[Myrddin]

The picture is a sinkhole in Bayou Corne, LA. A brine well used to store radiactive waste and diesel oil is disintegrating from below. There is methane incursion believed to be from the BP Macondo well that is working its way north and west under LA.

One of the links identifies earthquake locations and associates them with fields employing fracking. It's relevant as the Indo-Australian plate is breaking apart and putting pressure against the Pacific plate. That is putting pressure on volcanoes, mines and wells across the west coast of North America and northwest toward the Gulf of Mexico. That is exacerbating the problems in LA.

So why is fracking relevant? When you remove oil/gas from an area, there is a reduction of pressure and support below. The land subsides and you get sinkholes. In the case of Bayou Corne, the methane and salt water incursion is going to erode away the salt domes and push that erosion north. The end point of that looks to be right about Quebec.

The immediate concern at Bayou Corne is the heavy petroleum vapor in the air over the city and the probable disintegration of an adjacent cavern full of 1.5 million barrels of liquid butane.

[BfloGuy]

So why is fracking relevant? When you remove oil/gas from an area, there is a reduction of pressure and support below. The land subsides and you get sinkholes. In the case of Bayou Corne, the methane and salt water incursion is going to erode away the salt domes and push that erosion north. The end point of that looks to be right about Quebec.

Interesting. You might have included your explanation along with what was otherwise just a photo of a lake. Now, in your opinion, does fracking for oil or gas reduce pressure and support below any more than traditional drilling methods?

I'm neither a geologist nor an engineer -- just interested.