5.4 EMSC Quake in OK- USGS- 5.1

Yeah I just saw the quake on my rainmeter earthquake map, and the depth was 1.96km. First thing that came to my mind was fracking.

This quake had foreshocks I just discovered by pulling a 30-day list at USGS:



Those two yellow ones are from 2-11-16, and the other one from 2-8-16. Makes one wonder what else is in store as I look at other random small quakes in OK, away from the usual spots as well.


Another_Nut:
You could be right. It may well not be a fracking quake, and could instead be intraplate seismic stress relief. This is part of the big problem USGS scientists face- determining whether quakes are fracking-related or not. But if not fracking, then this begs the question of what the heck is happening in OK, and worse, if New Madrid style mega quakes could be on the horizon for OK.

Definitely felt that one here in Logan County:

This was 5.1 based probably on computer estimates. It might change.

I think my calculations on radius are a bit off when we get to these bigger quakes, though.

originally posted by: TrueAmerican
This quake had foreshocks I just discovered by pulling a 30-day list at USGS:

Those two yellow ones are from 2-11-16, and the other one from 2-8-16. Makes one wonder what else is in store as I look at other random small quakes in OK, away from the usual spots as well.


Another_Nut:
You could be right. It may well not be a fracking quake, and could instead be intraplate seismic stress relief. This is part of the big problem USGS scientists face- determining whether quakes are fracking-related or not. But if not fracking, then this begs the question of what the heck is happening in OK, and worse, if New Madrid style mega quakes could be on the horizon for OK.

there is quite a bit of strange geological stuff about Oklahoma that although i couldn't go so far as to say it is actively supressed, i can say it is oddly low profile for what it is.

There is a caldera (mostly in arkansas) under the southeastern corner of oklahoma. There is an extinct igneous intrusion in south central oklahoma. There are low grade hydrothermal gold deposits of a minor nature throughout the south, centered on the extinct mountain range that bisected the state millions and millions and more millions of years ago. there are kimberlite pipes in arkansas and hot springs. a weird dead zone in there too. there are rumored kimberlite pipes in south central oklahoma or at least rumors of diamonds. then we have all of these earthquakes despite having mostly minor local fault lines.

originally posted by: TrueAmerican
Note the location, off to the west in the state, and away from the usual spots.

I took a look at the Iris Earthquake Browser.

(click image for larger version)
That vicinity has seen many smaller quakes, but nothing this strong.

a reply to: Olivine

Hmm, so that map might change my mind again. If there are that many small quakes happening, and those are fracking related, then what's to say that this one isn't fracking related too?

I'd hate to be a USGS scientist right about now. Tough, tough problem. Also, another aftershock just coming now as I type this.

originally posted by: TrueAmerican
a reply to: Olivine

Hmm, so that map might change my mind again. If there are that many small quakes happening, and those are fracking related, then what's to say that this one isn't fracking related too?

I'd hate to be a USGS scientist right about now. Tough, tough problem. Also, another aftershock just coming now as I type this.

dont jump on the fraking thing so fast ...here is a pic of the last 7 days in the U.S.

notice ,even though fracking is happening all over the country, the EQs only seem to be happening only in Oklahoma

if you look at the usgs animation and the pic i posted many of the newer Eqs are in an area that is not being fracked.

here is the EQ viewer i use
www.wolton.net...

and here is that animation again because i think its very important everyone sees it
earthquake.usgs.gov...

i just cant make the numbers and locations of frack sites vs number and locations of EQs add up atm

a reply to: TrueAmerican

Fracking/wastewater injection wells could be the "triggers" activating ancient, natural faults.

a reply to: Another_Nut

Well, whether it is fracking or not causing it, frankly, I'd rather it be fracking. Because so far, those seem to stay relatively small in magnitude and pretty harmless. Unless it can be proven that those small ones can lead to bigger ones like this. Because if they can't, then this is clearly seismic intraplate stress relief. And we know what happened in New Madrid. That could spell very bad news for OK in the future.

originally posted by: TrueAmerican
a reply to: Another_Nut

Well, whether it is fracking or not causing it, frankly, I'd rather it be fracking. Because so far, those seem to stay relatively small in magnitude and pretty harmless. Unless it can be proven that those small ones can lead to bigger ones like this. Because if they can't, then this is clearly seismic intraplate stress relief. And we know what happened in New Madrid. That could spell very bad news for OK in the future.

i agree with the hope it is fracking because i understand the bad things that could happen . my fear is it will be put off on fracking and when people hear about it they will just go the the fracking thing and not worry much about a "big one" until it happens.

im looking for all the data i can on locations of frack sites vs the EQ sites atm and will post again when i find more info

a reply to: Another_Nut

And that's a good point. Then the best that people in OK can do is err on the side of caution, and be prepared for a very big, destructive quake. Olivine could possibly be right too. Regardless, clearly OK is facing a mess. It might be both things, seismic and fracking- and those two surely are not a good mix, with a positive feedback loop occurring- one reinforcing the other. And where it culminates, no one knows.

originally posted by: TrueAmerican
a reply to: Another_Nut

And that's a good point. Then the best that people in OK can do is err on the side of caution, and be prepared for a very big, destructive quake. Olivine could possibly be right too. Regardless, clearly OK is facing a mess. It might be both things, seismic and fracking- and those two surely are not a good mix, with a positive feedback loop occurring- one reinforcing the other. And where it culminates, no one knows.

whatever the case i dont think we will have to wait long for an answer . Oklahoma might be shaken apart if the number of EQs continues on its path
2008 - 21 EQs with 2.0 mag+
2009 - 50
2010 - 425
2011 - 800
2012 - 800
2013 - 1000
2014 - 3500
2015 - 5000
total from jan 2008 to dec 2015 - 12000

a reply to: TrueAmerican

Give a guess what all of those rectangular shaped areas are on this map of the vicinity of the quake:



Hint, They're not postage stamps.

a reply to: Another_Nut

The smaller ones getting more frequent and the bigger ones getting more frequent too:

Oklahoma's strongest earthquakes

Oklahoma's 10 strongest earthquakes as of Saturday:

5.6 — Prague, Lincoln County, Nov. 6, 2011

5.5 — El Reno, Canadian County, April 9. 1952

5.1 — Fairview, Major County, Feb. 13, 2016

4.9 — Bennington, Bryan County, Oct. 22, 1882

4.8 — Prague, Lincoln County, Nov. 8, 2011

4.8 — Prague, Lincoln County, Nov. 5, 2011

4.8 — Fairview, Major County, Jan. 6, 2016

4.7 — Carmen, Alfalfa County, Nov 19, 2015

4.7 — Nash, Grant County, Nov. 30, 2015

4.5 — Crescent, Logan County, July 27, 2015

4.5 — Marshall, Logan County, Mar. 30, 2014

www.tulsaworld.com... 36.html

That was the third largest quake in OK's state history- or at least, since we've been recording them.

Turns out the USGS had warned about this, when they saw a sharp spike in quake activity in this article:
www.tulsaworld.com... l

But get this:

2015 easily became the state's most seismic year ever with 907 earthquakes of magnitude-3.0 or greater, according to Oklahoma Geological Survey data. That is a 55 percent jump from 2014's once-banner year, which saw 584 quakes of that size.

The 907 quakes are a 730 percent leap from 2013's final tally of 109, which also was a record high at the time.

730%? Man!

originally posted by: TrueAmerican
Turns out the USGS had warned about this, when they saw a sharp spike in quake activity in this article:
www.tulsaworld.com... l

But get this:

2015 easily became the state's most seismic year ever with 907 earthquakes of magnitude-3.0 or greater, according to Oklahoma Geological Survey data. That is a 55 percent jump from 2014's once-banner year, which saw 584 quakes of that size.

The 907 quakes are a 730 percent leap from 2013's final tally of 109, which also was a record high at the time.

730%? Man!

yeah im telling you man at this rate something got to give . the quakes are increasing exponentially. this year and next will be really interesting to see.

The fracking needs to stop or at the least slow way down. As the frequency of these Eq's continue to climb off the charts, they're starting to learn that the waste water induction wells, are as bad, if not worse, than the initial fracking process. So when you compare actual fracking site locations to Eq locations you may not be getting the full picture.

Injection wells are bad news, we're talking about billions and billions of toxic waste pumped in to the ground annually. It's extremely sad what they're doing to some of the states in our country. Guess which state Arkansas has trucked a lot of their fracking waste to, yep, Oklahoma.

Living here in Ok and being employed by a petroleum company, I try and stay up on the issues the industry is faced with. Unfortunately, with the current supply and America's high dependency on fossil fuels, coupled with the corporate lust of continued and increasing profit margins, the planet earth and the State of Ok are kinda screwed.

I can tell just looking at that world map that it's not fracking.....dang, somethings coming down the pipe.....

the last 4 days

a reply to: Another_Nut

this year and next will be really interesting to see

Thinking of changing that to a shorter time frame?

Thank you for keeping us informed. I'm wondering if I really want to know...but yes, keep the info coming, please.