In the past decade, there has been an exponential increase in the number of earthquakes induced by human activity.  It has been suggested that earthquakes have been triggered by filling hydroelectric reservoirs (e.g., the 2008 Wenchuan China earthquake), geothermal production (e.g., Basel, Switzerland), and production of water from aquifers (e.g., Lorca, Spain).  Of direct import for hydrocarbon production are the increasing number of earthquakes triggered by injection of wastewater (e.g., Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma, Ohio), injection of CO₂ for EOR (e.g., Texas), underground gas storage (e.g., Castor, Spain), production of natural gas (e.g., The Netherlands), and, to a lessor extent, hydrofracturing (e. g., Alberta, Canada, and Ohio).  Making progress in understanding and, eventually, managing induced seismicity requires field observations, laboratory experiments, and numerical studies.

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