Lake Lanier earthquakes | Scientists place sensors underground

They hope to pick up smaller earthquakes during the summer and solve the mystery behind the seismic activity later.

BUFORD, Ga. — A series of four earthquakes in a week around Lake Lanier has residents wondering two questions — why are they happening, and when will they stop?

A 2.2 magnitude earthquake occurred at 3:17 a.m., about 2.5 miles north of Buford early Thursday morning. The depth was about 5.5 miles below the Earth's surface, which is slightly deeper than the previous three earthquakes.

RELATED: A fourth earthquake shakes the area near Lake Lanier in what scientists call an “earthquake swarm”

According to the USGS's tremor map (pictured below), very few people reported feeling shaking. Two of the previous three earthquakes were felt more widely around the south side of Lake Lanier.

Concern among residents

“I heard a loud bang. I thought it was lightning.” R. recalls. Scott Coady, a Sugar Hill resident, clearly saw the first earthquake.

He woke up to the sound of a loud explosion. His dog Sassi was also in shock when the first earthquake occurred. She jumped into his embrace, frightened by what had just happened.

“It's a bit concerning,” he explained. “Is there something else going on that we should be aware of? It's something that would catch your attention.”

Coady isn't the only resident near Lake Lanier asking questions. The recent activity has scientists searching for more answers.

Scientists are searching for answers

Researchers from several universities in Georgia on Friday began placing special earthquake sensors underground. The seismic nodes will rest at a depth of about one foot and will be placed in several locations surrounding the epicenters.

The first seismic sensor has been installed at Sugar Hill Elementary School in Gwinnett County. R. rose. Scott Harris, a research assistant at the University of Georgia and a STEM teacher in Gwinnett County Public Schools, and Dr. Zigang Ping, a professor of geophysics at Georgia Tech, drilled through the Georgia clay to the correct depth and placed the sensor and battery system below ground, to be retrieved later in time. Later this year.

RELATED: Scientists search for answers to recent Lake Lanier earthquakes

“There are probably many small events happening now as we speak, but it's always hard to know when they'll stop. That's the million-dollar question. That's what we're trying to find out,” Dr. Peng explained. .

Once underground, sensors will begin collecting seismic tremors that may occur later. Each one is a point on the map that tells part of the equation. However, to get an accurate description of activity, they need more than one data point.

“We're putting these seismic sensors in kind of a grid… where we have some of them very close to the epicenters here on the south side of Lake Lanier,” Harris explained.

They will then place several more sensors about two miles away from the epicenters of the quakes — to the north, south, east and west.

“What we want to do is put together information that Dr. Ping's tools can combine with the subsurface geology that we know exists to get an accurate picture of why these earthquakes occur,” Harris added.

Harris explained that there is amphibolite gneiss, a metamorphic rock, buried beneath this part of Georgia. They are millions of years old, dating back to the formation of the Appalachian Mountains more than 300 million years ago. In the same location there is also quartzite, a harder rock. In between the two is talc, which can act as a lubricant to prepare this area for movement.

Up to six of these “seismic nodes” will be placed underground for up to 4 months. As they dig, they will then uncover a catalog of information that can be pieced together to answer questions surrounding the seismic equation.

Although these won't give us answers in the near term, Harris and Peng emphasized that much of the ongoing seismic activity is likely to be of the same magnitude as what we saw last week. Although this is not impossible, there is a very low possibility of a much stronger earthquake occurring.

Concerns about Burford Dam

As we spoke to residents of Sugar Hill and areas near Lake Lanier, many people raised the issue of Buford Dam.

For answers, we asked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Is there any concern about recent seismic activity? Their local office in Al Sadd said they had witnessed a huge infiltration of phone calls from people asking the same question. They ensure that with the recent earthquakes, there is no doubt about the safety of the dam.

They sent the following statement to 11Alive this week:

“Following the recent earthquakes in the Lake Lanier area, comprehensive inspections have been conducted on all relevant infrastructure, including piezometers, seeps and dams. The energy instruments have successfully detected seismic activity. We are pleased to announce that both the instruments and visual observations show no “There are violations, so there are no concerns about the structural integrity or safety of Lake Lanier facilities.”

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