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groundwater quality was not degraded by and food-based compounds and geosyn- uncertainty, facilitate fact-based regula-
the activity onsite; final results will be thetics to enhance containment ( Thomas tions, and improve their social license to
published in a DOE report. et al., 2018) . Environmental risks of stan- operate ( Table S6) .
The Marcellus Shale Energy and dard frack fluid chemicals and green Geoscientists are frequently called upon
Environment Laboratory ( MSEEL) is a alternatives need to be better understood, to answer questions about fracking. The
long-term, collaborative field site located and the oil and gas industry must be con- issues are neither simple nor static, and
near Morgantown, West Virginia, to vinced that green chemicals perform as keeping up with rapidly evolving technol-
develop and validate new technology for well as and cost the same or less than the ogy and a highly adaptable industry is a
improving recovery efficiency and reduc- chemicals they replace. significant challenge. For example, in
ing environmental impacts of shale-gas These issues are also being addressed 2010, the discharge of high TDS wastewa-
development ( Table S6 [ see footnote 2] ) . by the Environmentally Friendly Drilling ter in the effluent from municipal waste-
The MSEEL developed a geologic and ( EFD) program supported by DOE at the water treatment plants was identified as
engineering baseline using two older Houston Advanced Research Center the greatest environmental risk from UOG
Marcellus wells at the site, and a vertical ( HARC) . Field trials of new technologies development ( Roz ell and Reaven, 2012) .
drill core of the Marcellus Shale was for site selection, drilling, completion, Beneficial use of produced water for road
obtained from one of the new production production, and gas compression, along de-icing and dust suppression ( e.g., Skalak
wells. A scientific observation well sup- with public perception studies, help indus- et al., 2014) was curtailed. A few years
plied detailed subsurface information try develop oil and gas resources in a more later, water management practices had
including 150 sidewall cores and provided environmentally responsible manner. changed to flowback recycling and dis-
monitoring access for new hydraulic frac- posal of residual waste down UIC wells
turing technologies tested in the produc- CHALLENGES AND ( Rodriguez and Soeder, 2015) , eliminating
tion laterals, which also furnish produced OPPORTUNITIES worries about discharge from wastewater
water and gas samples to researchers. Research on the environmental impacts plants. These were replaced by new con-
Q uality of surface water, air, and noise of UOG development was affected by dra- cerns over the risk of spills or leaks from
were monitored by geochemists, health matic decreases in oil and gas prices the improper handling of produced water
professionals, and social scientists. beginning in 2014 ( Fig. S8 [ see footnote ( e.g., Patterson et al., 2017) , and high vol-
Continued research at MSEEL is expected 2] ) . Natural gas prices fell first, leading to umes of wastewater injection causing
to improve extraction and management of a steady decline in the number of active induced seismicity ( Llenos and Michael,
subsurface energy resources and advance drill rigs on the shale gas plays, followed a 2013) . In conclusion, the public is con-
scientific understanding of the environ- few months later by a significant drop in cerned about the uncertainties of human-
mental and social impacts of shale oil prices, leading to an even more abrupt health and possible environmental risks of
development. decline in the number of active rigs drill- fracking, which geoscientists can address
These two field sites have been joined ing the Bakken Shale ( USEIA, 2016) . through rigorous scientific research and
more recently by the Eagle Ford Shale These changes resulted in logistical chal- responsible public engagement ( Brantley
Laboratory in Texas, the Tuscaloosa lenges or cancellations of planned field- et al., 2018) .
Marine Shale Laboratory ( TMSL) in monitoring projects as drillers shifted to
Louisiana, and the Field Laboratory for the more lucrative parts of a play ( e.g., ACK NOW LED GMENTS
Emerging Stacked Unconventional Plays Soeder, 2015) . Fewer operating drill rigs This article grew out of a Pardee Symposium
( ESUP) in the Nora Gas Field in Virginia. reduced the number of potential access convened at the 2016 GSA Annual Meeting in
The Geological Survey of Canada also has options for investigators. Denver, Colorado, USA, where researchers from
been performing field investigations of Oil and gas production is a cyclical academia, industry, and government discussed
progress toward understanding the environmen-
potential hydrocarbon migration from the business. Unconventional resources feed tal impacts of UOG development. We gratefully
Utica Shale at a depth of 2 km to shallow the same markets as all other components acknowledge support for the symposium pro-
aquifers in the St. Lawrence lowlands of the energy sector. During boom times, vided by the Pardee Symposium Fund of the
( Rivard et al., 2016) . Variable isotopic industry is in a frenz y to gain lease posi- Geological Society of America. Funding for the
authors was provided by the U.S. DOE National
compositions of CH indicate that biogenic tions and install wells while prices are Energy Technology Laboratory, the USGS Toxic
4
and thermogenic methane likely originated high and competition stiff. Partnering in Substances Hydrology Program, and the USGS
from black shales underlying shallow bed- research on environmental and human- Water Mission Area. Joe Gardiner ( USGS) pro-
rock aquifers. Although upward migration health impacts is low on their priority list. duced Figure 1. Comments by Mike Focaz io,
of deep brine was discovered along a nor- When prices drop, development slows Isabelle Coz z arelli, Mark Engle, Christopher
Conaway, Barbara Bekins, Joe Ryan, Gerald
mal fault, there is no evidence of signifi- down. There is less drilling and fewer Dickens, and three anonymous reviewers greatly
cant gas migration from the Utica Shale. opportunities for researchers, but the improved the manuscript. Any use of trade, firm,
downward part of the cycle also provides or product names is for descriptive purposes only
ALTERNATIVE MATERIALS AND an opportunity to discuss potential part- and does not imply endorsement by the U.S.
PRACTICES nerships in projects investigating environ- government.
A study at the University of Arkansas, mental and human-health impacts. REFERENCES CITED
Little Rock, assessed industry adoption of Industry partners are more willing to lis- Akob, D.M., Mumford, A.C., Orem, W., Engle,
hydraulic fracturing technologies that use ten to researchers’ ideas and interested in M.A., Klinges, J.G., Kent, D.B., and Coz z arelli,
“ greener” chemicals, including low-VOC data that could increase efficiency, reduce I.M., 2016, Wastewater disposal from unconven-

8 GSA Today | September 2018