2015/06/18 by M. Weingarten, Shemin Ge, Jonathan W. Godt +2 · 2 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Computer Science · #earthquake and tectonic studies #Seismology and Earthquake Studies #Earthquake Detection and Analysis #Wellhead #Induced seismicity #Injection well #Geology #Seismology #Volume (thermodynamics) #Petroleum engineering
paper · doi:10.1126/science.aab1345
openalex publication_date 2015/06/18 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/25
An unprecedented increase in earthquakes in the U.S. mid-continent began in 2009. Many of these earthquakes have been documented as induced by wastewater injection. We examine the relationship between wastewater injection and U.S. mid-continent seismicity using a newly assembled injection well database for the central and eastern United States. We find that the entire increase in earthquake rate is associated with fluid injection wells. High-rate injection wells (>300,000 barrels per month) are much more likely to be associated with earthquakes than lower-rate wells. At the scale of our study, a well's cumulative injected volume, monthly wellhead pressure, depth, and proximity to crystalline basement do not strongly correlate with earthquake association. Managing injection rates may be a useful tool to minimize the likelihood of induced earthquakes.