Seven small earthquakes rattle Oklahoma [View all]

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This is the latest swarm in a state where a recent upsurge in seismic activity which may be linked to fracking

The U.S. Geological Survey has recorded seven small earthquakes shaking central Oklahoma in a span of just about 14 hours.

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Those follow four other quakes, including a 4.3-magnitude temblor near Langston recorded shortly after noon Saturday. The other Saturday morning quakes ranged in magnitude from 2.9 to 3.2.

Residents in central Oklahoma have said they want to know whether the surge in earthquake activity in the region is caused by oil and gas drilling operations in the area. Last month, Oklahoma City’s KOCO news reported that Oklahoma has had nearly double the number of earthquakes as California, local news reported after five earthquakes on Thursday morning rattled an area of the state where oil and gas drilling is prevalent.

At the Seismological Society of America’s annual meeting in May, scientists said that underground disposal of vast amounts of wastewater generated by fracking likely induce earthquakes by changing the state of stress on existing faults.

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/7/13/seven-earthquakesoklahoma.html