Recent Uptick In U.S. Earthquakes. Manmade or Natural?

Is the Recent Increase in Felt Earthquakes in 

the Central U.S. Natural or Manmade?

CATEGORIES: ENERGY AND MINERALS, FEATURED, NATURAL HAZARDS TAGS: DEEPWELL INJECTION, EARTHQUAKES, ENERGY AND MINERALS, INDUCED SEISMICITY, NATURAL HAZARDS 

POSTED ON APRIL 11, 2012 AT 3:55 PM BY ADEMAS

A map showing significant earthquakes in the midcontinental area analyzed for links between felt earthquakes and energy development.

USGS scientists have been investigating the recent increase in the number of magnitude 3 and greater earthquakes in the midcontinent of the United States. Beginning in 2001, the average number of earthquakes occurring per year of magnitude 3 or greater increased significantly, culminating in a six-fold increase in 2011 over 20th century levels.

An increase in earthquakes such as this prompts an important question: are they natural, or man-made? To address this question, a team of USGS scientists analyzed changes in the rate of earthquake occurrence in the midcontinent using large USGS databases of earthquakes recorded since 1970.

Our scientists then took a closer look at earthquake rates in regions where energy production activities have changed in recent years. To learn more about their findings, please visit Deputy Secretary of the Department of the Interior David Hayes’ blog post here.

To learn more about the link between deepwell fluid injection, a method of the disposal of wastewaters from practices like hydraulic fracturing, and triggered earthquakes, please visit our FAQs.

This graph shows the cumulative number of earthquakes M 3 or greater in the midcontinental United States. The number of M3 or greater earthquakes increases steadily at about 21 events per year until around 2000, when it increases about 50% to 31 events per year. By 2004, the number increased sharply to about 151 events per year.

Today's view...

source: usgs

Russians Drill Into Lake Vostok. Search For Life Under The Surface.

Russian Scientists May Have Drilled into Previously Untouched Subglacial Lake

By Tim Newcomb

International scientists teeter between excitement and concern after reports from Russian news agency RIA Novosti that Russian scientists have drilled into the untouched Lake Vostok, 2.2 miles below the surface of Antarctica.

The lake, discovered in the mid-1990s, is the world’s third largest and could hold a vast amount of scientific data, both about how lakes function below the surface of the ice in Antarctica and about the possibility of discovering previously unknown life forms. That is, if the kerosene, Freon and other chemicals used in the 20-year drilling process didn’t leak into the water and ice and contaminate the area.

Crews have tried to reach the lake for over two decades, but the going is slow, with the limited mobility of transportation in and out of the area and machinery unable to work most of the year due to the astonishingly cold temperatures.

While no formal announcement has yet been made about the breakthrough, scientists around the world say that if the Russians have indeed tapped into the lake, the body of water could completely change the way research gets conducted in Antarctica. Learning about conditions in lakes glossed over with ice could also help inform scientists about conditions on other planets.

The U.S. and Britain will join the ice drilling in search of subglacial lakes this year, as the search for information continues on how our planet’s largest reservoir of fresh water (as ice and subglacial lakes) changes and reacts to climate conditions. With more than 200 lakes beneath the ice, there’s plenty of drilling left to be done.

Read more: TIME

Russians drill into Lake Vostok, begin search for life under Antartica’s surface

Thursday, February 9, 1:45 PM Scientists are taking the search for life in extreme environments to the ends of Earth and beyond. On Wednesday Russian scientists announced they had reached Lake Vostok, a subglacial lake under Antarctica. As AP reported: Russian researchers reported Wednesday that they had reached Lake Vostok, a pristine body of water untouched by light or wind for about 20 million years. They want to know what type of microbial life — bacteria too small to see — might exist there.

SOURCE: WASHINGTON POST