An extreme increase in seismic activity throughout the Central and Eastern United States can likely be contributed to human activities, the U.S. Geological Survey revealed Thursday.
Industrial operations and wastewater disposal deep underground are contributors to man-made earthquakes, the USGS said.
Mark Petersen, chief of the USGS National Seismic Hazard Modeling Project, expressed his concern, saying "These earthquakes are occurring at a higher rate than ever before and pose a much greater risk to people living nearby."
Oklahoma has seen a particularly troubling rise in earthquakes in the same area where state geological survey researchers say wastewater disposal has spiked, the Los Angeles Times reported.
In neighboring Texas, Southern Methodist University and federal researchers examined and published a study regarding an increase in the Dallas/Forth Worth area beginning in 2013. They concluded the string was likely another result of wastewater disposal, said the Wall Street Journal.
In order to better understand the potential for these quakes, the USGS compiled a report, with the goal of calculating the frequency of possible earthquake occurrences next year and how hard they will shake. The report outlines preliminary and experimental hazard models and the problems that must be addressed before creating a final model. http://www.weather.com/science/news/us-geological-survey-report-man-made-earthquakes-increase-central-eastern-united-states
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