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Sandia National Laboratories geoscientist Hongkyu Yoon holds a fractured 3D-printed rock. Yoon squeezed 3D-printed rocks until they cracked and listened to the sound of the rocks breaking to be able to identify early signs of earthquakes. (Rebecca Gustaf/Sandia News Service)
Geoscientists at Sandia National Laboratories used 3D-printed rocks and an advanced, large-scale computer model of past earthquakes to understand and prevent earthquakes triggered by energy exploration.
Injecting water underground after unconventional oil and gas extraction, commonly known as fracking, geothermal energy stimulation and carbon dioxide sequestration all can trigger earthquakes. Of course, energy companies do their due diligence to check for faults – breaks in the earth’s upper crust that are prone to earthquakes – but sometimes earthquakes, even swarms of earthquakes, strike unexpectedly.