%0 Journal Article
%@ 0036-8075
%A Weingarten, M.
%A Ge, Shemin
%A Godt, Jonathan W.
%A Bekins, B. A.
%A Rubinstein, Justin L.
%D 2015
%F epos:1758
%I American Association for the Advancement of Science
%J Science
%N 6241
%P 1336-1340
%T High-rate injection is associated with the increase in U.S. mid-continent seismicity
%U https://episodesplatform.eu/eprints/1758/
%V 348
%X An unprecedented increase in earthquakes in the U.S. mid-continent began in 2009. Many of these earthquakes have been documented as induced by wastewater injection. We examine the relationship between wastewater injection and U.S. mid-continent seismicity using a newly assembled injection well database for the central and eastern United States. We find that the entire increase in earthquake rate is associated with fluid injection wells. High-rate injection wells (>300,000 barrels per month) are much more likely to be associated with earthquakes than lower-rate wells. At the scale of our study, a well’s cumulative injected volume, monthly wellhead pressure, depth, and proximity to crystalline basement do not strongly correlate with earthquake association. Managing injection rates may be a useful tool to minimize the likelihood of induced earthquakes.