What the frick is fracking?

HJ

Hyrraulic Fracturing

This is a process that has been around for AGES, and contrary to all information the enviro/crunchies create to the contrary, it is not going to cause earthquakes. The water was originally in the ground, it is just being put back.

There is a new technology, it is called a search engine. Look it up.

There is a study by the Oklahoma Geological Survey that is in the process of being published that reports a possible link. The lead author was a skeptic that fracking could be linked with any seismic activity, but as he studied the January 18th quake in Oklahoma, he does report a likely correlation between between specific fracking operations and the series of small earthquakes in the vicinity. Correlation does not equal causation, but this seismologist started as a skeptic and this is his conclusion about that particular investigation.

Sorry, I haven't seen the full article, but it was mentioned in a news summary.

Not all earthquakes are the result of movement along geological faults. Some small quakes were attributed to the filling of Lake Mead. I waas surprised to learn that Minnesota had experienced recentearthquakes. It had nothing to do with faults (that part of the continent is extremely stable) but was attributed to crustal unloading as the Pleistocene glaciers melted.

I'm about 60 miles away and we definitely felt it. We had a 4.7 the night before that was really brief but managed to rattle the pictures on the walls for a couple of seconds. The 5.6 was significantly longer in duration and much more impressive. Beyond the damage to the immediate area around the quake I'm aware of one house in Broken Arrow, OK (about 65 miles away) that managed to lose the brick over the garage door opening.

I'm not aware of any injures related to the quake.

Here's a link to the Tulsa CBS affiliates coverage of some of the damage. There are several addition links to related new in the story.

http://www.newson6.com/story/15972590/earthquake-damages-historic-building-at-university-in-shawnee

Okay smart ankle.

Just cause someone says something doesn't mean it's true.

Here is a link for the keyboard cowboy from Texas.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14432401

"An independent geological report has found that it is "highly probable" a controversial technique to extract gas, known as fracking, triggered two minor earthquakes on the Lancashire coast earlier this year."

I put my money on the lizard people. They don't appreciate having water fracked into their underground lair, its like the toilet in an upstairs apartment leaking on them. There are accepted protocols for disturbing the lizard people, they are peaceful but if not given the opportunity to move their lizard queen out of harms way, we can't control what their reaction may be.

Lono, I think you're joking there, but let's watch posts like that lest they reflect negatively on a serious forum.

(Deputy) HJ

Thank you - that is indeed an interesting article. This particular 5.6 event does seem to be linked to a specific fault. Oklahoma does have an earthquake history - there was a quake in 1952 of about the same magnitude as this event, along with others throughout the 20th century.