What are earthquake swarms – and is Australia at risk? | Earthquakes

Birds do it, bees do it, and now geologists say earthquakes do it too.

A “wave of earthquakes” has hit the Hunter region of New South Wales, with more than 30 seismic events recorded, according to the Australian Geoscience Agency.

On Saturday morning, a 4.5 magnitude earthquake was recorded southwest of Muswellbrook. This comes just weeks after a 4.8 magnitude earthquake struck nearby Denman.

Meanwhile, a cluster of 30 or more earthquakes – some as strong as 4.4 – were recorded near Waialcatchem in Western Australia's wheat belt, about 190 kilometres east of Perth.

What is an earthquake swarm?

Earthquake waves are “not uncommon,” said Adam Pascal, chief scientist at the Victoria Earthquake Research Centre.

He said the swarm was a short-lived burst of seismic activity in an area, where strong events can occur at any time, unlike a typical earthquake, where tremors fade after the main shock.

He added that earthquakes can occur anywhere and at any time, and are the Earth's way of relieving tectonic stresses that have accumulated over a long period.

Is earthquake activity related to mining?

While locust swarms occur naturally, some human activities may trigger them, Pascal said.

He added that in the United States there have been examples of man-made events linked to the re-injection of wastewater into oil wells as part of production.

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Mining can sometimes play a role in seismic activity, depending on the underlying geology and fault characteristics, said Gary Gibson, a senior seismologist at the University of Melbourne. “Drilling a very large hole in the ground can definitely cause earthquakes,” he said.

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Can infrastructure be designed to withstand locust swarms?

Long periods of inactivity in Australia may contribute to complacency, Gibson said. “We have very few earthquakes, but when they do happen, they cause a lot of damage,” he said.

He said that engineering standards for earthquakes “vary greatly around the world.” According to Gibson, Chile, which lies on the plate boundary between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes Mountains, has been a world leader in modern engineering techniques to make buildings safer.

He said the risks in Australia could be greater in some ways. “Our rocks are very solid and our faults are very strong. They only collapse when they are under very, very intense stress,” he said.

While major infrastructure can be designed to withstand some level of seismic activity, the cost of doing so is much higher, Pascal said. “There has been a lot of talk about nuclear power plants, and one has been suggested to be built close to where these activities are occurring,” he said.

When will it end?

Gibson said it can be difficult to tell when a wave of earthquakes might end. A series of events might happen and then nothing happens. Or small shocks might be a prelude to a larger earthquake.

Some swarms can last from a few days to months, before eventually dying out, Pascal said. “It’s much harder to predict the activity of a swarm than a typical series of mainshocks and aftershocks,” he added.

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