Oklahoma has had a surge of earthquakes since 2009. Are they due to fracking?
Beginning in 2009, Oklahoma experienced a surge in seismicity. This surge was so large that its rate of magnitude 3 and larger earthquakes exceeded California’s from 2014 through 2017.
Bar graph showing the number of M3+ Earthquakes in Oklahoma vs California from 1990 to 2019. California earthquake counts are shown as a blue bar and Oklahoma earthquake counts are shown as a red bar. (Public domain.)
While these earthquakes have been induced by oil and gas related process, few of these earthquakes were induced by fracking. The largest earthquake known to be induced by hydraulic fracturing in Oklahoma was a M3.6 earthquakes in 2019. The largest known fracking induced earthquake in the United States was a M4.0 earthquake that occurred in Texas in 2018. The majority of earthquakes in Oklahoma are caused by the industrial practice known as "wastewater disposal". Wastewater disposal is a separate process in which fluid waste from oil and gas production is injected deep underground far below ground water or drinking water aquifers. In Oklahoma over 90% of the wastewater that is injected is a byproduct of oil extraction process and not waste frack fluid.
Learn more: USGS Induced Earthquakes
Related Content
How large are the earthquakes induced by fluid injection?
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Is there any possibility that a wastewater injection activity could interact with a nearby fault to trigger a major earthquake that causes extensive damage over a broad region?
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Do all wastewater disposal wells induce earthquakes?
2017 one-year seismic hazard forecast for the central and eastern United States from induced and natural earthquakes
We produce the 2017 one-year seismic hazard forecast for the central and eastern United States from induced and natural earthquakes that updates the 2016 one-year forecast; this map is intended to provide information to the public and to facilitate the development of induced seismicity forecasting models, methods, and data. The 2017 hazard model...
Petersen, Mark D.; Mueller, Charles; Moschetti, Morgan P.; Hoover, Susan M.; Shumway, Allison; McNamara, Daniel E.; Williams, Robert A.; Llenos, Andrea L.; Ellsworth, William L.; Michael, Andrew J.; Rubinstein, Justin L.; McGarr, Arthur F.; Rukstales, Kenneth S.
2016 one-year seismic hazard forecast for the Central and Eastern United States from induced and natural earthquakes
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has produced a 1-year seismic hazard forecast for 2016 for the Central and Eastern United States (CEUS) that includes contributions from both induced and natural earthquakes. The model assumes that earthquake rates calculated from several different time windows will remain relatively stationary and can be used to...
Petersen, Mark D.; Mueller, Charles S.; Moschetti, Morgan P.; Hoover, Susan M.; Llenos, Andrea L.; Ellsworth, William L.; Michael, Andrew J.; Rubinstein, Justin L.; McGarr, Arthur F.; Rukstales, Kenneth S. Myths and facts on wastewater injection, hydraulic fracturing, enhanced oil recovery, and induced seismicity
The central United States has undergone a dramatic increase in seismicity over the past 6 years (Fig. 1), rising from an average of 24 M≥3 earthquakes per year in the years 1973–2008 to an average of 193 M≥3 earthquakes in 2009–2014, with 688 occurring in 2014 alone. Multiple damaging earthquakes have occurred during this...
Rubinstein, Justin L.; Mahani, Alireza Babaie Shaking from injection-induced earthquakes in the central and eastern United States
In this study I consider the ground motions generated by 11 moderate (Mw4.0-5.6) earthquakes in the central and eastern United States that are thought or suspected to be induced by fluid injection. Using spatially rich intensity data from the USGS “Did You Feel It?” system, I show that the distance decay of intensities for all events is...
Hough, Susan E. Potentially induced earthquakes in Oklahoma, USA: links between wastewater injection and the 2011 Mw 5.7 earthquake sequence
Significant earthquakes are increasingly occurring within the continental interior of the United States, including five of moment magnitude (Mw) ≥ 5.0 in 2011 alone. Concurrently, the volume of fluid injected into the subsurface related to the production of unconventional resources continues to rise. Here we identify the largest earthquake...
Keranen, Katie M.; Savage, Heather M.; Abers, Geoffrey A.; Cochran, Elizabeth S. Passive seismic monitoring of natural and induced earthquakes: case studies, future directions and socio-economic relevance
An important discovery in crustal mechanics has been that the Earth’s crust is commonly stressed close to failure, even in tectonically quiet areas. As a result, small natural or man-made perturbations to the local stress field may trigger earthquakes. To understand these processes, Passive Seismic Monitoring (PSM) with seismometer arrays is...
Cloetingh, Sierd; Negendank, Jörg; Bohnhoff, Marco; Dresen, Georg; Ellsworth, William L.; Ito, Hisao
Wastewater Disposal Likely Induced February 2016 Magnitude 5.1 Oklahoma Earthquake
Distant wastewater disposal wells likely induced the third largest earthquake in recent Oklahoma record, the Feb. 13, 2016, magnitude 5.1 event roughly 32 kilometers northwest of Fairview, Oklahoma. These findings from the U.S. Geological Survey are available in the online edition of Geophysical Research Letters.
Magnitudes for Oklahoma Earthquakes Shift Upward
Revisions follow standard USGS re-analysis
Magnitude 5.8 Earthquake in Oklahoma
A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck in Oklahoma on September 3, 2016 at 12:02:44 UTC (7:02 am local time).
EarthWord – Induced Seismicity
The occurrence or frequency of earthquakes for which the origin is attributable to human activities.
Induced Earthquakes Raise Chances of Damaging Shaking in 2016
For the first time, new USGS maps identify the potential for ground shaking from both human-induced and natural earthquakes in 2016.
Magnitude 5.1 Earthquake in Oklahoma
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck in Oklahoma on February 13, 2016 at 11:07:06 am local time.
A Century of Induced Earthquakes in Oklahoma?
The rate of earthquakes has increased sharply since 2009 in the central and eastern United States, with growing evidence confirming that these earthquakes are primarily caused by human activity, namely the injection of wastewater in deep disposal wells.
2011 Oklahoma Induced Earthquake May Have Triggered Larger Quake
In a new study involving researchers at the U.S. Geological Survey, scientists observed that a human-induced magnitude 5.0 earthquake near Prague, Oklahoma in November 2011 may have triggered the larger M5.7 earthquake less than a day later.
Earthquake Swarm Continues in Central Oklahoma
Since January 2009, more than 200 magnitude 3.0 or greater earthquakes have rattled Central Oklahoma, marking a significant rise in the frequency of these seismic events.
PubTalk 5/2018 — Yes Humans really are causing induced earthquakes
Title: Yes, Humans Really Are Causing Earthquakes! How Energy Industry Practices are Causing Earthquakes in America's Heartland
- In every year since 2014, Oklahoma has had more earthquakes than California.
- Oil and gas operations are "inducing" these earthquakes.
- The earthquake rate has dropped by more than 50 percent due to changes in industry
USGS Forecast for Damage from Natural and Induced Earthquakes in 2017
USGS map displaying potential to experience damage from a natural or human-induced earthquake in 2017. Chances range from less than one percent to 12 percent.
Potentially Damaging 2016 Earthquakes in Oklahoma and the Raton Basin
USGS map showing the location of earthquakes greater than or equal to magnitude 4.0 in Oklahoma and the Raton Basin in 2016.
Damage in Cushing, Oklahoma from the Magnitude 5.0 Earthquake in 2016
Damage to buildings in Cushing, Oklahoma from the magnitude 5.0 earthquake on November 6, 2016. Unreinforced brick and stone masonry buildings and facades are vulnerable to strong shaking. Photograph credit: Dolan Paris, USGS
Damage in Cushing, Oklahoma from the Magnitude 5.0 Earthquake in 2016
Damage to buildings in Cushing, Oklahoma from the magnitude 5.0 earthquake on November 6, 2016. Unreinforced brick and stone masonry buildings and facades are vulnerable to strong shaking. Photograph credit: Dolan Paris, USGS
Damage in central Oklahoma from a magnitude 5.6 earthquake in 2011
House damage in central Oklahoma from the magnitude 5.6 earthquake on Nov. 6, 2011. Research conducted by USGS geophysicist Elizabeth Cochran and her university-based colleagues suggests that this earthquake was induced by injection into deep disposal wells in the Wilzetta North field. Credit: Brian Sherrod, USGS
Population Exposed to Potentially Damaging Earthquake Groundshaking
USGS map showing (1) the locations of major populations and (2) the intensity of potential earthquake ground shaking that has a 2% chance of occurring in 50 years.
Epicenter of the Oklahoma 5.6 earthquake on Sept 3, 2016
Wastewater observed seismicity map (2016)
USGS map displaying 21 areas where scientists have observed rapid changes in seismicity that have been associated with wastewater injection. The map also shows earthquakes—both natural and induced—recorded from 1980 to 2015 in the central and eastern U.S. with a magnitude greater than or equal to 2.5.
Wastewater injection
Most wastewater currently disposed of across the nation is generated and produced in the process of oil and gas extraction. Saltwater is produced as a byproduct during the extraction process. This wastewater is found at nearly every oil and gas extraction well.
The other main constituent of wastewater is leftover hydraulic fracturing fluid. Once hydraulic fracturing
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