Potential Contaminant Pathways from Hydraulically Fractured Shale to Aquifers

Cohen, Harvey A.; Parratt, Toomas; Andrews, Charles B.

doi:10.1111/gwat.12015

Cited by 25 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 3 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…One concern is that methane liberated by the hydraulic fracturing process and additive chemicals could migrate to shallow aquifers or the surface. A recent study (Myers 2012) attempted to address this issue and prompted discussion and criticism (Saiers and Barth 2012;Myers 2013;Cohen et al 2013), highlighting the level of uncertainty about the degree and nature of potential contamination from this activity. Further research in the field and through modeling is necessary for understanding of the depth and breadth of potential groundwater impacts to catch up with the rapid increase in development of unconventional gas resources (Jackson et al 2013).…”

Section: 5mentioning

confidence: 99%

The International Scale of the Groundwater Issue

Fienen

Arshad

2016

Integrated Groundwater Management

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Throughout history, and throughout the world, groundwater has been a major source of water for sustaining human life. Use of this resource has increased dramatically over the last century. In many areas of the world, the balance between human and ecosystem needs is difficult to maintain. Understanding the international scale of the groundwater issue requires metrics and analysis at a commensurate scale. Advances in remote sensing supplement older traditional direct measurement methods for understanding the magnitude of depletion, and all measurements motivate the need for common data standards to collect and share information. In addition to metrics of groundwater availability, four key international groundwater issues are depletion of water, degradation of water quality, the water-energy nexus, and transboundary water conflicts. This chapter is devoted to introducing these issues, which are also discussed in more detail in later chapters.

show abstract

Section: 5mentioning

confidence: 99%

The International Scale of the Groundwater Issue

Fienen

Arshad

2016

Integrated Groundwater Management

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…As it is evidenced in multiple field studies for Marcellus Shale and other shale formations (e.g. Saiers and Barth 2012;Cohen et al 2013;Reagan et al 2015), it is not a valid assumption to model the formation underneath the aquifer as a fully-saturated medium. This medium is, in general, partially filled with water.…”

Section: Conceptual Hydrogeological Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Brine migration in the Marcellus shale has been reported as a possible risk pathway to the shallow groundwater using a 2D single-phase flow model (Myers 2012;Saiers and Barth 2012;Cohen et al 2013). Hypothetical work on geological settings in Germany using a 3D multicomponent multiphase model shows gas migration potential from shale formations in lengthy time periods (Kissinger et al 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydraulic fracturing and the environment: risk assessment for groundwater contamination from well casing failure

Jabbari

Aminzadeh

Barros

2016

Stoch Environ Res Risk Assess

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A system approach is used to investigate the potential risk of groundwater contamination from a failure associated with hydraulic fracturing. The focus is on the role of permeability anisotropy, initial saturation of the medium, leakage depth and leakage rate in controlling the contamination risk at environmentally sensitive locations. We numerically simulate the fluid flow and chemical transport in the geological formations, and use the Monte Carlo algorithm to quantify uncertainty. Geological and operational parameters are selected as random variables. We develop a risk framework to assess three environmental performance metrics: the solute concentration, the arrival times from source to receptor, and the ingestion hazard of the contaminated aquifer. We define risk as the probability of exceeding a certain threshold level for each metric. The effect of parametric uncertainty in risk is also analyzed. The results show that risk strongly depends on water saturation and the anisotropy of the permeability distribution. Furthermore, the measured risk value is more sensitive to leakage depth and leakage rate when compared to the hydrogeological properties. Findings of this study may be applied to situations with more stringent well integrity requirements to ensure that hydraulic fracturing is practiced in an environmentally safe and sound manner, with minimal risk to water contamination.

show abstract

“…This conclusion, however, has been widely criticized. In particular, Saiers and Barth (2012) and Cohen et al (2013) asserted that the model excluded key processes, model boundary conditions were incorrectly prescribed, and the hydrostratigraphy was oversimplified, and thus, Myers' model predictions are unrealistic. It is clear from this controversy that additional study is needed to improve the understanding of the fate of injected frac fluid and potentially displaced formation brines that do not return to the surface (Vidic et al, 2013).…”

Section: Water Resources and Shale Gas/shale Oil Extractionmentioning

confidence: 99%