Between January 2011 and February 2012, 109 tremors were recorded in Youngstown, Ohio. Those tremors have been attributed to the Northstar 1 deep injection well.

West Virginia is now examining some 20 measurable earthquakes that struck the state over the past five years, half of which were in Braxton County, according to West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

Chesapeake deep injection well

Chesapeake Energy Company operates a deep injection well in Braxton County. At the request of the West Virginia Division of Environmental Protection, the company lowered the pressure of the well in 2010.

The quakes have spurred a study by Dr. Joe Allen of the Division of Science, Math and Health at Concord University. He’ll be traveling to Greenland to study fractures in rocks, which will help him understand how preexisting patterns in rocks may influence fractures.

The rate at which earthquakes are happening in areas not prone to quakes is staggering.

Read it:

“Since 2000 the number of midcontinent earthquakes of magnitude three or stronger has increased from an average of 21 per year to a peak of 188 in 2011 and human induced earthquakes are suspected to be partially responsible.”

According to Allen, deep injection wells can weaken pre-existing faults, making them more susceptible to movement, thus more likely to cause earthquakes.

» Via: West Virginia Public Broadcasting › Fracking, fractures and human-induced earthquakes