Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin find a shift in Texas earthquake activity

Editor's Note: The video above is from May 2019 and shows how common Texas earthquakes are.

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A team of scientists at the University of Texas at Austin has discovered that seismic activity is moving northeast in the Midland Basin, after reviewing several years of tracked seismic activity in the region.

The University of Texas at Austin announced the findings on Monday, adding that the research was published in the journal Earthquake Research Letters. The release noted that previous earthquakes tended to occur in the southwestern region near Odessa and Midland, and researchers found “a seismic trend moving along a newly identified large-scale seismic fault zone” extending toward the northeastern part of the Midland Basin.

“The fault zone has been activated, and it has the potential to generate additional earthquakes that can be felt by humans, especially since it is so close to major cities along Interstate 20,” said Dino Huang, an assistant professor at the Jackson School of Physics. Earth sciences that led the research – in release.

The researchers used the TexNet earthquake monitoring network, which is maintained by the Economic Geology Research Unit of the Jackson School of Geosciences office. TexNet data revealed 1,305 earthquakes in the region from January 2017 to November 2023, noting that most were small and did not cause any damage.

Map: What is the strongest earthquake ever recorded in Texas?

TexNet's seismometers help record ground motions related to seismic activity to help identify earthquakes. This data is then used to evaluate the depth, location, and direction of geological faults.

When analyzing the data, researchers can then help identify previously unmapped parts of the Midland Basin's rift system. Through fault system updates, members of the research team identified 15 earthquake-producing zones, defined as areas “where earthquakes have already occurred and where earthquakes can be traced back to common stress sources at the surface,” according to the release.

The statement added that the teammates combined data on the frequency and magnitude of earthquakes from all regions to help identify places where future earthquakes could occur. Data analysis also revealed increased seismic activity in the basin since 2018.

The Midland Basin is a major oil and gas extraction site in Texas, according to the release.

“Over time, the injection of wastewater from these processes below the surface created stress along faults that triggered earthquakes. According to the researchers, data from TexNet helps them understand the state of stress on the fault system and how to mitigate the associated induced seismicity. “Also, knowing the areas where earthquakes are most likely to occur can help operators make adjustments to wastewater injection operations to maintain low pressure and basin productivity.”

More details about the research are available online.

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