Researchers have established that the shaking from seismic activity increases the permeability of rock to ground water and other fluids.
The most obvious manifestation of an earthquake is the shaking from seismic waves that knocks down buildings and rattles people. Now researchers have established a more subtle effect of this shaking - it increases the permeability of rock to groundwater and other fluids.
The enhanced permeability caused by seismic shaking could potentially be harnessed to help extract oil from natural reservoirs, says Emily Brodsky, assistant professor of Earth sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
"Permeability governs how fluid flows through rocks, whether it's water or oil, so this has practical implications for oil extraction," Brodsky says.