Causes of Man-Made Earthquakes

With all of the craziness surrounding the recent stories about geothermal energy causing earthquakes, we thought we would point to a few good sources of information about the other types of man-made earthquakes.  For those of you interested in a nice summary of geothermal power plant and earthquake issues, we suggest that you take a look at this entry from 2007 that discusses the issue at length – before it became the recent hot media topic. 

There are quite a few recorded instances of earthquakes that have been caused by human activity, some with devastating consequences.  Current research points to 5 sources of man-man earthquakes:

1. Fluid injection in to the earth
2. Mining
3. Fluid extraction from the earth
4. Construction of dams and reservoirs
5. Nuclear testing

Some of the earliest recorded fluid injection earthquakes happened in the Denver area between 1962 and 1965 when waste fluids were being injected deep in to the earth.  There are recent fears that carbon sequestration may cause similar types of earthquakes near major metropolitan areas.  

One of the largest dams in the world, the Three Gorges Dam, has been blamed for the recent earthquake in China, though no official proof has been submitted.  There is plenty of evidence for reservoir based earthquakes though.  We suggest you take a look at the reservoir induced earthquake bibliography. 

The earthquakes that are caused by Nuclear testing are often used to detect nuclear explosions.  The recent detonation by North Korea was inferred through the use of seismic analysis.  Nuclear testing by Russia was also discovered through the use of seismic analysis. 

Mining has been the cause of of some huge earthquakes.  Take a look at the $3.5 billion worth of damage done by coal mining in Australia.