In recent decades this has already become a procedure: every time an earthquake is reported in our region, there will be a rabbi or an elected official wearing a kippah who will say that the cause of earthquakes is sex between men.
So admittedly, this is a claim that seems very far from reality - how are humans able to cause displacements in the depths of the earth?
But the truth is that there are precisely such ways, unfortunately, in which we ourselves cause the earth to tremble.
We asked Claude to tell us about the human causes of earthquakes.
Research led by geophysicists from the Free University of Berlin, alongside partners from the Universities of Zurich, Pisa, Stanford and the Southern University of Science and Technology in China, delved into the physical mechanisms by which human industrial activity underground can destabilize and cause seismic events - sometimes with serious consequences.
The conclusions were so broad that they were published in two separate articles in two journals from the Nature group.
The scientists found that pumping or injecting fluids deep underground for processes such as hydraulic fracturing (mining oil or gas by breaking layers of rock using powerful water currents), geothermal energy, waste disposal or carbon capture are major causes of earthquakes, by increasing pressure Porosity and tension along fault lines are sensitive.
This may trigger outbursts.
Interestingly, the human triggers that trigger earthquakes involve complex interactions between industrial activities and local geological conditions.
For example, waste disposal in combination with other regional drilling may together raise fault line stress above certain critical points.
Sites with unique structures and fluids record different seismic responses to the same human activity.
To minimize the seismic effects, the researchers recommend micro-seismic monitoring networks, combined with advanced physics-based models for predicting the impact of industrial sites.
Such systems can better predict and manage human-caused earthquake risks as activity develops, helping to reduce geological impacts and improving social acceptance of the technologies involved—that is, allaying concerns about hydraulic fracturing, for example.
The team applied their insights to the large Groningen gas reservoir in the Netherlands, and concluded that the significant tremors in its history were due to poroelastic effects, with minimal risk of a major tectonic rupture – meaning that human activity at the site has no chance of causing an earthquake of a magnitude that should worry anyone.
They now hope to help understand how similar analyzes can be used elsewhere to allay concerns or lead to changes that could assuage such concerns.
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