MOSCOW, August 22 (RIA Novosti) - The Oklahoma Geological Survey (OGS) recorded 20 earthquakes in the state in a single day following an increase in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, Think Progress reports.
OGS noted that 18 of the 20 earthquakes on Tuesday were below magnitudes of 3.0, but the largest registered was a 4.3 near Guthrie, where over 10,000 people live. The fracking practice that Think Progress names as a potential cause of the earthquakes is not the fuel extraction itself, but a process called “wastewater injection,” in which leftover water used to frack wells is injected into the ground, potentially adding stress to existing fault lines.
Five more earthquakes have already occurred in Oklahoma since Tuesday, three of which registered above the 3.0 mark on the Richter scale, Think Progress reported.
Some 2,500 earthquakes have occurred in Oklahoma over the past five years, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) claims.
Prior to 2008, Oklahoma recorded an average of one earthquake per year. Since the expansion of fracking operations, Oklahoma has become the most seismically-active state in the United States, with hundreds of earthquakes registered per year, Ring of Fire Radio said.
