Ark. cities feel unexplained surge in earthquakes ... http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/02/17/ap/b...

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AP - Business

February 17, 2011

Ark. cities feel unexplained surge in

earthquakes
Ark. cities feel unexplained surge in
earthquakes

2 of 9 06/07/2011 09:40 PM
Ark. cities feel unexplained surge in earthquakes ... http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/02/17/ap/b...

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(AP) LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Jim Sutterfield was briefly puzzled by a
thumping sound that seemed to slam the back of his office chair. But when the
small-town Arkansas fire chief turned and saw no one was around, he quickly
realized it was just an earthquake — again.

"That was only my second time to feel one, but others here have felt them for
three or four months now," Greenbrier chief Jim Sutterfield said after feeling a
tremor this week. "Now when it happens, people say, 'Well, there's another
one.'"

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 U.S. Geological Survey has reported more than 30 earthquakes in the area
since Sunday, including a magnitude 3.8 quake Thursday morning and at least
16 others occurring Wednesday, two of which were magnitude 3.2 and 3.5.
More than 700 quakes have occurred in the region over the past six months.

Scott Ausbrooks, geohazards supervisor for the Arkansas Geological Survey,

said the quakes are part of what is now called the Guy earthquake swarm — a
series of mild earthquakes that have been occurring periodically since 2009. A
similar swarm occurred in the early 1980s when a series of quakes hit Enola,
Ark.

Ausbrooks said geologists are still trying to discover the exact cause of the
recent seismic activity but have identified two possibilities.

"It could just be a naturally occurring swarm like the Enola swarm, or it could
be related to ongoing natural gas exploration in the area," he said.

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

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Ark. cities feel unexplained surge in earthquakes ... http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/02/17/ap/b...

can no longer be re-used. The wastewater is pressurized and injected into the
ground.

"We see no correlation between natural gas production wells and earthquakes,
but we haven't ruled out injection wells," he said, adding that if production
wells were the cause, the earthquakes would be scattered all over the region
underlain by the Fayetteville Shale formation and not in just one area.

Ausbrooks said the earthquakes are occurring in the vicinity of several injection
wells.

Guy Police Chief Dave Martini said the locals continue to blame the gas
companies for the quakes.

"We have a disposal well here just outside of the city," Martini said. "People are
suspecting that to be causing it, even though there isn't any proof of that."

Martini said the earthquakes started increasing in frequency over the past week
and that the disposal well has seen an increase in use recently.

Lawrence Bengal, director of the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission, said a
six-month moratorium was established in January on new injection wells in the
area. He said four companies are operating already-drilled injection wells:
SEECO Inc., Chesapeake Operating Inc., Clarita Operating LLC and Deep-Six
Water Disposal Services LLC.

The moratorium, which is expected to end in July, is intended to allow time to

study the relationship — if any — between the injection wells and earthquakes
in the area.

The largest quake of the Guy Earthquake Swarm was a magnitude 4.0, which
occurred in October, Ausbrooks said. The region could possibly see quakes
reaching as high as 5.0, but he said anything above 6.0 is unlikely.

The magnitude scale for earthquakes is logarithmic, meaning a magnitude 3

earthquake would produce waves with amplitudes 10 times greater than a
magnitude 2 and 100 times greater than a magnitude 1. Geologists say quakes
of magnitude 2.5 to 3.0 are generally the smallest felt by humans.

"These periods of high activity are not uncommon. I don't think it's anything to
be overly concerned about," Ausbrooks said. "We always encourage people to
keep tuned in to what's going on and to always have an all-hazards disaster
preparedness kit."

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SARAH EDDINGTON
© 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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