Last week’s cluster of earthquakes in Edmond, Oklahoma, have revealed a previously unknown fault line, according to NewsOK.This new information could mean more earthquakes in the future, says seismologist Daniel McNamara. Researchers have been using oil and gas industry data to identify previously undocumented fault lines in the state. But sometimes faults are revealed when a series of earthquakes fire off with epicenters in a linear pattern. This is what happened last week in Edmond.
McNamara says these ancient fault lines have not been active since the days of the dinosaurs. But they’re being reactivated by fracking activity. The newly revealed fault line doesn’t exist on any fault map. So it's difficult to tell how far it extends or whether it underlies more of Edmond or connects to a larger fault. So far this year, more than a dozen faults have produced earthquakes measuring 4.0 or greater.