Researchers with the EU-funded FEAT project developed new techniques for testing existing friction laws under specific boundary conditions characteristic of induced seismicity.
Extracting oil and gas from the ground involves the use of immense amounts of water. As this water becomes highly polluted during the extraction process, it is disposed of by re-injecting it into the ground at a very high pressure. As the pressurised water makes its way through the permeable rocks and into ancient fault lines, these faults can become reactivated. Perhaps the best-documented case of this phenomenon is a recent magnitude five earthquake that happened in Oklahoma, United States.
Further details: One step closer to accurate earthquake predictions