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The study, published Tuesday in Seismological Research Letters, reports that fracking waste injection wells are now the leading cause of earthquakes in Texas. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, involves thrusting chemicals and water against shale rock to break it up and release oil or gas. The process produces large amounts of waste fluid, or brine, that is either recycled or disposed of in injection wells.
Some earthquakes have been linked to hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, but for the most part, the Oklahoma earthquakes are linked to wastewater wells, Williams said. Geophysicists have not been able to gather data to pin down the certain set of wastewater wells that are causing the earthquake problem, but they're hopeful to learn more about the problematic wells in the future.