Panel of Scientists determines drilling responsible for Lusi mud volcano

[neutrino_cannon]

From The BBC.

I was completely unaware that comparatively tiny human efforts such as drilling could potentially trigger something this big. I was also hitherto unaware of the existence of mud volcanoes.

 

[balrog666]

After debating new evidence at a conference in South Africa, most geologists voted drilling as the (most likely) cause.

When the vote was called, 42 out of the 74 scientists in the audience were convinced (voted) that the drilling was the trigger (most likely cause) of the eruption.

Only three voted for the earthquake.

A further 16 scientists believed (voted) that the evidence was inconclusive, ...

and the remaining 13 felt (voted) that a combination of earthquake and drilling was (likely) to blame.



All pending some further evidence, I suppose ...

 

[krelnik]

There was also a case where drilling for a geothermal energy plant triggered earth tremors in Switzerland. Some buildings were damaged in that case, not nearly as bad as the OP story. This continued into the next year, and at one point drilling was suspended.

 

[shadron]

In he 1968 the US Army finally admitted that it's high pressure waste water injection wells at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal NE of Denver were causing earthquakes in the Ft. Lupton-Derby area a few miles down the Platte River basin from the arsenal. The largest earthquake attributed to the wells was a shallow 6.0 that broke some windows, broke plaster and knocked items off of store shelves in the area. Immediately as the Army stopped the pumping to he 2000 meter deep wells the earthquakes slackened off and eventually disappeared.

The arsenal, where various poisonous gasses were manufactured during World War II, was eventually named a Superfund site, was cleaned up and is now a wildlife sanctuary.

 

[jj]

Well, the Carnegie Institute had some holes drilled here and there in Yellowstone. One of them, on the walk between the Norris Basin (north part) and the campground, has been filled with cement several times, and is again turning into a spouter. The geologists on site are a bit concerned that it could blow out and cause a moderate steam explosion.

A mud volcano is basically a nearly-dry spouter. (There are several mechanisms, some involving geothermal, one at least involving nothing but pressure.)