|
Here's an interesting hypothesis regarding increased earthquake activity as of late:
Since the prescribed method of drilling/extracting oil is to pump the oil out, and since the general practice is to pump water down to force the oil up, if the oil's viscosity is naturally greater than that of water, wouldn't water tend to heat up much faster and more explosively under pressure?
And since water is more fluid than oil, it would lead me to believe that it would seep down to the lowest level possible, thus increasing the possibility of increased heat and pressure build up.
Picture that an engine's radiator has a "coolant" added so that it can handle and dissapate the heat most effectively, and if there was nothing but water, wouldn't it tend to heat up faster and lead to more "overheating" episiodes?
Replacing the oil with water under the earth's crust could be similar in effect, and could lead to these "pressure-cooker" explosive earthquakes we've seen.
Keep in mind that this is just speculation, but it caught me off guard when my friend asked me what I thought.
|