Response to Comment on "How will induced seismicity in Oklahoma respond to decreased saltwater injection rates?".

Langenbruch, Cornelius; Zoback, Mark D · Sci Adv · 2017

other

Where this comes from

Abstract

Goebel <i>et al</i>. question our forecasted response of induced seismicity to reduction of saltwater injection rates in north-central Oklahoma and raise the concern that "the probability of future damaging earthquakes may be underestimated." We compare our prediction to earthquake data recorded in the 8 months after publication. Observed seismicity rates and magnitudes agree with the forecast of our model. Our use of a probabilistic model accounts for uncertainties and observed <i>M</i> ≥ 4.5 to date confirm the conservative nature of our prediction. The "realistic parameter range" suggested by Goebel <i>et al</i>. is based on a misunderstanding of our statistical model and disagrees with the long-term decay of seismicity in the region.