SMU seismologists to study 'increasing frequency' of earthquakes rattling Irving
At this point they're now just a thing we've come to expect every so often — ho hum, just another minor earthquake near or even on the old Texas Stadium site. Maybe you felt last night's 2.4 or Tuesday's 2.8. Maybe you didn't. But don't worry. There's probably another on the way.
And that's why Irving's city manager, Chris Hillman, has decided to call in the experts.
On Monday, researchers from SMU's seismology program are heading to Irving to install additional seismographs to see if they can determine what's responsible for the uptick in quakes along the Balcones Fault in Irving in recent months. And on January 15, SMU seismology professor Brian Stump — the area's go-to man when it comes to question-mark-shaped quaking — will be among those experts briefing the Irving City Council on the shaking taking place near the Trinity East gas well site and the long-ago home of the Dallas Cowboys.
Says Hillman, there have actually been some 50 quakes in Irving since 2008, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. But, of course, a big chunk of those have occurred in recent weeks, including a 3.3-magnitude temblor on November 22. And while they've all been considered minor — Californians wouldn't even pause long enough to acknowledge their existence — they've taken their toll on Irving residents' collective nerves, says Hillman from beneath his virtual pile of emails and voice mails.
"The issue most people are concerned about is the increasing frequency of the quakes," says Hillman. "By relative standards they're minor, but the frequency seems to have understandably caught everyone's attention, and that's caught our attention as well. We're trying to get a better understanding of why that could be occurring."
Stump has already said the quakes could be caused by hydraulic fracturing. The Texas Railroad Commission keeps insisting that's not the case. Some anti-fracking activists have speculated that the 2010 implosion of Texas Stadium might have played a role in awakening the slumbering Balcones Fault, which researchers were eager to study once the Cowboys' former home was adiosed. Or maybe it is just the ghost of Tom Landry.
Says Hillman, he's not about to speculate about any of it. Leave the science to the scientists, who are on their way beginning next week.
"An additional seismometer, complementing two existing ones in the area, is planned for installation on Monday by the SMU seismology team," says Stump, the Albritton Chair of Geological Sciences at SMU's Huffington Department of Earth Sciences. Pinpointing the exact location of the earthquakes is dependent on local seismometers and thus the first step in understanding the nature of the seismic activity. The team will continue to interact with local officials about the seismic events."
Just don't expect immediate results: When SMU's team went to study Azle's uptick in quakes at the beginning of 2014, they warned it could take years before they come back with anything concrete.
"The bottom line is: We don't know why the frequency is increasing," Hillman says. "We have a history of quakes, but we're interesting in getting as good an understanding why the increase in frequency is occurring. How long it will take to study is something we don't now. It could take months. It's not something we're expecting to know it days or weeks. This much is certain: We understand residents' concerns and are being very proactive to do all we can to get an understanding. They expect and need more understanding. At the city we're not seismologists, so we're going to rely on the folks who really do know what they're doing."
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