2016 Earthquake Discussion

[rezman]

Northwest Edmond. 1 jolt followed by shaking and then another stronger jolt then shaking that slowly diminished.

[ljbab728]

It didn't last long but it was definitely a good jolt.

[Swake]

very strong and very long here in Jenks

[Bunty]

That quake was most certainly felt in Stillwater. It might have been about as strong as the recent 4.5 one.

[corwin1968]

Ponca, Tulsa and Wichita all felt it

[emtefury]

5.3 near Cushing. That is up there.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquak...75y8#executive

[Jim Kyle]

Felt it easily near NW 122 and Council, OKC. Lasted longer than any of the others we've felt, with at least three distinct shocks spaced out during the lower-level trembling.

[educator1953]

I live in Duncan. I was in the bedroom when I felt it. My husband was in the living room and didn't feel a thing. When I came out of the bedroom to ask him about it, he thought I was joking. I had to turn the TV on to KFOR to show him that yes, there really was an earthquake.

Just spoke to a relative who lives right on the Moore-Norman city limits line. He didn't feel a thing. Weird.

[Achilleslastand]

Does KFOR really need to have a "earthquake alert" on the bottom of the screen 45 minutes after the fact?

[ljbab728]

It has been downgraded now to a 5.0.

[Dustin]

It happened near Cushing? Wow. Hope none of that precious black gold spilled...

[LocoAko]

Looks like some fairly bad damage downtown. Schools are closed and some have been evacuated. Yeesh......

http://www.kansas.com/news/local/article112994208.html

Also noticed that Facebook issued its "mark yourself safe" for the quake. Probably overkill for the OKC metro but it might help friends and family who hear of it stop asking folks here if they mark themselves safe, so maybe that's part of why they did it...

[oklip955]

Just wondering today, what if we got a 5.0+ in the metro. I'm thinking close to downtown? I was in one of the medical buildings dropping of some records. Anyone know if any of the OU medical buildings are built to withstand shaking??

[Bunty]

Wow, just felt a very sudden and startling earthquake. At least it didn't last long.

Update: It was gauged at 3.3, centered 8 miles northeast of Stillwater, early Thanksgiving morning. I thought it would be somewhat stronger than that. The quake comes from an area that has been active in the past and too close to Stillwater for comfort.

[riflesforwatie]

New article just published on Oklahoma earthquakes:

"How will induced seismicity in Oklahoma respond to decreased saltwater injection rates?"
http://advances.sciencemag.org/conte.../e1601542.full

And for a more generally accessible write-up that does a fair job of summarizing the original article,
http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/...n-the-decline/

[mkjeeves]

Felt earthquakes were linked directly to fracking in Ohio a few years ago.

Cite: http://www.bssaonline.org/content/ea...9-61031b203c85

Now possibly in Oklahoma too? Anyone seen more on this?

OKLAHOMA CITY -

When we report on induced seismicity, or man-made earthquakes in Oklahoma, we generally point out that these are quakes believed to be caused by injecting oilfield waste water underground, and not by hydraulic fracturing. But a new study shows there may be some exceptions to this.

In the last five years, there have been a few series of low-magnitude quakes that were nowhere near any wastewater injection wells. At the same time, there was evidence these weren't naturally occurring earthquakes.

In January 2011, there were more than a hundred minor quakes in Garvin County. Then-state geologist Austin Holland wrote a paper, concluding the swarm was triggered by a nearby hydraulic fracturing operation.

In May and June of this year, there were a handful of mild quakes around Blanchard. And then just last month, another few quakes out in Canadian County. All of these are outside the Corporation Commission's 15,000 square mile area of interest, in areas where wastewater disposal is minimal.

In a statement Tuesday, Oklahoma Geological Survey director Jeremy Boak said, "Scientists with [OGS] have reached the conclusion that wastewater disposal was probably not the cause" of these recent quakes west and south of the metro.

"Hydraulic fracturing in wells in the SCOOP and STACK play nearby may have been the cause," he wrote.

Drilling in the SCOOP and STACK is beginning to take off, so, while wastewater disposal is not a big concern with these formations, the Corporation Commission is working on guidelines that they believe will minimize earthquakes there.

Meanwhile, new actions for the big area of interest are expected to be announced before Christmas.

http://www.news9.com/story/34045224/...ed-by-fracking

[mkjeeves]

As Oklahoma’s two popular and fast-growing oil plays, the STACK and the SCOOP generate high interest in the oil and gas industry, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission announced Tuesday new seismicity rules that will apply to the region…..rules aimed at preventing a sudden growth in earthquakes. And this time, state regulators are linking possible earthquake activity directly to fracking and not to wastewater injection wells.

The rules were developed in part with the Oklahoma Geological Survey where Director Dr. Jeremy Boak says both old and new data have prompted a plan now to mitigate earthquake risk in the SCOOP and STACK.

http://okenergytoday.com/2016/12/fra...s-scoop-stack/

[LocoAko]

http://www.news9.com/story/34637069/...quakes-in-2017

https://www.usgs.gov/news/new-usgs-m...g-hazards-2017

[Bellaboo]

And also today, the DOK has a graph showing how the quake rate has drastically gone down over the last 2 years -

http://newsok.com/article/5539716

[stile99]

Brief but good one felt in Mustang just now.

[turnpup]

I *heard* something and for some reason thought earthquake but didn't feel anything. Midtown area.

[Bill Robertson]

My wife texted me that her desk moved (36th and Lincoln) just as I was texting her to tell her our patio door rattled (Hefner and Council).

[stile99]

Preliminary reports say 4.2 near Stroud.

[Bunty]

Gee, a new thread for 2017 earthquakes needs started. I'll start it. This 2016 thread might as well be closed.