HR: 1330h
AN: ED42A-1202    [PDF]
TI: Does Geothermal Energy Production Cause Earthquakes in the Geysers Region of Northern California?
AU: * Grove, K
EM: kgrove@sfsu.edu
AF: San Francisco State University, Dept of Geosciences, San Francisco, CA 94132 United States
AU: Bailey, C
AF: Phillip and Sala Burton Academic High School, 400 Mansell Street, San Francisco, CA 94134 United States
AU: Sotto, M
AF: Phillip and Sala Burton Academic High School, 400 Mansell Street, San Francisco, CA 94134 United States
AU: Yu, M
AF: Phillip and Sala Burton Academic High School, 400 Mansell Street, San Francisco, CA 94134 United States
AU: Cohen, M
AF: San Francisco State University, Dept of Geosciences, San Francisco, CA 94132 United States
AB: The Geysers region is located in Sonoma County, several hours north of San Francisco. At this location, hot magma beneath the surface heats ground water and creates steam that is used to make electricity. Since 1997, 8 billion gallons of treated wastewater have been injected into the ground, where the water becomes hot and increases the amount of thermal energy that can be produced. Frequent micro-earthquakes (up to magnitude 4.5) occur in the region and seem to be related to the geothermal energy production. The region is mostly uninhabited, except for several small towns such as Anderson Springs, where people have been extremely concerned about potential damage to their property. The energy companies are planning to double the amount of wastewater injected into the ground and to increase their energy production. Geothermal energy is important because it is better for the environment than burning coal, oil, or gas. Air and water pollution, which have negative impacts on living things, are reduced compared to power plants that generate electricity by burning fossil fuels. We have studied the frequency and magnitude of earthquakes that have occurred in the region since the early 1970s and that are occurring today. We used software to analyze the earthquakes and to look for patterns related to water injection and energy production. We are interested in exploring ways that energy production can be continued without having negative impacts on the people in the region.
UR: http://sf-rocks.sfsu.edu/
DE: 7299 General or miscellaneous
SC: Education and Human Resources [ED]
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting