Van Buren Co Earthquakes Have Geologists Looking for Answers
By: Josh Berry
Updated: March 20, 2013
Earthquake after earthquake in Van Buren County has the Arkansas Geological Survey wondering what in the world is going on.
They reported over 3 dozen earthquakes around Greers Ferry Lake since the beginning of the year and 30 quakes in all of 2012.
Scientists attribute the increase in seismic activity to three potential causes: more seismic stations creating the ability to detect; lake levels of Greers Ferry putting stress on nearby faults; nearby injection wells.
"What we're wanting to take a look at is it's a little bit higher than what we expect for background seismicity," Geo-Hazard Supervisor with the Arkansas Geological Survey, Scott Ausbrooks explained. "So it's warranted us to take a closer look. One of the ways we're gonna take a closer look is putting out some new seismic monitoring."
On Wednesday (3/20), the team will bury seismic monitors in different spots around the area to have a more focused concentration on the specific area in hopes they can pinpoint the spots and possibly narrow the causes.
They reported over 3 dozen earthquakes around Greers Ferry Lake since the beginning of the year and 30 quakes in all of 2012.
Scientists attribute the increase in seismic activity to three potential causes: more seismic stations creating the ability to detect; lake levels of Greers Ferry putting stress on nearby faults; nearby injection wells.
"What we're wanting to take a look at is it's a little bit higher than what we expect for background seismicity," Geo-Hazard Supervisor with the Arkansas Geological Survey, Scott Ausbrooks explained. "So it's warranted us to take a closer look. One of the ways we're gonna take a closer look is putting out some new seismic monitoring."
On Wednesday (3/20), the team will bury seismic monitors in different spots around the area to have a more focused concentration on the specific area in hopes they can pinpoint the spots and possibly narrow the causes.
