An Experiment On How Fast The Pressure Generated By The Application Of Fluid Is Travelling Into The Rocks

According to Townend and Zoback (2004) the San Andreas Fault (SAF) region has been noted for its possession of stress orientations in addition to the lack of a distinct heat flow anomaly at the trace of the fault. These findings indicate that there are average shear tractions that are less than 20-25 MPa in the seismogenic upper crust. Oftentimes, shear tractions measure approximately 5 times greater than in the SAF. Due to the presence of high

• This earthquake may not have released all of the strain stored in its rocks next to the fault this reveals a potential earthquake in the Santa Cruz Mountains in the near future. The occurrence of the earthquake showed that the Earth did not exhaust all its strain and hence other earthquakes could be expected. However, the dates could not be predicted. The extent of the damage could have been much more devastating for the region, but with the earthquake occurring near the coast this made half of the felt area westward in the Pacific Ocean. The occurrence of aftershocks ten days later reinforces the unpredictability nature and hence makes Geology to be a study that is always evolving. In conclusion, the Earth and the study of cannot be exhausted as every natural occurrence provides a new puzzle to be solved.

With earthquakes on the rise, we must figure out the cause of them and determine a solution to help limit or even prevent them from occurring. Since early 2009, earthquakes have been sweeping across the state of Oklahoma, causing many people to worry about their own well-being. Many scientists speculate the source of the earthquakes might be a result of Hydraulic Fracturing deep down in Earths’ crust. Hydraulic fracturing is a process in which oil and natural gas companies pump up to millions of gallons of wastewater, sand, and chemicals down drilled holes in order to release pockets of shale within the earth. This use of technology is in question of the potential cause or inducement of earthquakes in

Paragraph 1: Fracking, also known as hydraulic fracturing, is a method designed to extract oil and gas from shale rock. According to Susan L. Brantley and Anna Meyendorff from the article, The Facts on Fracking, “The word fracking comes from the fracturing that occurs when the high-pressure water is injected into the rock. The process of fracking is accomplished by drilling into the earth where a mixture of high-pressure water is drilled into the rock causing the gas to be released.” The high-pressure water can have a mixture of materials such as water, sand, and different chemicals. The pressure of the water being injected is so high that it allows gas to burst out of the head of the well. The process can be achieved through two different ways, one being more common than another. One of the processes can be done vertically but the more common method is done horizontally. According to the New York Times, when the drilling is carried by horizontally, “New pathways can be used in the rock layer. Due to new pathways being created, more gas can be released,” (Marshall, 2015). Drillers can create mini-explosions in the wells to boost flow. How do mini-explosions not increase the probabilities of earthquakes? The horizontal drilling can allow millions of gallons of high-pressure water into the fractures of shale. Chemicals can be added to the high-pressure water for the purpose of dissolving minerals as well as inserting sand to open fractures made by the drillers and kill the

In recorded history, there have been 151 earthquakes in Nevada that were a magnitude of 3.5 or higher. As previously mentioned, the mountain ranges of Nevada are typically bound on one side or the other by a fault. There are quaternary faults that range in ages from less than 150 years to around 1.8 million years in existence. The property damage in Nevada from earthquakes was .2 million dollars between 1196 and 2014 based on information from department of energy for the state. As we studied in our textbook, earthquakes can by a number of things, such as shifting faults, or volcanic

water fractures within the earth. Causing certain areas of the land to have an earthquake effect

Initially, earthquakes shape the Earth’s surface by creating mountains and geysers. In the article “Historic Earthquakes,” it reads, “High intensities were observed in the northwest section of Yellowstone National Park. Here, new geysers erupted, and massive slumping caused large cracks in the ground from which steam emitted” (Stover 3). Consequently, when the geo-process of earthquakes occurs, it molds and changes the earth by creating new geothermal

The oil and fluid extraction showing in figure 2 provides an association between high fluid removal and earthquake activity. The tremors in 1973, 1983, and 2011 coincided with higher volumes of fluid extraction. However, there have been more earthquakes since 2008 than in the last several decades with about the same levels of extraction.

began to flow along weak layers that define the folds and faults and carved the resistant

They are called transversal when pressure builds and the rock breaks the energy of the break

Professor H.F. Reid introduced observations provided the basis for the landmark "theory of elastic rebound .This theory describes how the earth's crust gradually and elastically distorts with accumulating plate motion until it is suddenly returned to its undistorted state by rapid slip along a fault, releasing the years of accumulated strain and, in the process, generating seismic waves that produce shaking. Before 1906 and Reid's theory, this basic mechanical concept of earthquakes -- that the faulting causes the earthquake and that the earthquake does not cause the faulting -- was not well recognized as a universal principle applicable to the San Andreas

The energy coming from this rupture is called seismic waves. These waves fan out in every direction from the earthquakes epicenter and results in intense shaking. Once this shaking reaches the earth’s surface, everything from the ground up will also proceed to shake (Wald 2012). In order to measure the size of an earthquake, scientists use seismographs. Seismographs consist of a base, a spring, pen, rotating drum, and a heavy weight. The base is placed in the ground while the weight hangs above. When an earthquake occurs the spring absorbs the shaking and the weight and pen, which remain motionless, record the difference between the shaking and motionless part of the seismograph. Seismograph recordings consist of short and long wavy lines, with long lines indicating a larger earthquake (Wald 2012). These recordings are then

The New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ) is the most active earthquake region in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains. The New Madrid Fault lies in America’s Heartland, stretching from St. Louis, Missouri to Memphis, Tennessee. Whereas fault lines in California are at or near the surface to be studied, the active faults in the NMSZ are poorly understood because they are located beneath more than 100 feet of saturated alluvium. Fault traces in these river deposited soils erode very quickly, thus hiding evidence of earthquake fault lines (Facts about the New Madrid Seismic Zone). Whereas California’s earthquakes are local in extent, the quakes in the NMSZ can resonate across thousands of miles. The NMSZ is responsible for the most powerful series of earthquakes in American history, which occurred

Although it may seem that the process of hydraulic fracturing causes earthquakes because it drills into the bedrock underground for access to natural oil and gases, it’s actually the byproduct of hydraulic fracturing, the injection of fracking fluid or wastewater, which factors into higher-magnitude earthquakes in the United States. Most earthquakes that occur due to the process of hydraulic fracturing are micro, meaning they have a magnitude of 3 or less, while earthquakes of higher magnitudes near fracturing sites are mostly caused by the high intensity pressure of fracking fluid in waste-water injection wells. According to United States Geological Survey (USGS), anywhere from “1.5 million gallons in North Dakota, to 5.7 million gallons in

Hazard analysis is the process of quantitatively estimating the ground motion at a site or region of interest based on the characteristics of surrounding seismic sources. This study falls primarily within the disciplines of geology and seismology with input from civil engineering (FEMA, 1989). The basic methodology of hazard analysis is comprised of source modeling, wave attenuation, and local ground amplification.