Earthquakes can be weakened by groundwater, says new study on environmentally induced earthquakes published in Nature Communications.
Although the results were counterintuitive to what researchers expected, the study showed the presence of highly pressurized water where an earthquake is going to take place will limit its intensity rather than increasing it, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne reported.
The research looked at earthquake propagation, which happens when two plates in a fault rub together and send seismic waves outward. Heat is created by the friction of the plates, and when water absorbs the heat, the earthquake’s intensity will be less than if the water isn’t present, EPFL reported.
Furthermore, the higher the water’s pressure when the earthquake begins, the more profound the effect on the earthquake’s intensity, the study showed.
This initial study will be followed up by a more precise one, since the laboratory now has more sophisticated equipment that will be able to simulate these conditions better, according to EPFL.
It is not yet clear how seismologists might use this information to prevent earthquake damage and weaken earthquakes intentionally, or mitigate the effects of mining and oil and gas extraction on the environment, Tech Explorist pointed out.
Study author Francois-Xavier Passelegue said, however, that geothermal models that look at earthquake risk from manmade activities can begin to take groundwater pressure into account when they seek to determine risk from these activities, EPFL reported.
There are roughly 100,000 naturally occurring and environmentally induced earthquakes around the world each year.
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