Earthquakes shake out data showing unknown fault line in Edmond areaThe swarm of earthquakes that rattled Edmond this week reveal a previously unknown fault line and could signal additional shaking in the area, according to seismologist Daniel McNamara.
The research geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey's Geologic Hazards Science Center in Golden, Colo., has been studying the state's ongoing earthquake swarm.
Researchers have used oil and natural gas industry data and other maps to identify previously undocumented fault lines. But sometimes faults are revealed when a series of earthquakes fire off with epicenters in a linear pattern.
“These are all ancient faults that have not been active since the days of the dinosaurs,” McNamara said. “They're being reactivated at depth. They don't even come to the surface. They're all 5 to 10 kilometers down.”
Another concern is whether the fault connects to a larger, deeper fault, such as the Nemaha Ridge — which runs roughly parallel to I-35 from central Oklahoma to southern Kansas — or the Wizetta Fault, which produced the magnitude 5.6 Prague earthquake in 2011.
“We're concerned these smaller faults could be connected at depth to the longer structures,” he said. “Once you get to those larger faults, you could produce larger quakes.”
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FRUSTRATING...:sw_smashcan:
MAKES ME WANT TO SMASH A CAN...LOL!!! STAY SAFE EVERYONE!An Interesting Comment Made In This Article To Take In Consideration...
"I do not belive it is so much the deep SWD wells, but the Arbuckle disposal wells in the Miss Lime play in Northern Oklahoma around 5500 ft deep. The huge volume of produced water being injected in the Arbuckle on a daily basis with a vacuum at the surface (no surface pumps required) is interconnected with many faults and fissures. This injection fluid could travel many miles. No one knows where all the water is going, only that it will take a lot of water at a low operating pressure and expense. There are no boundaries as in other disposal wells that require surface pressure pumps to inject the water. Low permeability and porosity in contrast to the high permeability and large pore space of a fault. Although water is typically a poor mechanical lubricant, it is a good enough lubricant to aid in the deep rock shifting of a fault. IMO." ~Tom Jones