| NSF Org: |
EAR Division Of Earth Sciences |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | August 19, 2014 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | June 10, 2016 |
| Award Number: | 1441497 |
| Award Instrument: | Continuing Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Enriqueta Barrera
EAR Division Of Earth Sciences GEO Directorate for Geosciences |
| Start Date: | September 1, 2014 |
| End Date: | August 31, 2018 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $314,134.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $364,100.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2016 = $105,664.00 |
| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
2200 W MAIN ST DURHAM NC US 27705-4640 (919)684-3030 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
Durham NC US 27705-4010 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): |
Geobiology & Low-Temp Geochem, SURFACE EARTH PROCESS SECTION, EnvS-Environmtl Sustainability |
| Primary Program Source: |
01001617DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT |
| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.050 |
ABSTRACT
Broader significance.
The development of unconventional oil and gas resources through hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling has increased energy production in the USA and is expanding globally. Yet, this rapid development has triggered an intensive public debate over the environmental implications of this technology. One of the environmental risks associated with unconventional shale gas development is the contamination of water resources. Hydraulic fracturing fluids (HFFs) are highly saline and contain elevated levels of toxic elements such as barium along with high levels of naturally occurring radioactive materials. Yet the ability to directly identify hydraulic fracturing fluids and their release in the environment is not known. This NSF project seeks to develop novel and diagnostic geochemical tracers that are inherently connected to the hydraulic fracturing process. The environmental forensic approach will enable us to distinguish hydraulic fracturing fluids from other forms of contamination, including naturally occurring saline groundwater and the legacy of past conventional oil and gas exploration that can mask attempts to delineate water contamination sources and evaluate the net impact of shale gas development. The methodology developed in this NSF project could be applied universally to other unconventional reservoirs as hydraulic fracturing expands globally.
Technical description.
This study will use an extensive collection of flowback and produced waters from shale gas and conventional oil and gas exploration (total 80 samples) to establish a comprehensive geochemical database that includes major and trace elements, combined with multiple isotopic fingerprints (d18O,d2H, d13C-DIC, d11B, 87Sr/86Sr, d7Li, 206Pb/208Pb) and radionuclides (228Ra/226Ra, 210Pb/226Ra). Based on preliminary data, it is hypothesized that the novel multi-isotopes tracers will enable us to characterize and identify the geochemical fingerprints of HFFs, providing the basis for evaluation of their origin and possible impacts on the environment. It is proposed to investigate already collected HFFs? samples in addition to new collection of water resources in areas of shale gas development in WV and PA. In particular, the study aims to (1) integrate geochemical and isotopic data for reconstruction the origin and evolution of produced and flowback waters in shale formations as compared to produced waters from conventional oil and gas wells; (2) evaluate possible contamination of surface water by HFFs upon disposal of inadequately treated wastewater, spills, or leakage from HFFs? ponds; (3) simulate reactions of HFF with sediments and mixing with other water types through laboratory experiments and thermo-kinetic modeling; and (4) evaluate groundwater contamination in areas associated with shale gas development in WV.
This project is being jointly supported by the NSF Geobiology and Low-Temperature Geochemistry program, the NSF Sustainable Chemistry, Engineering and Materials (SusChEM) initiative, and the NSF Environmental Sustainability program.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
Intellectual merit
The environmental effects of hydraulic fracturing and unconventional oil and gas development in the U.S. were investigated as part of this NSF project. Research conducted yielded 14 peer-reviewed scientific papers published in the top-ranked journals in the field and made a significant impact on the knowledge on the environmental effects of hydraulic fracturing. The scientific outcome is reflected by the high number of citations for many of the papers generated in this project. Many of the results that were generated in this NSF project have become the key scientific methods for evaluation of the impact of unconventional oil and gas development, including: (1) the ability to identify and monitor hydraulic fracturing fluids in the environment and distinguish the impact of unconventional from conventional oil and gas wastewater such as spills or discharge of oil and gas wastewater to the environment; (2) the recognition that ammonium and iodide are important pollutants present in oil and gas wastewater that require additional monitoring and treatment to prevent the formation of disinfection byproducts in downstream chlorinated water; (3) the ability to use the geochemical fingerprints of hydraulic fracturing fluids and identified spills from shale gas and unconventional oil development in West Virginia and North Dakota; (4) the ability to distinguish stray gas contamination from naturally occurring methane occurrence in groundwater and to delineate mechanisms of natural gas leaking from shale gas wells; (5) the ability to define stray gas contaminated groundwater in Pennsylvania and Texas, while to rule out anthropogenic contamination in drinking water wells near shale gas sites in West Virginia; (6) the ability to identify and record accumulation of radium nuclides in sediments and soil impacted by spills or disposal of oil and gas wastewater; (7) the ability use radium and decay-product nuclides accumulated on impacted sediments and soil to age-date spills and disposal of oil and gas wastewater; (8) understanding that the majority of the injected hydraulic fracturing fluids is retained within the shale formation following hydraulic fracturing, while the flowback water is composed by predominantly formation brine that is released to shale gas wells with hydrocarbons; and (9) to establish critical data in evaluating the water use for hydraulic fracturing and the volume of flowback and produced water generated from unconventional oil and gas development, and the changes over time due to the intensification of the hydraulic fracturing process . Combined, this extensive research outcome has shaped our understanding on the environmental effects of hydraulic fracturing.
Broader Impacts.
Given the importance of unconventional energy exploration and hydraulic fracturing in the U.S., significant public interest has been made for this study, reflected in numerous media coverage of the publications generated in this study. The ability to generate comprehensive scientific data and provide key information on debated issues related to hydraulic fracturing and shale gas development was one of the major achievements of this project. The large number of publications that emerged from this project have generated the scientific foundation for evaluation of the environmental effects of unconventional oil and gas development and the potential risks to human health.
Last Modified: 10/13/2018
Modified by: Avner Vengosh
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