THE STATE OF STRESS IN OKLAHOMA: INSIGHTS FROM DYNAMICALLY TRIGGERED AND INDUCED EARTHQUAKES

Induced seismicity, earthquakes caused by anthropogenic activity, have increased significantly in the last decade resulting from practices related to oil and gas production. Large earthquakes have been shown to promote the triggering of events due to static stresses caused by physical movement along the fault, and also remotely from the passage of seismic waves (dynamic triggering). In order to understand the mechanisms leading to earthquake failure, we investigate Prague, Oklahoma, a region where natural, induced, and dynamically triggered events occur. We analyze ~1.5 years of data (2010 -2012) from EarthScope's USArray Transportable Array (TA), implementing a machine learning convolutional neural network to develop a high-resolution local earthquake catalog. We then investigate 254 teleseismic earthquakes with M ≥ 6 and flag events that significantly increase seismicity within Prague, Oklahoma following the arrival of the teleseismic waves. We find evidence of triggered seismicity leading up to the 2011 Mw 5.7 Prague, Oklahoma earthquake, indicating a critical state of stress condition prior to the Prague event.