States with normally little seismic activity are experiencing significant increases in earthquakes over the last year, and scientists are examining whether increased oil fracking is the culprit.

Texas, Kansas and especially Oklahoma reported that the frequency of earthquakes in their area have skyrocketed over the last year. Currently, Oklahoma is the second-most seismically active state behind California. This odd increase correlates with a recent boom in the oil and gas industry, where companies are using techniques, such as fracking, to extract resources.

A task force appointed by Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback and the U.S. Geological Survey started investigating the quakes in February. However, the task force and USGS was slow moving as they lack information on the local oil and gas activity.

Between October and April, Kansas experienced 56 earthquakes, mostly contained to the south central portion of the state. Most were big enough to be felt, and the largest, about a 3.9 magnitude, came with reports of damage to walls and furniture in resident homes.

In a study published this week, conducted by Katie Keranen, an assistant professor of seismology at Cornell University in New York, said that hydraulic fracking, or injecting drilling wastewater into deep underground wells, could likely be the driving force behind the earthquakes. The water seeps into pores between rocks, increasing pressure until it triggers earthquakes along pre-existing fault lines.

Oklahoma's situation is likely caused by a few high-rate disposal wells near the small town of Jones. The grouping of earthquakes felt in this area has since been dubbed the Jones swarm. According to a study published in the journal Science, 20 percent of the seismic activity within the state are included in the Jones swarm.

State geologists have stopped injecting water this way in several states after several quakes rocked Oklahoma and Colorado. In a state geological survey, Oklahoma had 31 recorded earthquakes in 2009. During the following 15 months, there were 850.