We are pumping billions of barrels of oil out of the ground each day. What is filling these vacancies (hollow holes) in the ground or are they just open caves in the ground? Won't this cause future earthquakes as water or land fills these open caves? Are we dooming the future generation on earth by pumping all this oil out of the ground and leaving the caves to fill in causing earthquakes and unstable and unlivable land?
2006-08-14 15:39:45 · 7 answers · asked by leebaugh2 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
well since the density of water is less then that of oil it would stand to reason that earthquakes on scale would be microscopically stronger, but that wouldn't matter much as the smog created by that fuel will kill us quicker.
2006-08-14 15:58:20 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
YES! We have doomed the future generations on earth by pumping out all this oil, but I don't think it will be because of earthquakes. I suspect that water is seeping in to fill the voids. I don't think this will cause anymore earthquakes than the oil/gas itself did.
2006-08-14 15:48:24 · answer #2 · answered by skilla 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
on the scale of the earth or even the biosphere this is small stuff and the oil is very deep ( as in under the water table ) if mining of any type would effect future generations where are the effects we have been raping the earth for thousands of years also note that nature tends to sculpt the earth on a scale we can't approach and there lies the danger. It is only our short history that blinds us to this danger we will see mountain ranges rise in the future on the scale of the Alps ( if we last long enough )
2006-08-14 15:45:44 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Nope. Prior generations left us with smog, nuclear waste and God knows what else. Of more concern than the voids we leave when pumping oil out of the ground is the trash were pumping into the air when we burn it. On the bright side, future generations will have the technologies to cope with most anything we can leave them.
2006-08-14 15:48:36 · answer #4 · answered by LeAnne 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I always thought they injected water in the holes and the oil floated to the top. Read howstuffworks's description of the process.
http://science.howstuffworks.com/oil-drilling2.htm
2006-08-14 15:47:49 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
naw...they fill em with water/mud to keep the pressure up so the oil will flow out...no worries mate
2006-08-14 16:05:04 · answer #6 · answered by jimmy V 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, the space is filled by water.
2006-08-14 15:45:45 · answer #7 · answered by Dr. Bugly 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋