SAN JOSE,
California (AP) -- Small earthquakes shaking Oklahoma and southern
Kansas daily and linked to energy drilling are dramatically increasing
the chance of bigger and dangerous quakes, federal research indicates.
This
once stable region is now just as likely to see serious damaging and
potentially harmful earthquakes as the highest risk places east of the
Rockies such as New Madrid, Missouri, and Charleston, South Carolina,
which had major quakes in the past two centuries.
Still
it's a low risk, about a 1 in 2,500 years' chance of happening,
according to geophysicist William Ellsworth of the U.S. Geological
Survey.
"To some degree we've dodged a bullet
in Oklahoma," Ellsworth said after a presentation to the American
Association for the Advancement of Science.
But, he added, "This is not to say we expect a large earthquake tomorrow."
During
the 90-minute session on human-induced earthquakes, three quakes larger
than 3.1 magnitude hit northern Oklahoma. Federal records show that
since Jan. 1, Oklahoma has had nearly 200 quakes that people have felt.
These quakes started to increase in 2008 and made dramatic jumps in
frequency in June 2013 and again in February 2014, Ellsworth said.
They
are mostly in areas with energy drilling, often hydraulic fracturing, a
process known as fracking. Many studies have linked the increase in
small quakes to the process of injecting wastewater deep underground
because it changes pressure and triggers dormant faults.
Until
now, those quakes were mostly thought of as nuisances and not really
threats. But Ellsworth's continuing study, which is not yet published,
showed the mere increase In the number of tiny temblors raises the risk
of earthquakes that scientists consider major hazards. That's generally
above a magnitude 5 with older buildings and a magnitude 6 for modern
ones, Ellsworth said.
"The more small
earthquakes we have it just simply increases the odds we're going to
have a more damaging event," Ellsworth said.
A
2011 earthquake in Prague, Oklahoma, was a 5.7 magnitude, causing some
damage and hurting two people. Some studies said that was a side effect
of the drilling process, but other scientists are not convinced.
Experts at the science session said Ellsworth's finding of a higher risk for big quakes makes sense.
"We are worried about this, no question about it," said Rex Buchanan, interim director of the Kansas Geological Survey.
Not
all states with fracking and wastewater injections are seeing increased
quakes and not all those with increased quakes, such as Texas and Ohio,
are at a higher risk for major quakes, Ellsworth said. Arkansas and
Ohio, for example, are also now seeing fewer man-made quakes, he said.
Much
depends on geology and how the wastewater is injected, said Stanford
University geophysics professor Mark Zoback. He said industry and
regulators can be smarter about where they inject wastewater and where
they do not, and can avoid many of these problems.
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Online:
U.S. Geological Survey's Did You Feel It earthquake program: http://tinyurl.com/yaqmeyw
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Seth Borenstein can be followed at http://twitter.com/borenbears
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