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David N Mott

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Shale gas is a key source of onshore domestic energy for the United States and production of this resource is increasing rapidly. Development and extraction of shale gas requires hydraulic fracturing, which entails horizontal drilling, perforation of steel casing and cement grout using explosive charges, and expansion of fractures using fluids under high pressure. Concern over potential environmental effects of shale gas development is growing and based on a recent review there is very little information in the scientific literature on potential environmental effects of hydraulic fracturing. We propose to conduct the first broad scale, data-based assessment of the potential effects of hydraulic fracturing on water...
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Heightened concern regarding the potential effects of unconventional oil and gas development on regional water quality has emerged, but the few studies on this topic are limited in geographic scope. Here we evaluate the potential utility of national and publicly available water-quality data sets for addressing questions regarding unconventional oil and gas development. We used existing U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data sets to increase understanding of the spatial distribution of unconventional oil and gas development in the U.S. and broadly assess surface water quality trends in these areas. Based on sample size limitations, we were able to estimate trends in specific conductance...
Categories: Publication; Types: Citation
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