Oklahoma Earthquakes 2011

[dmoor82]

I believe we also broke the highest record for one-month average temp in any state.

Correct,Oklahoma also came in second only to Texas for the entire Summer's avg. temp!

[venture]

This is pretty large. However, this is one of the reporting sites in Lincoln County very close to where the quakes have been occurring. Appears to only run about maybe a 1 minute behind. This is a 24 hour image, so it will keep scrolling old data away. I did look at another site with 72 hours and things really did appear to get going 3 days ago with very low level activity, then a pause, then the 4.7 and related shocks, then a pause, and then the 5.6. We haven't really going into that quiet period again, but things are slowing down.

[Jim Kyle]

Fracking has already been linked to cause weak earthquakes in other areas. It is more so about pumping a large amount of liquid/lubricant into the ground that allows it to slip.

...

Of course it also comes down to the geology of the area to and some areas may not be as prone to earthquakes as others. Oklahoma has plenty of fault lines. The one these recent quakes have been on are on a relative newly active fault. If there was fracking right on fault that would raise suspicion some, but I don't believe that is the case. On the other side, I don't believe we are seeing a ton of earthquakes in North Dakota where fracking is very widespread. It all comes down to what is under our feet.

There's a quite interesting study on the OGS web site involving a case in southern Oklahoma earlier this year where a documented fracking action was followed about an hour later by some small quakes only a few miles from the well site. I came across it last night while looking for latest data about our current event. The conclusion was that the fracking and the quake were possibly related, but no conclusive evidence was found although five of the seven critical questions got "yes" answers. The underground structure is so complex in our state that cause-and-effect relationships are almost impossible to establish.

The only conclusive case of fracking being labelled the cause of a quake or quakes that I'm aware of is from England, reported this past week by the BBC web site.

However one of the indicators of possible relationship in this most recent event is the shallowness of the source, at 3.1 miles. It would be interesting to know how much fracking has been happening in Lincoln and eastern Oklahoma counties in the past 6 to 9 months.

[venture]

Here is a 72-hour image to give more perspective on the lead up to the quakes. This reporting site is in Southeast Oklahoma City.

[silvergrove]

Here is a 72-hour image to give more perspective on the lead up to the quakes. This reporting site is in Southeast Oklahoma City.

Would you consider the M2.9 on October 18 and the M3.3 on October 28 as pre-shocks also?

[venture]

Not sure. I would think those would be too far out, but we likely to have aftershocks from the 5.6 for the next few weeks to months.

Good read from USGS on the quake: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquak...06klz/#summary

Pretty much nothing very conclusive in it. It is suspected it may have occurred on the Wilzetta fault just east of the Metro area, but appears too early to say for sure. USGS does keep going back to the Meers fault as the "big daddy" in Oklahoma since it is the only surface break fault east of the Rockies, but it seems to be stabilized. So the attention goes back to the Wilzetta Fault and probably the Nemaha Fault that runs down I-35.

[Thunder]

I-35.... I'm scared. :-(

[bbhill]

Fracking can definitely cause earthquakes. . .

Also, in Arkansas.

[venture]

It has been pretty quiet since early this afternoon with just a couple very weak aftershocks. Appears about 3-4 minutes ago we had another that would seem to be over 3.0 again based on the seismograph.

[Thunder]

We need a 10.0 on Christmas Day.

[SkyWestOKC]

Just had another at 27 past.

[PennyQuilts]

I haven't felt any but the big one and that is just fine with me.

[MikeOKC]

We need a 10.0 on Christmas Day.

Thunder.....

Oh, never mind. You wouldn't understand your lack of decorum and penchant for inappropriate remarks.

[soonerguru]

There's a quite interesting study on the OGS web site involving a case in southern Oklahoma earlier this year where a documented fracking action was followed about an hour later by some small quakes only a few miles from the well site. I came across it last night while looking for latest data about our current event. The conclusion was that the fracking and the quake were possibly related, but no conclusive evidence was found although five of the seven critical questions got "yes" answers. The underground structure is so complex in our state that cause-and-effect relationships are almost impossible to establish.

The only conclusive case of fracking being labelled the cause of a quake or quakes that I'm aware of is from England, reported this past week by the BBC web site.

However one of the indicators of possible relationship in this most recent event is the shallowness of the source, at 3.1 miles. It would be interesting to know how much fracking has been happening in Lincoln and eastern Oklahoma counties in the past 6 to 9 months.

There is a TON of drilling activity in the vicinity of Stroud, clearly visible on the Turnpike. Stroud is just a few miles north of Sparks. The major drilling started a little more than a year ago in the area, about the time the fault started becoming active.

[soonerguru]

We need a 10.0 on Christmas Day.

What?

[dmoor82]

Thunder.....

Oh, never mind. You wouldn't understand your lack of decorum and penchant for inappropriate remarks.

Ohh,thats just our Thunder!He's like Mike from the Chex commercials!

[dmoor82]

I heard that small to medium size tremors/quakes are allright because they release pent up stress on the fault lines.Is that true?

[SkyWestOKC]

What?

Hopefully you mean a $10.00 off coupon in the mail and not a 10.0 earthquake. If my math is correct, a 10.0 is 25,118 times more powerful than the 5.6 we just had.

[venture]

I heard that small to medium size tremors/quakes are allright because they release pent up stress on the fault lines.Is that true?

That is the general thinking, but they can cause more issues too.

However, if we look at what happened here. We had relative quiet...then the 4.7. Few after shocks and then nothing after 9AM Saturday. Then the 5.6. We've been having continuous aftershocks now so that should keep another strong quake from happening - hopefully.

[dmoor82]

At the time of the quake radar picked up Millions of bugs and birds taking flight!

[Jim Kyle]

If my math is correct, a 10.0 is 25,118 times more powerful than the 5.6 we just had.

More to the point, I suspect, is that it would be more than 100 times as powerful as the 1989 World Series quake that took out part of the San Francisco Bay Bridge... I'm not certain that one that big has ever been recorded.

[dmoor82]

I bet there are some West coasters out there laughing at us?But these people have to realize were in.....Oklahoma,it doesnt happen to often and this 5.6 has never happened here before yesterday!

[JayhawkTransplant]

No, there hasn't.

And I'm confident in saying that Thunder is the only one here who thinks it would be cool for all of our lives to be literally crushed on Christmas Day.

[soonerguru]

5.6 is nothing to sneeze at. And I doubt West Coasters are laughing at us, because a 5.6 would cause them great anxiety. As far as earthquakes are concerned, a 5.6 is considered a moderate quake -- but a 6.0 is consider a major earthquake. That says we were very close to experiencing a major earthquake last night.

I looked it up and a 5.6 in Australia in 1989 killed 14 people and damaged something like 50,000 buildings. A 5.6 is nothing to take lightly.

[dmoor82]

Have any of you seen all these spoof quake videos on youtube?There is tons of them.