Human-induced earthquakesGeologists report new findings about Kansas, Oklahoma earthquakes

Published 18 December 2017

In the more than three decades between 1977 and 2012, only 15 earthquakes with a magnitude of 3.0 or greater were recorded in the entire state of Kansas. Since 2012 more than 100 earthquakes of 3.0 or greater have been recorded in only two counties in the state, Sumner and Harper. These include the largest earthquake ever monitored in Kansas in November 2014, a magnitude 4.9 event near the Sumner County town of Milan. The frequency of earthquakes has continued to increase. Between May 2015 and July 2017, sensors detected more than 2,400 earthquakes in Sumner County alone, ranging in magnitude from 0.4 to 3.6. As concern rises about earthquakes induced by human activity like oil exploration, geologists report a new understanding about recent earthquakes in Kansas and Oklahoma.

As concern rises about earthquakes induced by human activity like oil exploration, geologists at the University of Kansas report a new understanding about recent earthquakes in Kansas and Oklahoma. This breakthrough may one day lead to a method for predicting where induced earthquakes might occur and may help the energy industry and regulators decide where they can safely place wells.  

In a paper published in Science Advances, K. Alex Nolte, doctoral student in the Department of Geology; George Tsoflias, professor of the department; Tandis Bidgoli, assistant scientist at the Kansas Geological Survey, and Lynn Watney, senior scientific fellow at KGS, report they were able to use an array of sensors in the Wellington oil field in south-central Kansas to detect signals of local earthquakes that point to an increase in fluid pressure in particular areas of the subsurface. The ability to directly detect earthquake-causing pressure may enable geologists to develop methods of predicting which areas of the subsurface might be prone to induced earthquakes.

“It’s very promising, but we haven’t solved anything yet,” Nolte said. “There are still a lot of hurdles to cross.”

The published paper provides new insights, but it is also unusual because its lead author, Nolte, is still a student. Few scientists, let alone students, ever publish in one of the prestigious journals like Science Advances that are produced by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The publication is Nolte’s first, and it deals with a problem affecting his hometown of Wichita.