Fracking Earthquakes: Injection practice linked to scores of tremors

Fracking Earthquakes: Injection practice linked to scores of tremors by Inland News Today, August 12, 2012
Earthquakes triggered by fluids injected deep underground, such as during the controversial practice of fracking, may be more common than previously thought, a new study suggests. Fluid injections into Earth are not uncommon. For instance, in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, water, sand and other materials are injected under high pressure into a well to fracture rock, opening fissures that help natural gas flow out more freely. … However, researchers have long known that fluid-injection operations can trigger earthquakes. … Fracking also appears linked with Oklahoma’s strongest recorded quake in 2011, as well as a spate of more than 180 minor tremors in Texas between Oct. 30, 2008, and May 31, 2009. … Frohlich identified the epicenters for 67 earthquakes — more than eight times as many as reported by the National Earthquake Information Center — with magnitudes of 3.0 or less. Most were located within a few miles of one or more injection wells, suggesting injection-triggered quakes might be more common than thought. “We found a lot of events that weren’t getting reported,”