.9 or below. That is less than one quake every 2 years. Since 2000 the list shows 13 quakes into July of 2014. That is less than one quake per year.
This is not knee-jerk skepticism. This is the real history of Texas quakes. If fracking was going to cause quakes anywhere, reason says it should be where fracking is done the most.
On that front, this one is a 1000% STRIKEOUT by the tree-huggers. Not only do they not have causation in Texas AT ALL, but they can’t even find correlation AT ALL – so we skeptics can’t even argue that “Correlation doesn’t mean Causation.”
BASED ON TEXAS, THERE IS NOTHING TO THIS QUAKES FROM FRACKING ALARMISM.
Whatever is causing the little bitty quakes in Nuevo León, it sure as hell isn’t fracking.
I mean, this is a WILD CLAIM WITH NO SUBSTANCE AT ALL, pulled out of someone’s butt. They just point at something the don’t like and see some phenomenon and then they mentally tie them together in their minds WITHOUT ANY EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER. Just point at something “evil” and then, “CLICK!” something goes off in their brains.
So, do I now know anything about fracking? Yes. The evidence of the fracking zone in South Texas argues persuasively that fracking does not cause quakes.
Assuming that, for this discussion, we are discussing earthquakes who’s energy source is/was tectonic plate movement and the issue is “what’s worse? Many small quakes or one, or a few, major ones?”
From http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/earthq3/safaultgip.html:
‘The sections [of the San Andreas fault] that produce great earthquakes remain “locked” and quiet over a hundred or more years while strain builds up; then, in great lurches, the strain is released, producing great earthquakes. Other stretches of the fault, however, apparently accommodate movement more by constant creep than by sudden offsets that generate great earthquakes. In historical times, these creeping sections have not generated earthquakes of the magnitude seen on the “locked” sections.’
QED: you are safer, happier, and can buy reasonably-priced earthquake insurance if suffering many small quakes rather than than one BIG ONE.
I hope that this will dismiss from consideration this July 5, 2014 at 6:41 am
comment from “chuck”: “There is no real evidence to support this assertion [that Small earthquakes reduce accumulated energy and reduce the chances of damaging quake(s)]”
Goggling “san andreas fault locked creeping” should provide move insight on this topic.
Assuming that, for this discussion, we are discussing earthquakes who’s energy source is/was tectonic plate movement and the issue is “what’s worse? Many small quakes or one, or a few, major ones?”
From http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/earthq3/safaultgip.html:
‘The sections [of the San Andreas fault] that produce great earthquakes remain “locked” and quiet over a hundred or more years while strain builds up; then, in great lurches, the strain is released, producing great earthquakes. Other stretches of the fault, however, apparently accommodate movement more by constant creep than by sudden offsets that generate great earthquakes. In historical times, these creeping sections have not generated earthquakes of the magnitude seen on the “locked” sections.’
QED: you are safer, happier, and can buy reasonably-priced earthquake insurance if suffering many small quakes rather than than one BIG ONE.
I hope that this will dismiss from consideration the July 5, 2014 at 6:41 am
comment from “chuck”: “There is no real evidence to support this assertion [that Small earthquakes reduce accumulated energy and reduce the chances of damaging quake(s)]”
Googling “san andreas fault locked creeping” should provide move insight on this topic.
“…the fracking process is set to help the U.S. overtake Saudi Arabia,”
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-04/u-s-seen-as-biggest-oil-producer-after-overtaking-saudi.html
Non Nomen says:
July 6, 2014 at 3:00 am
nickreality65 says:
July 5, 2014 at 6:54 am
The only reason O&G companies reinject the waste water is because treatment is more expensive. There are lots of industry wastewater companies who could easily (though not cheaply) treat that water to good as new (wonderful property of water) on or off-site, but remote locations, transportation restrictions and costs are relatively too high. (I observed the first fracing operation of my career in 1966 or 67.)
______________________________
I suppose we all agree that fresh water is essential for humans, animals and agriculture of all kind. I am thinking about a certain quota of wastewater to be treated to meet drinking water standard and being fed into the freshwater systems. Thus, a company might centralize processing and deliver fresh water at certain transfer points and reinject wastewater from remote areas back into the ground somewhere in the wilderness. And I can well think about water being treated just to meet the standard of agricultural needs.”
___________________________
Again, a high percentage of water extracted from hydrocarbon- bearing formations is salt water, typically several times saltier than ocean water. Bakken formation water is about the same salinity as the Dead Sea.
Treat that.
Yes, seawater is ~3% salt; produced water in Oklahoma is up to 17% salt. See the USGS database on produced waters, online, for exact numbers. They samples hundreds of O & G wells in OK.
oops- bad formatting on post immediately prior
[Corrected? What you intended to be quoted is not clear. .mod]
Nice claims. Claims are not proof they are assumptions. You also need to check the USGS earthquake maps. Oklahoma does not have more quakes than California.
You’ll also note that the faults in Oklahoma are known for frequent small quakes; which are too small to damage housing. 5.6 quakes are not ‘small’ harmless quakes; in an area that doesn’t build to earthquake code they can crack masonry. Not a surprise!
Media alarmisms do not make any earthquake proof that nearby fluid injection caused it! Show definitive proof!
Bolded for your easier reading, you must’ve missed the point.
Possible? Define the linkage, exactly. Otherwise, possible is just a caveat used to falsely cry wolf.
No date of occurrence, just a claim. A claim that is not factually defined in the so called research about that earthquake swarm.
Please note that the ‘research’ does the alarmist process of jumping from coincidence to correlation to it must be causation.
With no proof offered, this research claim follows the typical alarmist “it is the only explanation I can think of” justification. No test parameters, no investigation of causes, no determination whatsoever, just a researcher’s omniscient judgmental decision.
The researcher even prefaces his alarmist claims with “The area has a long history of seismic activity including earthquake swarms in the early 1980’s and 2001, so the current earthquake-rate increase may simply reflect another peak in a natural cycle.”
For amusement; check out the Faulkner poster highlighting the swarm across two years. Then follow it up with the previous study performed before fluid injection wells got vilified where a long history of earthquake swarms in Faulkner are identified. Oh yeah, the evil well fluid injections caused millions of earth movement ergs…
October 20th is near what holiday? With only a few earthquakes in or near Youngstown, just how does one graph their occurrence; let alone define ‘peaks’ and ‘lulls’?
Youngstown is not a historically active earthquake zone; but earthquakes in the area are not unknown. Quakes in this area have been previously attributed to continental rebound.
Again we come back to that phrase “Coincidence is not correlation, correlation is not causation!” rest assured, the moment any researcher or group of researchers claim to be omniscient and that a coincidence must be causation, they’re not researchers nor scientists; they are fools and the foolish.
as far as fracing being able to make a fracture propagate from the deeper shale zone to a water sand at a shallow depth it is impossible. the overburden at the deep formation causes a vertical fracture and as it would come higher up towards the water sand it would turn into a horizontal fracture due to the decreasing overburden pressure and this would happen way before the fracture propagated anywhere close to the water sand.
From the Oklahoman (newsok.com) June 27: Glen Brown started poring over U.S. Geological Service earthquake data while he was on vacation in Florida six months ago.
Brown, who is vice president of geology at Continental Resources Inc., said he discovered evidence that Oklahoma’s rising number of earthquakes isn’t as unprecedented as most people believe.
Brown found a similar earthquake outbreak in the 1950s (around 1 large 5.5 quake – this swarm has had one 5.6 quake), when Oklahoma did not have equipment to properly measure seismic activity (OK today has many more seismographs that can detect much smaller quakes).
He also said those quakes may have been related to activity around the world, noting a similar spike in massive earthquakes worldwide since 2002.
Brown’s theory isn’t new to Austin Holland, a research seismologist with the Oklahoma Geological Survey, who has been studying Oklahoma’s earthquake swarm. “I have heard similar arguments,” he said. “When I say unprecedented, I mean never observed before by humans in an intraplate setting world-wide. That doesn’t mean that in the geologic past sequences like this have not occurred.
ATheoK says: “Possible? Define the linkage, exactly. Otherwise, possible is just a caveat used to falsely cry wolf.”
Oklahoma goes from one earthquake per year to over 360 earthquakes a year with its significant increase in fracking and injection. Other areas of country which have done fracking and injection have experienced increased earthquake activity, when those areas have curtailed fracking and injection, earthquake activity has decreased. That is linkage.
To ignore such linkage is akin to putting your fingers in your ears and yelling Nah, Nah.
ATheoK says: Nice claims. Claims are not proof they are assumptions.
Not claims. As reported by U.S. Geological Survey.
“Between 1978 and 2008, Oklahoma experienced an average of just two quakes of 3.0 magnitude of greater. In 2014, as of Thursday, there have been about 207 such quakes recorded in the state, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.”
“No test parameters, no investigation of causes, no determination whatsoever, just a researcher’s omniscient judgmental decision.”
Utter non-sense on your “researcher’s omniscient judgmental decision”.
Investigations have been done and are continuing. As pointed out before, tests have already been done. Stopping fracking / water injection resulted in reduction in earthquakes. Restarting fracking / water injection resulted in an increase in earthquakes.
There are issues with such testing. Earthquakes can continue because stopping fracking / water injection in one area, does not stop effects from nearby areas still being fracked and injected with water. Companies who have been put on notice about their overt fracking / water injection when forced to stop, then allowed to restart, do not go back to same level of fracking / water injection, thus clouding up results of stop / restart testing.
Oklahoma is not a knee-jerk greenie state, and he state has been cautious in its handling of fracking / water injection vs. frequency of earthquake matter. What you ignore is Oklahoma’s scientists know that part of Oklahoma’s life-blood stems from Oil and Gas production. They are going to be diligent in their work before issuing statements. Oklahoma’s scientists have not and did not jump on a anti- fracking / water injection bandwagon like CO2 alarmists did with GW bandwagon.
ATheoK says: “Media alarmisms do not make any earthquake proof that nearby fluid injection caused it! Show definitive proof!”
You don’t want evidence, as it is clear you completely ignore research, data, and testing as reported. What you want is Mother Nature to come forth and unequivocally state she did not have anything to do with Oklahoma’s Earthquakes; followed by god proclaiming all of Oklahoma’s earthquakes were caused by fracking / water injection. A not going to happen, being reasonable level-headed people know some of Oklahoma’s earthquake activity is normal and has nothing to do with fracking / water injection.
ATheoK says: “You’ll also note that the faults in Oklahoma are known for frequent small quakes; which are too small to damage housing. ”
Guess you never heard of stress fractures or metal fatigue?
“California has recorded about 140 3.0-magnitude quakes or greater, compared to 207 in Oklahoma.” Those numerous 3.0-magnitude (or greater) earthquakes do housing damage.
Once again, note more earthquakes in Oklahoma than California.
ATheoK says: “5.6 quakes are not ‘small’ harmless quakes; in an area that doesn’t build to earthquake code they can crack masonry. Not a surprise!”
Gee and why might that be. Cause Oklahoma hasn’t had a need to construct homes and buildings to earthquake codes, prior to 2011!