Earthquakes in Edmond

[kennedy]

I'm curious, is this happening in other states too? I mean we can't be the only state with the disposal wells and having earthquakes and if the other states aren't having the quakes...why not?

 

[Hobbes]

I'm curious, is this happening in other states too? I mean we can't be the only state with the disposal wells and having earthquakes and if the other states aren't having the quakes...why not?

It is happening in other states, but not to the degree it has here.
Oklahoma has unique geology with numerous small shallow faults.

Ohio, Arkansas, and Colorado all experienced similar issues and all of them solved them with strict regulations.
Of course, oil and NG interests don't have nearly the influence in those states as they do in OK.
You can expect the OCC to continue dragging their feet, closing and restricting only the most problematic wells.

 

[Poke78]

Good information on Salt Water Disposal Wells in Oklahoma.

http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.1.4841.7364

Very informative, indeed, especially the map presented late in the paper. Good post!!

 

[Shadowrider]

I'm curious, is this happening in other states too? I mean we can't be the only state with the disposal wells and having earthquakes and if the other states aren't having the quakes...why not?

It is happening in other states, but not to the degree it has here.
Oklahoma has unique geology with numerous small shallow faults.

Ohio, Arkansas, and Colorado all experienced similar issues and all of them solved them with strict regulations.
Of course, oil and NG interests don't have nearly the influence in those states as they do in OK.
You can expect the OCC to continue dragging their feet, closing and restricting only the most problematic wells.

Yep we do have unique geology. Just like every other state does. And if our state's geology is so damn unique one could almost imagine that they would have figured out what it was by now. But what do I know? I'm sure I'll be told that it's nothing here directly.

 

[Hobbes]

I'm curious, is this happening in other states too? I mean we can't be the only state with the disposal wells and having earthquakes and if the other states aren't having the quakes...why not?

The Nemeha fault extends from Oklahoma into Kansas a bit.
They were having significant quakes in KS along the fault, until they restricted injection wells in those 3 counties.
They hardly ever have a signifant quake there now.

It's a success story some people don't want to hear.

 

[Hobbes]

The Nemeha fault extends from Oklahoma into Kansas a bit.
They were having significant quakes in KS along the fault, until they restricted injection wells in those 3 counties.
They hardly ever have a signifant quake there now.

It's a success story some people don't want to hear.

And that is because the oil and NG industry doesn't influence the state of KS the way they do in OK.

 

[kennedy]

That makes sense

 

[Shadowrider]

Hobbes since you have it all figured out perhaps you should trot on over to the USGS and line them out. They aren't towing the party line.

EDMOND, Oklahoma - The Oklahoma Corporation Commission took action Monday in regards to those recent Edmond earthquakes.
The commission directed the operators of five disposal wells within 10 miles of the epicenter to reduce volume. But a seismologist with the USGS said it may not have been disposal wells that triggered the last week's earthquakes in Edmond.

USGS seismologist Dan McNamara thinks the rapidly rising water at Arcadia Lake, the result of Winter Storm Goliath may have triggered the 4.3-magnitude earthquake. The water rose two feet on the lake the day before that first 4.3-magnitude earthquake.

Ed Woods is a retired petroleum engineer. He lives in east Edmond, just a couple miles from the epicenter of the recent big earthquakes.

“It was the most severe one that we had felt since we had been here,” he said.

Woods has been looking into the earthquakes for the past year. Since he knew Arcadia Lake was close by, he looked up the lake levels and noticed they rose rapidly right before the first earthquake.

Woods did some calculating, and figured about 4.5 million tons of additional weight was added to the fault block right before the first earthquake.

“It’s another thing that needs to be considered, particularly since they are having trouble finding any active injection wells in this area,” Woods said.

McNamara thinks Woods may be on to something.

“Just based on our preliminary modeling, the distance from the fault and the time delay, it works out fairly well. This could be a possible cause,” he said.

McNamara said the Arbuckle formation underneath Oklahoma is already saturated, likely from disposal wells.

Any additional stress, such as a sudden lake level increase, can push a nearby fault to failure. In this case the earthquake reactivated a fault capable of producing an earthquake as big as a 6.0-magnitude and it runs right through a populated area.

“If you do get another large event like a 5.6 (magnitude) it would significantly more of a disaster in Oklahoma City than it was in Prague because more people are exposed,” McNamara said.

But McNamara said humans can help control what happens by avoiding any waste water injection near the fault and minimizing any rapid changes in the lake level.

McNamara also said in light of this recent news, he advises residents in Oklahoma City to study up on earthquake precautions and strap down computer monitors, televisions, and book shelves in preparation for more quakes.

Source

 

[Hobbes]

Hobbes since you have it all figured out perhaps you should trot on over to the USGS and line them out. They aren't towing the party line.

We've been hearing that **** for years now.
First it was cause of the draught and then it was cause of all the rain.
Did that fault quake last May when we had 10" of rain in one day?
NO
Are they having quakes in MO right now with all the flooding?
NO

Rename this state to Denial.

 

[Shadowrider]

IDK man, I'm thinking "Arrogance" might fit better. Because thinking that we little humans can stop the seas from rising, control the temperature of our planet, and now evidently we have to add stopping tectonic plates from moving to the list. That's pretty damned arrogant!