Man-made earthquakesTexas appoints seismologist to examine wave of Irving-area quakes
Research over decades has shown the fracking process — injecting fluid underground to release oil — has been the cause of fault slips and fractures. The fluid can often lubricate existing faults and cause them to slip. The Texas Railroad Commission (RRC) has turned to David Craig Pearson to help study a series of quakes which hit the area of Irving within a span of a few days. A UT-Austin seismologist has already published a report which found that most earthquakes in Texas’s oil-rich Barnett Shale occurred within two miles of an injection well, essentially proving that some of the quakes are caused by fracking. Pearson’s appointment was not universally welcomed, as some see him as too close to industry. “I’m absolutely engaged with trying to figure out the cause of all earthquakes throughout Texas,” said Pearson. “I’m a scientists first, and a Railroad Commission employee second.”
The Texas Railroad Commission (RRC) has turned to David Craig Pearson to help study a series of quakes which hit the area of Irving within a span of a few days, grabbing headlines and causing concern in the process.
As theTexas Tribune reports, Pearson’s appointment comes in the wake of the latest wave of tremblors in the area, most frequently in Texas’ oil-rich Barnett Shale. None has caused any major damage, but residents have reported cracked walls, floors, and foundations. Scientists say that hydraulic fracturing (fracking) may be the cause, inviting scrutiny of the oil industry at large.
“I can’t imagine waking up to the earthquake if I’m not expecting one, if I’ve never felt one,” Pearson said.
Pearson was named the official state seismologist in April, and his new position primarily revolves around interpreting the data for the public. Some have studied Pearson’s previously short tenure as seismologist expert offering testimony to city councils and state lawmakers, and wonder whether he will meet the challenge at hand.
“I hope that we’re not just wasting money — that this does lead to some good science,” said Cyrus Reed, the conservation director of the Lone Star Sierra Club. He and others have called the appointment encouraging, but wish that an expert not as close to industry would have been appointed.
Since hiring Pearson, the RRC as approved new rules which would require oil companies to submit more information before drilling disposal well, and has clarified that it does indeed have the authority to shut down a well if there is an appropriate reason.
This follows decades of research that has shown the fracking process — injecting fluid underground to release oil — has been the cause of fault slips and fractures. The fluid can often lubricate existing faults and cause them to slip.
On top of this, Cliff Frohlich, a UT-Austin seismologist, published a report which found that most earthquakes in the Barnett Shale occurred within two miles of an injection well, essentially proving that some of the quakes are caused by fracking.
Frohlich hopes that Pearson’s appointment could be the kind of scientific-minded addition that the state needs to recognize and confront the problem.
“I can’t imagine a better person that the Railroad Commission could have hired for that position,” he said of Pearson. “He can informally interact with the industry in ways that I can’t or you can’t, and a railroad commissioner can’t.”
“I’m absolutely engaged with trying to figure out the cause of all earthquakes throughout Texas,” announced Pearson. “I’m a scientists first, and a Railroad Commission employee second.”
