Oklahoma’s induced seismicity strongly linked to wastewater injection depth
Oklahoma’s induced seismicity strongly linked to wastewater injection depth
The dramatic rise in Oklahoma seismicity since 2009 is due to wastewater injection. The role of injection depth is an open, complex issue, yet critical for hazard assessment and regulation. We developed an advanced Bayesian Network to model joint conditional dependencies between spatial, operational, and seismicity parameters. We found injection depth relative to crystalline basement most strongly correlates with seismic moment release. The joint effects of depth and volume are critical, as injection rate becomes more influential near the basement interface. Restricting injection depths to 200–500 m above basement could reduce annual seismic moment release by a factor of 1.4–2.8. Our approach enables identification of sub-regions where targeted regulation may mitigate effects of induced earthquakes, aiding operators and regulators in wastewater disposal regions.
induced seismicity, wastewater injection, Oklahoma, fracking
1251-1255
Hincks, Thea
9654038a-2f5c-40bc-8f0e-33afc0b1fb71
Aspinall, Willy
cf66bd55-7a9c-4765-ba8d-ed8e0dc74a45
Cooke, Roger
92b87ddf-e89e-480e-8bca-7416804bd045
Gernon, Thomas
658041a0-fdd1-4516-85f4-98895a39235e
16 March 2018
Hincks, Thea
9654038a-2f5c-40bc-8f0e-33afc0b1fb71
Aspinall, Willy
cf66bd55-7a9c-4765-ba8d-ed8e0dc74a45
Cooke, Roger
92b87ddf-e89e-480e-8bca-7416804bd045
Gernon, Thomas
658041a0-fdd1-4516-85f4-98895a39235e
Hincks, Thea, Aspinall, Willy, Cooke, Roger and Gernon, Thomas
(2018)
Oklahoma’s induced seismicity strongly linked to wastewater injection depth.
Science, 359 (6381), , [aap7911].
(doi:10.1126/science.aap7911).
Abstract
The dramatic rise in Oklahoma seismicity since 2009 is due to wastewater injection. The role of injection depth is an open, complex issue, yet critical for hazard assessment and regulation. We developed an advanced Bayesian Network to model joint conditional dependencies between spatial, operational, and seismicity parameters. We found injection depth relative to crystalline basement most strongly correlates with seismic moment release. The joint effects of depth and volume are critical, as injection rate becomes more influential near the basement interface. Restricting injection depths to 200–500 m above basement could reduce annual seismic moment release by a factor of 1.4–2.8. Our approach enables identification of sub-regions where targeted regulation may mitigate effects of induced earthquakes, aiding operators and regulators in wastewater disposal regions.
Text
Science aap7911
- Accepted Manuscript
More information
Accepted/In Press date: 19 January 2018
e-pub ahead of print date: 1 February 2018
Published date: 16 March 2018
Keywords:
induced seismicity, wastewater injection, Oklahoma, fracking
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 417696
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/417696
ISSN: 0036-8075
PURE UUID: 56fd631b-4afd-4082-9ed0-d3c6410c5489
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Date deposited: 12 Feb 2018 17:30
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 06:12
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Contributors
Author:
Thea Hincks
Author:
Willy Aspinall
Author:
Roger Cooke
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