Methane in groundwater before, during, and after hydraulic fracturing of the Marcellus Shale.

ABSTRACT: Concern persists over the potential for unconventional oil and gas development to contaminate groundwater with methane and other chemicals. These concerns motivated our 2-year prospective study of groundwater quality within the Marcellus Shale. We installed eight multilevel monitoring wells within bedrock aquifers of a 25-km² area targeted for shale gas development (SGD). Twenty-four isolated intervals within these wells were sampled monthly over 2 years and groundwater pressures were recorded before, during, and after seven shale gas wells were drilled, hydraulically fractured, and placed into production. Perturbations in groundwater pressures were detected at hilltop monitoring wells during drilling of nearby gas wells and during a gas well casing breach. In both instances, pr

SUBMITTER: Barth-Naftilan E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6142237 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature