Hydraulic Fracturing Induced Seismicity—Dr. Rob Skoumal, USGS (IRIS Webinar) @IRISEarthquakeScience

Uploaded April 2019 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago

www.iris.edu
Presented by: Dr. Rob Skoumal, Mendenhall Postdoctoral Fellow, USGS - Menlo Park

Abstract: Prior to 2015, there were only a handful of documented cases of hydraulic fracturing induced seismicity in the world. More recent research has demonstrated hydraulic fracturing induced seismicity is more common than previously thought and has included damaging earthquakes. In China, hydraulic fracturing induced earthquakes have caused millions of dollars in property damage and may have resulted in fatalities. Hydraulic fracturing in Canada has caused earthquakes as large as M 4.6. We have found that hundreds of stimulations in Oklahoma have induced M greater than 4 earthquakes. Given the sequences in China and Canada, should we expect M greater than 4 earthquakes to be induced in the United States in the future, or have they already occurred? How can we reduce the likelihood of these events happening? What could we expect to happen in the future? With a focus on the United States, I will discuss a wide range of successes and ongoing challenges related to hydraulic fracturing induced seismicity.

Hosted by the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology
www.iris.edu

$Hydraulic Fracturing Induced Seismicity—Dr. Rob Skoumal, USGS (IRIS Webinar) www.iris.edu Presented by: Dr. Rob Skoumal, Mendenhall Postdoctoral Fellow, USGS - Menlo Park Abstract: Prior to 2015, there were only a handful of documented cases of hydraulic fracturing induced seismicity in the world. More recent research has demonstrated hydraulic fracturing induced seismicity is more common than previously thought and has included damaging earthquakes. In China, hydraulic fracturing induced earthquakes have caused millions of dollars in property damage and may have resulted in fatalities. Hydraulic fracturing in Canada has caused earthquakes as large as M 4.6. We have found that hundreds of stimulations in Oklahoma have induced M greater than 4 earthquakes. Given the sequences in China and Canada, should we expect M greater than 4 earthquakes to be induced in the United States in the future, or have they already occurred? How can we reduce the likelihood of these events happening? What could we expect to happen in the future? With a focus on the United States, I will discuss a wide range of successes and ongoing challenges related to hydraulic fracturing induced seismicity. Hosted by the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology www.iris.edu$

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