A professor at Waterloo Engineering helped develop a map showing which regions and population centres of Western Canada are likely to experience earthquakes induced by underground energy extraction.
“We are trying to better understand and therefore better predict the phenomenon of induced seismicity during subsurface engineering processes,” said Maurice Dusseault, a professor of engineering geology at the University of Waterloo who is cross-appointed to the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Hydraulic fracturing is used to produce cracks in the rock formation to enhance energy extraction from geothermal and unconventional resources. This process is typically accompanied by seismicity, or induced earthquakes, because injection changes pore pressures and temperatures, facilitating slippage of fractures and faults.
Go to New map shows where fracking-induced earthquakes could hit in Canada for the full story.