A 2.8 magnitude earthquake struck Tuesday morning near the town of Trumann, in Northeast Arkansas. It’s the latest in a series of seismic events occurring over the last several months near the New Madrid Seismic Zone.
Scott Ausbrooks with the Arkansas Geological Survey said that although the magnitude was not severe, even small increases in magnitude can mean an exponential release of energy.
“A really great way to think about it is that for every magnitude you go up there's thirty two times more energy released,” Ausbrooks explained. “You go from a magnitude 2.7 to a magnitude 4.7, which is about the threshold when you can start getting a little bit of damage, there's 900 times more energy released in a 4.7 versus a 2.7."
Ausbrooks noted that small seismic events are a regular occurrence near the New Madrid fault.
“No explanation for it other than we're just going to say that this is part of the natural cycle. Earthquakes go through periods of coessence, just calm, and then you get these bursts of activity. They're, episodic is the word we use.”
Several natural gas pipelines pass through the region but Ausbrooks said that Tuesday’s quake was likely not strong enough to cause any damage. Although small, and routine, it occurred in the New Madrid Seismic Zone which has produced major earthquakes in the past with magnitudes greater than seven.