The continental U.S. experiences small earthquakes every day. But over the past few years, their numbers have been increasing. Geoscientists say the new epidemic of quakes is related to industrial wastewater being pumped into underground storage wells.
Now there’s new research that reveals two trigger mechanisms that may be setting off these wastewater quakes — other, larger earthquakes (some as far away as Indonesia), and the activity at geothermal power plants.
Most of these little quakes in the U.S. are too small to feel. They tend to happen in “swarms.” Over the past year, geoscientists traced some of these swarms to underground …read more
Source: NPR Science – ingested into KQED