%0 Journal Article
%@ 0895-0695
%A Atkinson, Gail M.
%A Eaton, David W.
%A Ghofrani, Hadi
%A Walker, Dan
%A Cheadle, Burns
%A Schultz, Ryan
%A Shcherbakov, Robert
%A Tiampo, Kristy F.
%A Gu, Jeff
%A Harrington, Rebecca M.
%A Liu, Yajing
%A van der Baan, Mirko
%A Kao, Honn
%A Department of Earth Sciences, Western University, London, Ontario,,
%A Department of Geoscience, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta,,
%A Department of Earth Sciences, Western University, London, Ontario,,
%A British Columbia Oil and Gas Commission, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada,
%A Department of Earth Sciences, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada,
%A Alberta Geological Survey, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada,
%A Department of Earth Sciences, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada,
%A Department of Earth Sciences, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada,
%A Department of Physics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada,
%A Department of Earth and Planetary Science, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada,
%A Department of Earth and Planetary Science, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada,
%A Department of Physics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada,
%A Natural Resources Canada, Sidney, British Columbia, Canada,
%D 2016
%F epos:1915
%I Seismological Society of America
%J Seismological Research Letters
%N 3
%T Hydraulic Fracturing and Seismicity in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin
%U https://episodesplatform.eu/eprints/1915/
%V 87
%X The development of most unconventional oil and gas resources relies upon subsurface injection of very large volumes of fluids, which can induce earthquakes by activating slip on a nearby fault. During the last 5 years, accelerated oilfield fluid injection has led to a sharp increase in the rate of earthquakes in some parts of North America. In the central United States, most induced seismicity is linked to deep disposal of coproduced wastewater from oil and gas extraction. In contrast, in western Canada most recent cases of induced seismicity are highly correlated in time and space with hydraulic fracturing, during which fluids are injected under high pressure during well completion to induce localized fracturing of rock. Furthermore, it appears that the maximum-observed magnitude of events associated with hydraulic fracturing may exceed the predictions of an often-cited relationship between the volume of injected fluid and the maximum expected magnitude. These findings have far-reaching implications for assessment of inducedseismicity hazards.