EARTHQUAKE HITS ENGLAND: 3.0 quake hits Surrey and Sussex, tremors felt in Crawley
AN earthquake has hit England with residents across Surrey and Sussex feeling the 3.0 magnitude tremor. The epicentre has been placed in Cranleigh, a small village a few miles west of Crawley.
An earthquake has hit the UK with residents in Crawley, Surrey feeling the tremo
The tremor hit the Crawley area, with the United States Geoglogical Survey placing the epicentre at Cranleigh, Surrey.
Residents said they felt the ground shaking.
One resident said on earthquake tracking website CSEM-EMSC: “Chest of drawers and items on top shaking for around three seconds.”
Another posted: “Felt all over Crawley, West Sussex, UK.”
The tremor is the third quake to hit the area in three weeks.
MP for Crawley Henry Smith tweeted: “Another tremor in the #Crawley area after several in recent weeks”
He asked for Crawley residents to report their experiences to earthquake reporting website earthquakes.bgs.ac.uk.
The British Geological Survey recorded six other earthquakes in the area since April 1. They have all been near Newdigate, Surrey, which is just 11 miles from today's epicentre.
In an update, they said it could be to do with fracking at a site in Weald.
They said: "Earthquakes with magnitudes of 2.7, 2.6 and 2.4 ML were detected by BGS on April 1, June 27 and June 29 2018, repectively, near Newdigate, Surrey, between Dorking and Crawley.
The earthquakes were felt by local residents of Newdigate, Charlwood, Dorking and Crawley.
Three smaller earthquakes with magnitudes of 1.8, 1.7 and 1.5 ML were also detected in the same location.
"We are unable to say categorically if these earthquakes are related to hydrocarbon exploration or production in the Weald, mainly because of the uncertainties in our estimates of the earthquake epicentres and depths. We use a process a bit like triangulation to locate earthquakes and our closest monitoring station was over 50 km away, so the errors in our location estimates are several kilometres. Our calculated epicentres for the earthquakes are approximately 4.5 km from the Horse Hill well, which is within our calculated uncertainty.
"We contacted the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) on 28 June and they informed us that although UKOG plc made an announcement about flow testing at Horse Hill and the necessary equipment is on site, the flow testing has not yet been carried out. OGA are the regulatory body for oil and gas explorations and production in the UK.
"While it is well known that hydrocarbon exploration and production can result in man-made or "induced" earthquakes, such events usually result from either long term hydrocarbon extraction, or the injection of fluids (e.g. hydraulic fracturing) during production. It seems unlikely that flow testing, even if it had taken place, would result in induced seismicity.
"Although there have been no other instrumentally recorded events in the region in the last 50 years, there is evidence for historical earthquakes in the last 500 years, therefore a natural origin for these earthquakes can't be ruled out at this stage."
Residents said they felt the ground shaking.
One resident said on earthquake tracking website CSEM-EMSC: “Chest of drawers and items on top shaking for around three seconds.”
Another posted: “Felt all over Crawley, West Sussex, UK.”
The tremor is the third quake to hit the area in three weeks.
MP for Crawley Henry Smith tweeted: “Another tremor in the #Crawley area after several in recent weeks”
He asked for Crawley residents to report their experiences to earthquake reporting website earthquakes.bgs.ac.uk.
The British Geological Survey recorded six other earthquakes in the area since April 1. They have all been near Newdigate, Surrey, which is just 11 miles from today's epicentre.
In an update, they said it could be to do with fracking at a site in Weald.
They said: "Earthquakes with magnitudes of 2.7, 2.6 and 2.4 ML were detected by BGS on April 1, June 27 and June 29 2018, repectively, near Newdigate, Surrey, between Dorking and Crawley.
The earthquakes were felt by local residents of Newdigate, Charlwood, Dorking and Crawley.
Three smaller earthquakes with magnitudes of 1.8, 1.7 and 1.5 ML were also detected in the same location.
"We are unable to say categorically if these earthquakes are related to hydrocarbon exploration or production in the Weald, mainly because of the uncertainties in our estimates of the earthquake epicentres and depths. We use a process a bit like triangulation to locate earthquakes and our closest monitoring station was over 50 km away, so the errors in our location estimates are several kilometres. Our calculated epicentres for the earthquakes are approximately 4.5 km from the Horse Hill well, which is within our calculated uncertainty.
"We contacted the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) on 28 June and they informed us that although UKOG plc made an announcement about flow testing at Horse Hill and the necessary equipment is on site, the flow testing has not yet been carried out. OGA are the regulatory body for oil and gas explorations and production in the UK.
"While it is well known that hydrocarbon exploration and production can result in man-made or "induced" earthquakes, such events usually result from either long term hydrocarbon extraction, or the injection of fluids (e.g. hydraulic fracturing) during production. It seems unlikely that flow testing, even if it had taken place, would result in induced seismicity.
"Although there have been no other instrumentally recorded events in the region in the last 50 years, there is evidence for historical earthquakes in the last 500 years, therefore a natural origin for these earthquakes can't be ruled out at this stage."
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