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It is suggested that in addition to seismicity deep fluid injection may cause surface uplift and subsidence in oil and gas-producing regions. This study uses the Raton Basin as an example to investigate the hydromechanical processes of surface uplift and subsidence during wastewater injection. The Raton Basin, in southern central Colorado and northern central New Mexico, has experienced wastewater injection related to coalbed methane and gas production starting in 1994. In this study, we estimate the extent and magnitude of total vertical deformation in the Raton Basin from 1994 to 2020 and incremental deformation between the years 2017 to 2020. Results indicate a modeled uplift as much as 15 cm occurring between 1994 and 2020. Between 2017 and 2020, up to 3 cm of uplift occurred, largely near the northwestern injection wells. Most modeled uplift between 1994 and 2020 occurred near the southern wells, where the greatest cumulative volume of wastewater was injected. However, modeled subsidence occurred around the southern and eastern wells between 2017 and 2020, after the rate of injection decreased. Modeling indicates that while the magnitude of modeled uplift corresponds to cumulative injection volume and maximum rate in the long-term, short-term incremental deformation (uplift or subsidence) is controlled by changes in the rate of injection. The number of yearly earthquake events follows periods of rapid modeled uplifting throughout the Basin, suggesting that measurable surface deformation may be caused by the same injection-induced pore pressure perturbations that initiate seismicity., (© 2024 The Authors. Groundwater published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of National Ground Water Association.)

Women with germline pathogenic variants (PV) in the fumarate hydratase (FH) gene develop cutaneous and uterine leiomyomata and have an increased risk of developing aggressive renal cell carcinomas. Many of these women are unaware of their cancer predisposition until an atypical uterine leiomyoma is diagnosed during a myomectomy or hysterectomy, making a streamlined genetic counseling process after a pathology-based atypical uterine leiomyoma diagnosis critical. However, the prevalence of germline pathogenic/likely PVs in FH among atypical uterine leiomyomata cases is unknown. To better understand FH germline PV prevalence and current patterns of genetic counseling and germline genetic testing, we undertook a retrospective review of atypical uterine leiomyomata cases at a single large center. We compared clinical characteristics between the FH PV, FH wild-type (WT), and unknown genetic testing cohorts. Of the 144 cases with atypical uterine leiomyomata with evaluable clinical data, only 49 (34%) had documented genetic test results, and 12 (8.3%) had a germline FH PV. There were 48 IHC-defined FH-deficient cases, of which 41 (85%) had FH testing and nine had a germline FH PV, representing 22% of the tested cohort and 18.8% of the FH-deficient cohort. Germline FH PVs were present in 8.3% of evaluable patients, representing 24.5% of the cohort that completed genetic testing. These data highlight the disconnect between pathology and genetic counseling, and help to refine risk estimates that can be used when counseling patients with atypical uterine leiomyomata., Prevention Relevance: Women diagnosed with fumarate hydratase (FH)-deficient uterine leiomyomata are at increased risk of renal cancer. This work suggests a more standardized pathology-genetic counseling referral pathway for these patients, and that research on underlying causes of FH-deficient uterine leiomyomata in the absence of germline FH pathogenic/likely pathogenic variants is needed., (©2024 American Association for Cancer Research.)