Induced seismicity refers to earthquakes and seismic events that are directly or indirectly triggered by human activities that alter the state of stress or pore-fluid pressure in the Earth's crust. Key drivers include fluid injection or withdrawal (e.g., wastewater disposal, geothermal operations, hydrocarbon production), reservoir impoundment, mining, and underground construction. These activities modify effective normal stress on faults, potentially bringing pre-stressed fault segments to failure according to Coulomb failure criteria. Research focuses on characterizing fault activation thresholds, spatiotemporal patterns of seismicity, scaling relationships with operational parameters, and developing probabilistic hazard models and operational protocols (“traffic light” systems) to manage and mitigate seismic risk.
Earthquakes occur when the tectonic plates of the Earth's crust shift, jolting past each other in a release of built-up tension. However, other natural forces can also influence seismic activity: Hydrological dynamics, like ...
Earth Sciences
Mar 25, 2026
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The extraction of gas and oil by fracking—large-scale fracturing of underground rocks by injecting water, sand and additives—is generating growing concern in Argentine Patagonia. Neuquén province—home to the country's largest ...
Earth Sciences
Feb 23, 2026
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A swarm of small earthquakes within the Karoo Basin in South Africa has revealed a critically stressed fault that could be perturbed by potential shale gas exploration in the area, according to a new report. The analysis ...
Earth Sciences
Feb 3, 2026
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A recent study published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters is the first to directly link earthquakes to climate change-induced glacial melt. Scientists analyzed 15 years of seismic activity in the Grandes Jorasses—a ...
Earth Sciences
Dec 2, 2025
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Earthquakes in the American state of Utah, the Soultz-sous-Forêts region of France or in the Dutch province of Groningen should not be able to occur even if the subsurface has been exploited for decades. This is because the ...
Earth Sciences
Oct 27, 2025
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When the tectonic subduction zone beneath the Pacific Northwest moves, it does so in dramatic fashion. Not only is ground shaking from a magnitude 9+ earthquake incredibly destructive, the event triggers tsunamis and landslides ...
Earth Sciences
Oct 3, 2025
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390
A series of more than 100 earthquakes has hit Northern California, shaking up the Geysers geothermal steam field in Sonoma and Lake counties.
Earth Sciences
Aug 18, 2025
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158
Changes in water levels beneath Earth's surface caused by glacier snowmelt and rainfall could be responsible for triggering small but frequent earthquakes in New Zealand's central Southern Alps, according to new research ...
Earth Sciences
Aug 7, 2025
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The southern Italian city of Naples was struck by a 4.4-magnitude quake early Thursday that caused only minor damage and sent 11 people to the hospital, the most serious suffering contusions after part of a ceiling collapsed, ...
Environment
Mar 13, 2025
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Meteoroid impacts create seismic waves that cause Mars to shake more strongly and deeply than previously thought. This is shown by an investigation using artificial intelligence carried out by an international research team ...
Planetary Sciences
Feb 3, 2025
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