Skip to main content

USGS Earthquake Forecast Maps Now Include Human-Induced Earthquakes

For the first time, new USGS maps identify potential ground-shaking hazards from both human-induced and natural earthquakes. In the past, USGS maps only identified natural earthquake hazards.

This is also the first one-year outlook for the nation’s earthquake hazards, and is a supplement to existing USGS assessments that provide a 50-year forecast

The report shows that approximately 7 million people live and work in areas of the central and eastern U.S. (CEUS) with potential for damaging shaking from induced seismicity. Within a few portions of the CEUS, the chance of damage from all types of earthquakes is similar to that of natural earthquakes in high-hazard areas of California.

“By including human-induced events, our assessment of earthquake hazards has significantly increased in parts of the U.S.,” said Mark Petersen, Chief of the USGS National Seismic Hazard Mapping Project. “This research also shows that much more of the nation faces a significant chance of having damaging earthquakes over the next year, whether natural or human-induced.”

Induced earthquakes are triggered by human activities, with wastewater disposal being the primary cause for recent events in many areas of the CEUS. Wastewater from oil and gas production operations can be disposed of by injecting it into deep underground wells, below aquifers that provide drinking water.


USGS forecast for damage from natural & induced earthquakes (2016)

USGS forecast for damage from natural & induced earthquakes (2016)
USGS map displaying potential to experience damage from a natural or human-induced earthquake in 2016. Chances range from less than 1 percent to 12 percent.
USGS scientists only distinguished between human-induced and natural seismicity in the CEUS. In the west, scientists categorized all earthquakes as natural. Scientists also used a different methodology in looking at the CEUS compared to the west.

The most significant hazards from induced seismicity are in six states, listed in order from highest to lowest potential hazard: Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico and Arkansas. Oklahoma and Texas have the largest populations exposed to induced earthquakes.


USGS map pf earthquakes sicne 1980 & recent areas impacted by  induced seismicity
USGS map pf earthquakes sicne 1980 & recent areas impacted by  induced seismicity
 USGS map displaying 21 areas where scientists have observed rapid changes in seismicity that have been associated with wastewater injection. The map also shows earthquakes - both natural and induced - recorded from 1980 to 2015 in the central and eastern U.S. with a magnitude greater than or equal to 2.5.

Via usgs.gov

Related posts:
- Oklahoma has become the earthquake capital of the US

This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Find cities with similar climate

This map has been created using The Global environmental stratification. The Global environmental stratification (GEnS), based on statistical clustering of bioclimate data (WorldClim). GEnS, consists of 125 strata, which have been aggregated into 18 global environmental zones (labeled A to R) based on the dendrogram. Interactive map >> Via www.vividmaps.com Related posts: -  Find cities with similar climate 2050 -  How global warming will impact 6000+ cities around the world?

The Appalachian Mountains, the Scottish Highlands, and the Atlas Mounts in Africa were the same mountain range

The Central Pangean Mountains was a prominent mountain ridge in the central part of the supercontinent Pangaea that extends across the continent from northeast to southwest through the Carboniferous , Permian Triassic periods. The mountains were formed due to a collision within the supercontinents Gondwana and Laurussia during the creation of Pangaea. It was comparable to the present Himalayas at its highest peak during the start of the Permian period. It isn’t easy to assume now that once upon a time that the Scottish Highlands, The Appalachian Mountains, the Ouachita Mountain Range, and the Atlas Mountains in northwestern Africa are the same mountains , once connected as the Central Pangean Mountains.

Human Emotions Visualized

Despite significant diversity in the culture around the globe, humanity's DNA is 99.9 percent alike. There are some characteristics more primary and typical to the human experience than our emotions. Of course, the large spectrum of emotions we can feel can be challenging to verbalize. That's where this splendid visualization by the Junto Institute comes in. This visualization is the newest in an ongoing attempt to categorize the full range of emotions logically. Our knowledge has come a long route since William James suggested 4 primary emotions: fear, grief, love, and rage. These kernel emotions yet form much of the basis for current frameworks. The Junto Institute's visualization above classifies 6 basic emotions: fear, anger, sadness, surprise, joy, love More nuanced descriptions begin from these 6 primary emotions, such as jealousy as a subset of anger and awe-struck as a subset of surprise. As a result, there are 102 second-and third-order emotions placed on this emo