[1000 silverlings]

This is no doubt a dumb question, but I admit I’m too dumb to understand Obama, so here goes: Does the oil act as a lubricant to the faults and would a leak this size affect them

[null and void]

Not dumb at all. Earthquake swarms have been triggered by injecting waste water into fault zones. No reason why oil wouldn't work even better.

That being said, the Oilbama leak is a long way from the New Madrid fault system.

[metmom]

I’m a meteorologist, not a geologist.

Ask me something about the weather.

We have severe thunderstorm watches up for tonight after midnight. That’s weird cause they usually don’t happen that late at night....

[Quix]

I’m not even a poor layman’s level geologist.

I don’t recall reading of any fears or concerns of oil lubricating faults.

I have read of concerns about water and high pressure super heated water having an impact on faults. I think it was theoretical, mostly.

In some places, water is pumped back down wells to increase production or replace pumped out oil to prevent subsidence etc. etc.

I think the concerns about the Gulf oil problem and the New madrid quake steem from concerns about the seafloor being ruptured because it’s not that thick and because of whatever craziness is going on with some of the wells in the region in terms of the sea floor around the well head area being fractured or beginning to be fractured or some such.

And, of course, there’s significant concern that nuking the well could set off the New Madrid fault system big time.