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WASHINGTON (AP) — Scientists have linked a swarm of small earthquakes in Texas to nearby natural gas wells and wastewater injection.
A study published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications says researchers from Southern Methodist University and the U.S. Geological Survey monitored the shaking from nearly 30 small quakes west of Fort Worth from November 2013 to January 2014. The area hadn't had any recorded quakes in 150 years.
The scientists say the shaking decreased when the volume of injections did. They have concluded that removing saltwater from the wells and injecting that wastewater back underground is "the most likely cause" for the swarm of quakes.
Other studies have made a connection between wastewater injections and a spike in earthquakes in Oklahoma and southern Kansas.
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