When Oil and ​Water Mix: ​Understanding ​the Environmental Impacts of Fracking ​

The article “When oil and water mix: Understanding the environmental impacts of shale development” explores what is known and not known about the environmental risks of fracking with the intent of fostering informed discussions within the geoscience community on the topic of hydraulic fracturing.

In this paper, Dan Soeder, director of the Energy Resources Initiative at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, and Douglas B. Kent of the United States Geological Survey, bridge the gap in consensus regarding fracking, providing current information about the environmental impacts of shale development.

The article is open access and adheres to science and policy, presenting a complicated and controversial topic in a manner more easily understood by the lay person.

"Geoscientists from dinosaur experts to the people studying the surface of Mars are often asked by the public to weigh-in with their opinions on fracking. We wanted the broader geoscience community to be aware of what is known and not known about the impacts of this technology on air, water, ecosystems and human health. A great deal has been learned in the past decade, but there are still critical unknowns where we don't yet have answers," Soeder says.

In the article, Soeder and Kent address the various potential impacts of fracking and how those impacts are being addressed.

Source: Elko Daily

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Taxonomy

• Environment
• Fracking
• Oil Field Chemicals
• Fracking Technology
• Heavy Oil
• Oil & Gas