Biggest Ever Earthquake In Oklahoma Is Linked To Oil Wastewater Injection
While the emerging link between natural gas fracking and earthquakes has been grabbing a lot of attention, another problem has been bubbling up under our feet: a series of earthquakes in normally calm areas has been traced to conventional oil drilling operations. In particular, Oklahoma has been hit by a string of unusual earthquakes over the past couple of years, including the biggest one ever recorded in the state, a magnitude 5.7 temblor near Prague on November 6, 2011.
The quakes are ongoing and in the meantime a study co-authored by researchers from Columbia University and the U.S. Geological Survey has uncovered positive evidence that wastewater from an active oil drilling operation was being pumped into a set of abandoned oil wells, putting increasing pressure on a documented fault nearby that finally “jumped” under the stress.
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