Using Big Data and Small Data (Noble Gases) to Assess the Impact of Shale Gas Drilling on Water Quality
Tuesday, March 5, 2019: 11:25 a.m.
Tao Wen
,
Earth and Environmental Systems Institute, Penn State University, University Park, PA
Mengqi Liu
,
College of Information Sciences and Technology, Penn State University, University Park, PA
Josh Woda
,
Department of Geosciences, Penn State University, University Park, PA
Guanjie Zheng
,
College of Information Sciences and Technology, Penn State University, University Park, PA
Xianzeng Niu
,
Earth and Environmental Systems Institute, Penn State University, University Park, PA
Matthew Gonzales
,
Department of Geosciences, Penn State University, University Park, PA
Chris Hall
,
Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Jean-Philippe Nicot
,
Bureau of Economic Geology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX
M. Clara Castro
,
Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Zhenhui Li
,
College of Information Sciences and Technology, Penn State University, University Park, PA
Susan Brantley
,
Dept of Geosciences, Earth and Environmental Systems Institute, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
With recent improvements in high-volume hydraulic fracturing, oil and gas reservoirs with lower permeability are now being tapped. Incidents of water contamination have been reported in some areas of unconventional oil and gas development although the frequency of such incidents appears low.
We have been compiling water quality data from varying shale gas plays across the country by either working with the oil and gas regulator or scraping data from existing databases and publications. We developed new data mining and machine learning techniques to analyze these big datasets of water quality in order to understand the effects of shale gas development. For example, we developed a new ensemble learning model to predict the likelihood of groundwater being impacted by new methane caused by recent shale gas drilling activities.
In the era of big data, case studies based on smaller dataset are indispensable that allow us to investigate closely the problematic areas pointed out by big data studies. Many geochemical tracers have been proposed to indicate the source of contaminant. Among them, noble gases - that are inert and stable - have been undervalued. The heavy noble gases, Krypton and Xenon are of particular value. Noble gas signatures in groundwater and natural gas (both produced gas and stray gas) are controlled by only physical processes. We have applied noble gases, combined with other lines of evidence (e.g., gas and water chemistry), to identify contrasting sources of groundwater contamination in two shale gas plays. One, in Texas, in the Barnett Shale area where the source of contamination is likely natural, the other in the Marcellus Shale area which might have been contaminated by gas migrating from nearby leaking shale gas well(s).
Tao Wen, Earth and Environmental Systems Institute, Penn State University, University Park, PA
I am currently a postdoctoral scholar at the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute of the Pennsylvania State University. My research interests span a broad range of topics focusing mainly on hydrogeology, geochemistry, environmental sciences, and data mining. In my research, I have blended field geology, state-of-the-art geochemical analyses, as well as emerging data mining (big data) tools to study energy resources (e.g., shale gas and geothermal) across the North America.
Mengqi Liu, College of Information Sciences and Technology, Penn State University, University Park, PA
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Josh Woda, Department of Geosciences, Penn State University, University Park, PA
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Guanjie Zheng, College of Information Sciences and Technology, Penn State University, University Park, PA
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Xianzeng Niu, Earth and Environmental Systems Institute, Penn State University, University Park, PA
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Matthew Gonzales, Department of Geosciences, Penn State University, University Park, PA
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Chris Hall, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
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Jean-Philippe Nicot, Bureau of Economic Geology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX
Jean-Philippe Nicot is a geological engineer and a research scientist at the Bureau of Economic Geology, University of Texas at Austin. He holds a doctorate in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas. Nicot has been working on environmental issues for more than two decades. His current research interests are diverse and include assessment of water use and water disposal practices by the oil and gas industry. Other topics of interest are brackish water desalination and concentrate disposal, natural contamination of aquifers, and potential risks of CO2 storage to aquifers.
M. Clara Castro, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
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Zhenhui Li, College of Information Sciences and Technology, Penn State University, University Park, PA
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Susan Brantley, Dept of Geosciences, Earth and Environmental Systems Institute, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
Susan Brantley is a Distinguished Professor of Geosciences at Pennsylvania State University where she has worked since 1986 on questions related to water-rock interaction.
