Swiss Geologist On Trial For Causing Earthquakes

Hugh Pickens writes "BBC reports that Markus Haering's company had been working with the authorities in Basel, Switzerland to try to convert the heat in deep-seated rocks into electricity, but the project was suspended in 2006 when drilling triggered earthquakes, one of them with a magnitude of 3.4, leading Haering's company to pay out $9M in damages. Haering's team planned to drill a series of holes penetrating up to 3 miles (4.8 km) underground with water being pumped onto rocks with a temperature of more than 195C. Basel's location on top of a fault line – the upper Rhine trench – had been deliberately chosen because the heat was closer to the Earth's surface. A risk assessment has since shown that the prospect of further quakes is too high to continue drilling in the city. Haering faces up to five years in prison if the judge finds he intentionally damaged property. Haering has admitted the 3.4 magnitude earthquake was stronger than he had expected and that his team 'had very little knowledge of seismicity' before starting to drill, but called the quakes 'a learning process for everyone involved.' Despite Haering's trial, the Swiss appetite for geothermal projects has not diminished. Engineers are beginning preliminary drilling in Zurich to see whether that area was suitable for a similar scheme, and St. Gallen, in eastern Switzerland, plans to start work on its own geothermal project next year. Drilling efforts are being closely watched in the US, where the energy department is sponsoring more than 120 geothermal energy projects in several states."

Damages?

[Blakey Rat]

These villagers were scamming the poor guy. $9 million in damages from a *3.4* quake? Cripes, a bus crossing in front of my house is close to 3.4... either their houses are made from eggshells, or this is the scam of the century.

I'd feel terrible if useful research was suspended because of profiteering townsfolk.

Re:Blahgh

[ccarson]

Agreed. We're all human and can't expect to be perfect. A pessimist would view this as wreckless where as an alternative approach view is to acknowledge this a constructive step toward an alternative energy source.

A Learning Experience -

[Anonymous Coward]

How often do you get to cause an earthquake and call it a learning experience?

How often do you GET TO CAUSE AN EARTHQUAKE?

can we go after natural gas companies, too?

[SuperBanana]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/08/business/energy-environment/08fracking.html

The drilling boom is raising concern in many parts of the country, and the reaction is creating political obstacles for the gas industry. Hazards like methane contamination of drinking water wells, long known in regions where gas production was common, are spreading to populous areas that have little history of coping with such risks, but happen to sit atop shale beds.

And a more worrisome possibility has come to light. A string of incidents in places like Wyoming and Pennsylvania in recent years has pointed to a possible link between hydraulic fracturing and pollution of groundwater supplies. In the worst case, such pollution could damage crucial supplies of water used for drinking and agriculture

It isn't going to be climate change that kills us. We won't have any clean water to drink. Fun fact: the "safe water drinking act" isn't being enforced by the EPA [nytimes.com], and even water that has very unhealthy level of arsenic is "safe". Does a 1-in-600 chance of getting bladder cancer sound "safe" to you?

Drying clothes and linen on rope in sun and wind

[Max_W]

All this to produce electricity to dry clothing in the electric dryers. Just let people dry clothing and linen on the ropes in the sun and wind.

Billions and billions of such drying wet items will cool the planet. Because it will be daily, and it will be in billions.

We are trying to solve by engineering means a problem which is not a technical problem. It is a problem in our heads.

Re:Blahgh

[Applekid]

Would it either be that or waiting for one giant major natural shift that could cause even more damage?

No good deed goes unpunished?

If you leave it alone and a natural disaster happens, you can't really sue God. If you drill and make mini-quakes and someone's windows break, you can definitely sue the driller.

Re:Blahgh

[digitalunity]

I respectfully disagree. After living in the pacific northwest and experiencing numerous earthquakes firsthand, I can say with some authority that any structure built in a tectonically active region that cannot safely handle a 3.4 magnitude earthquake was built improperly.

There were several 3.5ish earthquakes in Oregon where I lived over the last 20 years and as far as I know, broken picture frames were the extent of the damage. Geothermal energy production only makes sense in places where volcanic or tectonic activity is likely. It's not without risk either.

It seems obvious that there was no intentional earthquake caused, but that was the natural result of fracturing the fault and 3.4 hardly sounds noteworthy. However, more detailed seismic study seems warranted before moving forward with any such project in the future.

Re:Damages?

[Peregr1n]

Some parts of the world are more used to earthquakes than others, and plan accordingly. I'm guessing (from a quick glance at your blog) that you're in the USA - western? Your houses are probably designed to be quake-proof, and a 3.4 quake will do nothing but rattle your plates. Here in Europe most housing is traditional stone, and earthquakes are something that happens in far-flung corners of the Earth.
Disclaimer - I don't know how severe a 3.4 quake is, maybe it really is inconsequential - but my point still stands in that it probably caused the residents of Basel to shit themselves. (Far from villagers, too, BTW)

Re:Eggshell defense

[afidel]

Actually I think the engineers who designed and built the buildings should be held negligent, building a structure that takes *any* damage from a 3.4 in a fault zone should be criminal. Seriously we get earthquakes on that magnitude here in Ohio on an almost yearly basis, in the middle of the freaking NA plate. If you are in a geothermally active country you should be expecting a heck of a lot more than that!

Re:Blahgh

[maugle]

In fact, the city should be grateful. Much better to have a magnitude 3.4 quake now, than to let the stress in the fault line accumulate until it breaks out in the form of a magnitude 8.0 quake.

Re:impossible

[pitchpipe]

You can't "cause" an earthquake. They are caused by tectonic pressure. You may be able to adjust the timing of one, though.

You are absolutely right. How about a bunch of small quakes rather than one large one. I live in Salt Lake City which geologists say lies on a large fault that is due for a large quake. I'd much rather have a planned quake, even if it was fairly large rather than a huge unexpected one. I guarantee that if that happens I'll know people who'll die. I just really hope that when it does happen it isn't anyone too close to me. Selfish I know, but aren't we all? I just wonder why nobody in that village seems to have thought that maybe he just saved their asses.