Mar 31 2016 : The Times of India (Chennai)
In US, 7m people face threat from man-made quakes
Andrew Buncombe
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THE INDEPENDENT
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It has long been known that there are parts of the Uni ted States vulnerable to the vagaries and dangers of natural earthquakes and tremors. But scientists have revealed for the first time that anywhere up to seven million people may be vulnerable to the threat of man-made earthquake, created by activities such as wastewater disposal from gas production.The US geological survey has published an earthquake hazard map pinpointing potential sites of both man-made and naturally occurring earthquakes. “By including human-induced events, our assessment of earthquake hazards has significantly increased in parts of the US,“ said Mark Petersen, chief of the USGS national seismic hazard mapping project.
The USGS reported that most of the risk of man-made quakes is tied to “companies that are injecting wastewater from gas and oil production down to porous rocks far below the ground.“
The study reveals that the most significant hazard areas for “induced“ or man-make quakes are located in six states -Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arkansas.
“The USGS Did You Feel It? website has archived tens of thousands of reports from the public who experienced shaking in those states, including about 1,500 reports of strong movements or damage,“ Petersen said.
Michio Kaku, a physics professor in New York, said the number of earthquakes in those states had increased from just a handful a few years ago to more than one thousand last year. “The injection of wastewater into the ground helps to lubricate the fault lines and expand them by over-pressurising them, causing this rash of small earthquakes,“ said Kaku.
Between 1973 and 2008, there was an average of 24 earthquakes with a magnitude of 3.0 or higher each year. The rate increased steadily in the relatively short amount of time between 2009 and 2015, averaging 318 earthquakes per year. This peaked last year, with 1,010 earthquakes, the report said.
The USGS reported that most of the risk of man-made quakes is tied to “companies that are injecting wastewater from gas and oil production down to porous rocks far below the ground.“
The study reveals that the most significant hazard areas for “induced“ or man-make quakes are located in six states -Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arkansas.
“The USGS Did You Feel It? website has archived tens of thousands of reports from the public who experienced shaking in those states, including about 1,500 reports of strong movements or damage,“ Petersen said.
Michio Kaku, a physics professor in New York, said the number of earthquakes in those states had increased from just a handful a few years ago to more than one thousand last year. “The injection of wastewater into the ground helps to lubricate the fault lines and expand them by over-pressurising them, causing this rash of small earthquakes,“ said Kaku.
Between 1973 and 2008, there was an average of 24 earthquakes with a magnitude of 3.0 or higher each year. The rate increased steadily in the relatively short amount of time between 2009 and 2015, averaging 318 earthquakes per year. This peaked last year, with 1,010 earthquakes, the report said.
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