Explain what could be the cause these earthquakes in Oklahoma.
Explain what could be the cause these earthquakes in Oklahoma.
Answer:
Since 2009, central Oklahoma, southern Kansas, and northern Texas have been affected by a continuous sequence of earthquakes brought on by human activities. Since 2009, there have been hundreds of earthquakes annually in Oklahoma, the U.S. state, up from an average of less than two earthquakes of 3.0+ magnitude year between 1978 and 2014. Since 2009, Oklahoma and the adjacent regions of southern Kansas and north Texas have experienced thousands of earthquakes. According to scientific studies, the deeper injection of wastewater generated during oil extraction is what is to blame for the increase in earthquakes.
Causes of Oklahoma earthquakes and role of fracking in its inducement:
A. Hydraulic fracturing does not directly cause the majority of generated earthquakes (fracking). The disposal of waste fluids, which are a by-product of oil production, is mostly to blame for the recent rise in earthquakes in the central United States.
B. Wastewater disposal wells are more prone to cause earthquakes because they typically operate for longer periods of time and inject significantly more fluid than is injected during hydraulic fracturing. 2% of earthquakes in Oklahoma, the state with the most induced earthquakes in the US, can be attributed to hydraulic fracturing activities.
C. This indicates that there are still lots of earthquakes caused by hydraulic fracturing given Oklahoma's high seismicity rate. The remaining earthquakes are brought on by the discharge of wastewater.
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