Increased stream discharge after the 3 September 2016 Mw 5.8 Pawnee, Oklahoma earthquake

Manga, Michael; Wang, Chi-Yuen; Shirzaei, Manoochehr

doi:10.1002/2016GL071268

Increased stream discharge after the 3 September 2016 M_w 5.8 Pawnee, Oklahoma earthquake

Journal Article · Mon Nov 21 23:00:00 EST 2016 · Geophysical Research Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL071268· OSTI ID:1480749

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Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Earth and Planetary Science
Arizona State Univ., Tempe, AZ (United States). School of Earth and Space Exploration

Earthquakes influence hydrogeological processes and properties in Earth's crust, some of which affect surface waters. Here we document increased discharge in a stream after the 3 September 2016 M_w 5.8 earthquake near Pawnee, Oklahoma, an event likely induced by underground wastewater disposal. Discharge increased by an order of magnitude and remained elevated until the change was obscured by rain 1 week later. Given the earthquake magnitude and distance from the stream, by comparison with previous examples of responses to earthquakes, increased discharge after this earthquake is expected. While the mechanism increasing discharge cannot be confirmed, the observations require changes in physical properties of the subsurface. Fluid injection may thus influence hydrogeological properties of shallow groundwater systems and aquifers indirectly by inducing seismicity, if the induced seismic events are large enough.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE; National Science Foundation (NSF) (United States)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-05CH11231

OSTI ID:: 1480749

Journal Information:: Geophysical Research Letters, Journal Name: Geophysical Research Letters Journal Issue: 22 Vol. 43; ISSN 0094-8276

Publisher:: American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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