Was this morning's Monterey quake caused by manmade activity?

Sat, 2 Jan 2021, 18:47

18:47 PM | BY: EARTHQUAKEMONITOR

Monterey's earthquake earlier today at a very noticeable magnitude of 4.3 sent shockwaves through the region's inhabitants, literally. The uncharacteristically very shallow quake of barely 4 miles below the surface caused a flurry of comments to flood our VolcanoDiscovery monitoring service. Messages came in from a wide range of neighborhoods, communities and towns around Monterrey including Aptos, Ben Lomond, Boulder, Carmel, Corralitos, Hollister, Marina, Newman, Salinas, Santa Cruz, Sand City, Soquel, Watsonville, and many more.

Users reported feelings of a "passing truck", cracks, rumbling, rattling and shaking lasting anywhere between 2 and 30 seconds, often in two different waves. Many felt a rolling movement rather than the classical left-right shaking. Luckily no significant damage or injuries were reported to us.

This quake only came two days after a notable San Francisco Bay area one where authorities scrambled to deny any connection to manmade activity. That said, a very recent article published on 13 December 2020 in The Mercury News (Bay Area News Group) points to a study that relates quakes in Monterey County to oil operations. The research tied earthquakes in the area to wastewater injection, citing an example of this in Oklahoma as well. Although, according to the article, Western States Petroleum did not want to comment on a connection, the study by seismology professor Thomas Goebel from the University of Memphis and geophysics professor Manoochehr Shirzaei from Virginia Tech found that earthquakes in the vicinity, specifically San Ardo, " tended to occur near wastewater disposal wells and that changes to the rates of wastewater injection were shadowed by changes in earthquake activity, with a delay of around 13 to 17 months."

We're particularly surprised at VolcanoDiscovery to see this phenomenon crop up more and more in relation to US earthquakes, particularly since in Europe it is generally unheard of. Our understanding of earthquakes is that they are a natural phenomenon. The Monterey and Oklahoma quakes seem to point to a manmade cause. We will certainly be on the lookout for more academic research emerging from the United States to confirm this alarming trend.

Details about this quake

If you felt it, report it through our site or app right now!

Download and Upgrade the Volcanoes & Earthquakes app to get one of the fastest seismic alerts online:
Android | IOS

Earthquake data:

I felt this quake

Date & time: 2 Jan 6:42 am (GMT -8) local time (2 Jan 2021 14:42 GMT)
Magnitude: 4.3
Depth: 6.4 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 36.61°N / 121.21°W

(Monterey County, California, United States)
Primary data source: USGS

Previous news

Sat, 2 Jan 2021, 15:02

Magnitude 4.5 earthquake strikes near Soledad, Monterey County, California, United States

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported a magnitude 4.5 quake in the United States near Soledad, Monterey County, California, only 6 minutes ago. The earthquake hit early morning on Saturday 2 January 2021 at 6:42 am local time at a very shallow depth of 4 miles. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report. ... Read all

Sat, 2 Jan 2021, 14:56

Small magnitude 3.2 quake hits 14 miles northeast of Soledad, California, United States early morning

An earthquake of magnitude 3.2 occurred early morning on Saturday 2 January 2021 at 6:36 am local time near Soledad, Monterey County, California, USA, as reported by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). ... Read all

Sat, 2 Jan 2021, 14:19

Light magnitude 4.8 quake hits 118 km southwest of Luwuk, Indonesia in the evening

A magnitude 4.8 earthquake near Luwuk, Kabupaten Banggai, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, was reported only 10 minutes ago by Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency (BMKG), considered the main national agency that monitors seismic activity in Indonesia. The earthquake occurred at a shallow depth of 10 km beneath the epicenter in the evening on Saturday 2 January 2021 at 9:59 pm local time. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report. ... Read all

Sat, 2 Jan 2021, 13:56

Light magnitude 4.3 quake hits 60 km southeast of Ōfunato, Japan late at night

An earthquake of magnitude 4.3 occurred late at night on Saturday 2 January 2021 at 10:36 pm local time near Ōfunato, Ōfunato-shi, Iwate, Japan, as reported by NIED. ... Read all

Sat, 2 Jan 2021, 13:51

Light magnitude 4.4 earthquake 65 km east of Hualien City, Taiwan

Just 24 minutes ago, a 4.4-magnitude earthquake struck near Hualien City, Hualien, Taiwan. The tremor was recorded late at night on Saturday 2 January 2021 at 10:26 pm local time, at a shallow depth of 24 km below the surface. ... Read all

Sat, 2 Jan 2021, 12:30

Small 3.4 quake hits near Keeler, Inyo County, California, United States

A magnitude 3.4 earthquake near Keeler, Inyo County, California, USA, was reported only 8 minutes ago by the United States Geological Survey (USGS), considered the key international and national agency that monitors seismic activity in the US. The earthquake occurred at a very shallow depth of 4.8 miles beneath the epicenter early morning on Saturday 2 January 2021 at 4:10 am local time. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report. ... Read all

Sat, 2 Jan 2021, 09:00

Light 4.6 quake hits near San Pedro de Atacama, Provincia de El Loa, Antofagasta, Chile

A magnitude 4.6 earthquake near San Pedro de Atacama, Provincia de El Loa, Antofagasta, Chile, was reported only 11 minutes ago by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), considered one of the key international agencies that monitor seismic activity worldwide. The earthquake occurred at an intermediate depth of 100 km beneath the epicenter early morning on Saturday 2 January 2021 at 5:40 am local time. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report. ... Read all

Sat, 2 Jan 2021, 08:00

Light tremor of magnitude 4.2 just reported 4 km southeast of Nuevo Cordoba, Mexico

Just 21 minutes ago, a 4.2-magnitude earthquake struck near Nuevo Cordoba, Uxpanapa, Veracruz, Mexico. The tremor was recorded early morning on Saturday 2 January 2021 at 1:38 am local time, at an intermediate to considerable depth of 162 km below the surface. ... Read all