Report: Big Oklahoma quake in 2011 was likely man-made

Winston Salem Journal ^

[SMGFan]

WASHINGTON — An unusual and widely felt 5.6-magnitude quake in Oklahoma in 2011 was probably caused when oil drilling waste was pushed deep underground, a team of university and federal scientists concluded.

[skr]

University and federal scientists? No agenda there. /sarc

[rwilson99]

I’ll be definitely maybeed.

[NonValueAdded]

Was Christopher Walken involver?

[SunkenCiv]

Nuttery, reemerging.

Thanks SMGFan.

[Bratch]

[The Cajun]

a team of university and federal scientists concluded...........

A team of amateur green weenies and professional green weenies masquerading as real scientist concluded............

[jurroppi1]

Thus far, this whole thread is like groundhog day for me. This is exactly the same logical fallacy I see day in and day out where I work. Because somebody has an all powerful senior or fellow behind their title suddenly they are infallible to all but those really in the know (or those who take the time to understand the detail), which are usually one in the same anyhow.

At least I understand the proper term for it now.

I guess confirmation bias is another good term for it as well.

[Cvengr]

Probably looking at something around a 250kTn energy release to generate Richter 5.6 seismic waves. That doesn’t account for the total energy release where much of it might be absorbed as heat in the soil mechanics in the media.

[tumblindice]

Ever been in the ‘Gypsum hills’ region, east of Woodward, OK in the Cimmaron country, Canadian river area? The Gloss/Glass mountains.
They rise up out of the ground like Playdough pushed through a form and sparkle in the sun due to the gypsum crystals. Beautiful.

I’m pretty sure caveman drilling caused them. Or global warming!!!///

[Gator113]

“....a team of university and federal scientists concluded.”

No credibility.

[brityank]

In a statement, the Oklahoma Geological Survey said the interpretation that best fits the data is the quake "was the result of natural causes" but needs further study. The state officials cited new 3-D seismic data, a time lag between injection and the quakes , and the orientation of the faults to say it was natural not induced.

Coincidence does not equal causation.

[Montanabound]

Yes, I have been to Alabaster Caverns a few times, too. Oklahoma does have a lot of variety.

The year of the earthquake also had record low temps, record high temps, fires, floods, tornadoes, a blizzard - it was crazy.

[tumblindice]

And Boiling Springs state park. Lots of good memories growing up in western Oklahoma.

[Jay Redhawk]

I felt that earthquake myself, and I happen to know several of the investigators from the University of Oklahoma. They were already looking at an increased number of small earthquakes that had been happening for a year or more prior to the bigger one, and they already were of the opinion that waste injections were causing these quakes. Never mind the fact that these waste injection wells have been in use for decades. That is nonsense as far as I believe because there is, like you said, a fault line running through that area. This event has just given the anti-fracking nuts something to run with and exploit.

[Sequoyah101]

This is pure plain HORESPIT.

As I recall the epicenter was much deeper than any well in that area, injection or otherwise. The whole area has never had a well much deeper than 7,000’ and anybody that wants to check can go to the Oklahoma Corporation Commission well records to check.

According to USGS the thing was 1.7 miles deep. There isn’t a well in that area that deep. Maybe one mile deep but that is about it for that part of the state.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/usb0006klz.php

The quake at Sparks, Ok in 2011 was 3.2 miles deep.

http://www.news9.com/story/15989611/36-magnitude-quake-recorded-tuesday-afternoon

The Nemaha Ridge, a buried granite mountain range terminates just west of the quake location and has been associated with quakes for a long long time. I looked for a geologic cross section but it is late and I am tired. I’ll bet a lot though that it isn’t 10,000’ to basement in Pottawatomie County. Injection fluid does not go down either. There are a lot of these worms that say it Might but it isn’t very dang likely.

This area has had earthquakes before and it is close enough to the Nemaha Ridge for that to be the source. It has always been seismically active.

Fine, we’ll quit shipping oil and gas and all the damn Yankees can freakin’ walk and freeze but stay the hell out of Oklahoma and Texas.

[Nifster]

The other common term for it is NIH.....people find money for a certain study, they study and viola the come up with that answer hence they get more money. If you question them it is the same answer.....it isn’t invented here so it can’t be any good. It is not true science. It is sloppy piggies wallowing in gubmint bucks

[Vendome]

Bull Shiite!!!

[DAC21]

Federal and School Scientist, what a hoot. Helen Keller could see through that agenda.

[Bender2]

Re: ...a team of university and federal scientists concluded...

Well, if you go by the track record of these... 'university and federal scientists'--

The cow did... jump over the moon.

[jurroppi1]

yup, it is pernicious. It’s too bad I see it so much whilst working for a major medical device manufacturer.

Of course the adjectives used for those who don’t agree with logical fallacy around here are things like: confrontational, aggressive, absolutist, etc...

The irony can be pretty thick.