ABSTRACT
For several reasons, the nuclear detonation mechanism for earthquake control has been abandoned. One problem centers on the huge expenses that would be involved in drilling initial and successive bore holes to sufficient depths to reach the active hypo central zones of many shallow earthquakes. Earth scientists, hearing about the Denver quakes and their cause, were attracted by the possibility that earthquakes might be controlled. The Rangely experiment clearly demonstrated for the first time that the occurrence of earthquakes could be controlled by manipulating the internal fluid pressure along an active fault. Reducing the internal fluid pressure creates a barrier to the propagation of a rupture, thereby making it possible to control the magnitude of earthquakes. The University of Southern California have conducted a monitoring program along a segment of the Newport-Inglewood fault system in Los Angeles to determine the relationship between water flooding in the Inglewood oil field and microearthquake occurrence.
