Why oklahoma earthquakes

USGS scientists suggest that might be due to stricter regulations designed to control wastewater injection. The Environmental Protection Agency's administrator, Scott Pruitt, previously served as Oklahoma's attorney general, and he has come under fire from some in the state for failing to take action against wastewater injection and fracking.

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We'll notify you here with news about. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? Comments 0. Top Stories. Lead author of the study, Dr Thea Hincks, Senior Research Associate at the University of Bristol's School of Earth Sciences, said: "Our new modelling framework provides a targeted, evidential basis for managing a substantial reduction in induced seismicity in Oklahoma, with extensive possibilities for application elsewhere in the world.

This marks a step forward in understanding the evolution of seismicity in the Oklahoma region. Using a powerful computer model incorporating injection well records and earthquake data from the US Geological Survey, the team examined the connections between injection volume, depth, and location, as well as geological features, over a six-year period. The study used innovative new software, Uninet, which was developed by co-author Professor Roger Cooke's group at Delft University of Technology and is freely available for academic users from LightTwist Software.

Uninet has previously been used to develop causal risk models for the aviation industry. The team found that the joint effects of depth and volume are critical, and that injection volume becomes more influential -- and more likely to cause earthquakes -- at depths where layered sedimentary rocks meet crystalline basement rocks. This is because deeper wells allow easier access for fluids into fractured basement rocks that are much more prone to earthquakes.

Dr Tom Gernon, Associate Professor in Earth Science at the University of Southampton, and co-author on the study, said: "The underlying causes of Oklahoma's induced earthquakes are an open and complex issue, not least because there are over 10, injection wells, with many different operators and operating characteristics, all in an area of complex geology. The study also shows how raising injection well depths to above the basement rocks in key areas could significantly reduce the annual energy released by earthquakes -- thereby reducing the relative likelihoods of larger, damaging earthquakes.

Current regulatory interventions include requiring operators to either reduce injection or raise wells above the basement, often by an unspecified amount. The research addresses a growing need for a broader understanding of how operational, spatial and geologic parameters combine to influence induced seismic risk. Materials provided by University of Bristol.