Induced seismicity
Earthquakes triggered by human activity, most commonly deep wastewater injection associated with oil and gas production.
Injecting fluid at depth can raise pore pressure on existing faults and let them slip. Parts of the western and central US have seen order-of-magnitude increases in seismicity tied to injection, on faults that were previously quiet.
Because it can appear where historical hazard maps show little risk, recent-event clustering is the leading indicator rather than the published hazard map — which matters both to operators and to anyone siting a facility nearby.
Where this shows up in the data
See also
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