Earthquakes often cause cracks in the earth’s crust.
Fracking is a slang term used for the technique of hydraulic fracturing, in which fluids are forced into layers of rock to create and enlarge fractures in order to extract petroleum feedstocks such as oil and natural gas. Some experts and concerned citizens in areas where fracking takes place have claimed that it can cause earthquakes. This controversial practice has not been conclusively linked to seismic activity, but there is some evidence linking fracturing and earthquakes. It is unknown to what extent, if any, fracking contributes to tremors or other seismic events.
Although the evidence linking hydraulic fracturing to earthquakes is incomplete, there has been a notable increase in earthquakes in areas where hydraulic fracturing has been practiced.
Earthquakes are caused by the movement of parts of the earth’s crust. This can cause extensive damage due to the movement and displacement of buildings and other structures. Fracking is believed by some, including some geology and seismology experts, to contribute to or even cause smaller earthquakes. Hydraulic fracturing causes fractures in rock layers that can weaken them. These fractures can reduce rock stability and reduce its resistance to movement, especially around faults. This is thought to cause fractured rock layers to lose some of their structural integrity and be displaced or ruptured even more severely, triggering earthquakes.
Evidence of a link between fracking and earthquakes is sketchy, but in more than one area where fracking has been practiced, a notable increase in earthquakes has been recorded. In Arkansas, USA, for example, two injection wells, which are wells used to inject liquids into rock layers as part of the hydraulic fracturing process, ceased operations in early 2011, pending further study, after that more than 800 small wells earthquakes were recorded in the area surrounding the wells, one of them measuring 4.8 on the Richter scale.
A similar incident near a hydraulic fracturing operation in Britain in 2011 also caused an operation to be halted, pending further study. The increase in earthquakes, most if not all of which are classified as micro-earthquakes, or very light tremors, in areas where fracking operations are taking place, is well documented. The mechanism by which fracturing can cause these earthquakes is not understood, nor has it been conclusively proven that there is such a direct link between fracturing and earthquakes.
Many experts believe that hydraulic fracturing and the increase in earthquakes in the areas around large-scale hydraulic fracturing operations are related, but this has not yet been proven. A direct correlation between other human activities and earthquakes is well documented and is the main source of the belief that fractures and earthquakes may be related. However, many industry experts, as well as some independent experts, insist that there is no link between hydraulic fracturing and earthquakes, or that, if the tremors are a direct result of hydraulic fracturing, they are minor and do not matter. severe enough to be dangerous. . . that many natural earthquakes can be.