Geologist Scott Ausbrooks on Fracking/Earthquake connection

most areas where fracking is being done-- they are older rocks-- could have some strain energy accumulated on them.

Unlike rocky mountain arsenal , arkansas is seismically active.

If you have an area that's been seismically active... Â Â and you ahve a system that's very sensitive to the movement of fluid, then you have a higher possiblity of something like this happening-- inducing earthquakes.

A lot of things need to be looked at...

What's happening in Arkansas has highlighted and things may be forthcoming.
They've shut down four wells in a particular area-- not only two wells closely associated with the fault zone and two more were shut down and they've issued a moratorium...

Known seismic activity near fracking-- well near Dallas Ft. Worth airport was shut down.

The earthquake connection is through disposal wells.

Fracking can be done without disposal wells.
Disposal wells offer convenient, economic way to get rid of waste water.
Scott would like to see re-cycling, continued re-use.

Spraying it on the ground went no-where. That opens a whole other can of issues.

With wells shut down, they are trucking the water away. Probably 800 trucks...

4.7 earthquake in Arkansas triggered a landslide in Missouri.

(An earthquake) triggering another earthquake hundreds of miles away is very unlikely.

Rock is very continuous and efficient at transmitting energy
The rock in Virginia rang the whole Eastern Seaboard like a bell.
We had seismometers in Arkansas and could see the earthquake ringing a bell for eight hours during the Japanese earthquake. We did pick up the Virginia earthquake.

Effects of other kinds of mining--

Take off overburden of rock-- taking weight off it kind of pops-- it will generate an earthquake.

Saw earthquakes in Arkansas near a quarry.

Filling a reservoir can set it off.

Vermiculite mine in Louisa County Virginia, near Mineral
Have to be careful about conclusions you draw.
A 5.8 earthquake is a lot of energy.

You have to look at all the variables in any good.

How about the journalism in asking about a connection between fracking and earthquake-- between fracking and the connection with the Virginia Earthquake.

Should non-scientists ask questions that must be answered by scientists.

"That's what happened in Arkansas."

I don't think there's anything wrong with someone asking the question. Drawing conclusions without the data  or research, that's where you get into the problem.

Were there scientists saying the connection between fracking and earthquakes was nonsense?
"I"m sure there were."

Isn't there politics in science, that puts scientists at risk of even asking questions that might put their reputations.