EarthquakesSeismic monitoring network helps locate, determine origins of earthquakes in Texas
Almost a decade ago, the ground around the densely populated Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex started shaking. As the frequency and intensity of earthquakes increased in a region poorly prepared for the seismic activity, the risk became a priority for the state. Residents, politicians, and oil-gas industry leaders reached out to the Bureau of Economic Geology. The bureau is the oldest and second largest research unit at the university, made up of more than 250 scientists, engineers, and economists. The organization also functions as the State Geological Survey of Texas — a broker of information among industry, academia and government agencies.
Almost a decade ago, the ground around the densely populated Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex started shaking. As the frequency and intensity of earthquakes increased in a region poorly prepared for the seismic activity, the risk became a priority for the state.
“We’ve always had natural earthquake activity in Texas throughout its history. But as earthquakes started to happen more to our good neighbor to the north in Oklahoma, Texas had some more of its own. Irving, Texas. Azle, Texas. Venus, Texas. All in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area, which got people’s attention,” says Scott W. Tinker, director at the Bureau of Economic Geology in the Jackson School of Geosciences at The University of Texas at Austin.
UTexas says that residents, politicians, and oil-gas industry leaders reached out to the Bureau of Economic Geology.
The bureau is the oldest and second largest research unit at the university, made up of more than 250 scientists, engineers, and economists. The organization also functions as the State Geological Survey of Texas — a broker of information among industry, academia and government agencies.
“Between 1980 and about 2010 there were one to two earthquakes per year in the entire state. Between 2010 and 2015 that rate of seismicity changed to up to 15 small earthquakes per year,” says Peter Hennings, a veteran of the petroleum industry and now a co-principal investigator at theCenter for Integrated Seismicity Research (CISR), an earthquake research center managed by the bureau.
The number of earthquakes continues to rise, with 28 earthquakes recorded in Texas in 2016.
“Everybody wants to know what is going on. What has changed? And what can be done about it?” says Hennings.
In June 2015, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the 84th Legislature authorized $4.47 million for TexNet.
“TexNet is an array of seismometers across Texas that helps us better locate and identify earthquakes, but also measure the levels of ground shaking from these events,” says Ellen Rathje, who is also a co-principal investigator at CISR and a professor of civil engineering at UT Austin’s Cockrell School of Engineering.
TexNet plans to install at least 22 new permanent stations evenly spaced across Texas. These earthquake monitors are called “TexNet’s seismic backbone,” and an additional 36 portable stations will be placed in areas of recent earthquake activity.
