Can you believe this? I just heard about it this morning, and it has been going on
since 2009 with over 700 earthquakes in the last 6 months . Things that make you hmmmmmmm....
“Several small earthquakes ranging in magnitude from 1.8 to 3.8 have rattled the north-central Arkansas cities of Greenbrier and Guy this week, and the cause is unknown,” the Associated Press wrote yesterday.
More earthquakes struck last night, “including a preliminary magnitude 4.0 quake in central Arkansas and a 3.2 magnitude tremor in the eastern part of the state,” KY3 reports. A dozen more earthquakes have struck today, the biggest of which was a magnitude 4.3.
Over 700 earthquakes have occurred in this region in the last six months, a few dozen or more this week.
Arkansas earthquakes related to fracking? (& Mass Bird & Fish Deaths?)
A major source of natural gas in Arkansas is the Fayetteville Shale, an organically-rich rock formation in north-central Arkansas. Drillers free up the gas by using hydraulic fracturing or "fracking" – injecting pressurized water to create fractures deep in the ground.
Ausbrooks said geologists don't believe the production wells are the problem, but rather the injection wells that are used to dispose of "frack" water when it can no longer be re-used. The wastewater is pressurized and injected into the ground.
Guy Earthquake Swarm: Arkansas Mystery Quakes May Be Result Of 'Fracking' Disposal
I had no idea that they were fracking in Arkansas....
Although the 4.7 quake is stronger than anything felt in the region recently, the latest quakes only compound on a series of mysterious tremors that have been plaguing Central Arkansas since 2009 with unusual frequency. The AP reports that more than 700 quakes have occurred in the area over the past 6 months. The Arkansas Geological Survey has classified the prior phenomena as part of what is now called the Guy earthquake swarm.
Scott Ausbrooks, geohazards supervisor for the Arkansas Geological Survey, told the AP that geologists believe the seismic activity is either a naturally occurring swarm, or could be related to natural gas exploration in the region. According to Ausbrooks, geologists don't believe production wells are the problem, but haven't ruled out injection wells that dispose of "fracking" wastewater as a culprit. The earthquakes have been occurring near several injection wells.
4.7 Earthquake In Arkansas Followed By 2 More (VIDEO)
I can't believe they can keep doing this regardless of the dangers to people and the
environment.... it's just another of the gazillions of things that really piss me off....