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Naturally, as should be expected, that incident has, in my opinion, given me a certain
amount of insight into the mechanics of the situation here in Oklahoma. The premise of the
Denver quakes being triggered by the injection was put forth by a RMAG colleague almost as soon
as they began, an was roundly and almost universally rejected by those in the profession in the
area. It seemed to me to be premature rejection and allowed as how it could be possible, given
the presence of numerous known faults in the basement rocks present from the Rocky Mountain
Uplift immediately West of town. My attitude was to 'wait and see' and almost as soon as the
injection was terminated, so did the quakes.
My further thoughts on the matter developed the idea that it would be far better for
the population that the rather small quakes experienced there would be preferred to waiting for
a naturally appearing major quake, with massive damage and loss of life. No statements have
come to my attention that anyone has expressed a similar opinion.
Unfortunately, many of the media reports are faulty, probably because of the ignorance
of the subject on the part of those reporting and the haste to get the report out, sometimes
necessitated by deadlines. However, in the daily paper on Tuesday after Christmas there
appeared a story headlined: "Quakes drop for 2nd year in a row". The sub-headline read: "The
frequency of quakes is declining but their intensity is on the rise". Credit was given to
Corey Jones of the World staff. The story had some quotes from Jeremy Boak, Director of the
Oklahoma Geologic Society as well as a reported "model developed by two Stanford University
geophysicists predicts a 37 percent chance in 2017 for Oklahoma to experience a quake that
exceeds magnitude-5.0"
Once the trigger has allowed movement, there are almost always the expected
'aftershocks', some nearly as strong as the original It appears to me that the trigger allows
the relief of build up stress at one point which results in increased stress nearby, thus the
more natural occurring follow-up quakes. It also has seemed to be desirable to release the
stress at a lower level to allow more, smaller scale, quakes to more gradually reduce the
strain. This strain is developed, over perhaps many centuries, from the natural movement of
what are called 'tectonic plates' the size of continents. This is normally referred to as
'continental drift' and a well known example would be in California with the San Andreas Fault.
Be that as it may, my opposition to the injection of 'frac' or produced water is
absolute, given the known water shortages experienced and the now available treatments to make
it usable.
End
Composed January 07, 2017
Robert W. McDowell, Jr. © 2017 841 Lynwood Lane
918-451-1051 Broken Arrow OK 74011-8608
Email:abdmcfpi@localnet.com
EARTHQUAKE PONTIFICATION
It seems that almost everyone involved in any way with government has an opinion on the sudden rise in earthquake numbers, and now intensity, in Oklahoma. Although not involved in
government in any way, except for paying the excessive taxes to support the bloated bureaucracy in all levels of government, even down to school boards, this is my turn. Unfortunately, most of the 'opinions' being put forth in media, primarily print, rarely bother to list names and qualifications of those making the statements quoted or referred to.
Before making my opinions, again, it is appropriate to list same: Bachelor of Science in Geological Engineering from U.of OK, class of 1950; Registered Professional Engineer (retired status, not current) CO; Registered Professional Geologist (not current) CA; 50 years active in exploration, drilling, well completion, workover and repair, pipeline design and construction supervision, and producing well operation management. Still a practicing consultant in same. Also prior experience in the area of 'human operation triggered' earthquakes, being active in the Denver area when such quakes developed shortly after Federal Government began injection very deadly war produced chemicals into a basement drilled well on the Rocky Mountain Arsenal grounds.
Naturally, as should be expected, that incident has, in my opinion, given me a certain
amount of insight into the mechanics of the situation here in Oklahoma. The premise of the
Denver quakes being triggered by the injection was put forth by a RMAG colleague almost as soon
as they began, an was roundly and almost universally rejected by those in the profession in the
area. It seemed to me to be premature rejection and allowed as how it could be possible, given
the presence of numerous known faults in the basement rocks present from the Rocky Mountain
Uplift immediately West of town. My attitude was to 'wait and see' and almost as soon as the
injection was terminated, so did the quakes.
My further thoughts on the matter developed the idea that it would be far better for
the population that the rather small quakes experienced there would be preferred to waiting for
a naturally appearing major quake, with massive damage and loss of life. No statements have
come to my attention that anyone has expressed a similar opinion.
Unfortunately, many of the media reports are faulty, probably because of the ignorance
of the subject on the part of those reporting and the haste to get the report out, sometimes
necessitated by deadlines. However, in the daily paper on Tuesday after Christmas there
appeared a story headlined: "Quakes drop for 2nd year in a row". The sub-headline read: "The
frequency of quakes is declining but their intensity is on the rise". Credit was given to
Corey Jones of the World staff. The story had some quotes from Jeremy Boak, Director of the
Oklahoma Geologic Society as well as a reported "model developed by two Stanford University
geophysicists predicts a 37 percent chance in 2017 for Oklahoma to experience a quake that
exceeds magnitude-5.0"
Once the trigger has allowed movement, there are almost always the expected
'aftershocks', some nearly as strong as the original It appears to me that the trigger allows
the relief of build up stress at one point which results in increased stress nearby, thus the
more natural occurring follow-up quakes. It also has seemed to be desirable to release the
stress at a lower level to allow more, smaller scale, quakes to more gradually reduce the
strain. This strain is developed, over perhaps many centuries, from the natural movement of
what are called 'tectonic plates' the size of continents. This is normally referred to as
'continental drift' and a well known example would be in California with the San Andreas Fault.
Be that as it may, my opposition to the injection of 'frac' or produced water is
absolute, given the known water shortages experienced and the now available treatments to make
it usable.
End
Composed January 07, 2017
Robert W. McDowell, Jr. © 2017 841 Lynwood Lane
918-451-1051 Broken Arrow OK 74011-8608
Email:abdmcfpi@localnet.com
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