Data Release for Hydrocarbons in Upland Groundwater, Marcellus Shale Region, Northeastern Pennsylvania and Southern New York, USA
Water samples from 50 domestic wells located <1 kilometer (km) (proximal) and >1 km (distal) from shale-gas wells in upland areas of the Marcellus Shale region were analyzed for chemical, isotopic and groundwater-age tracers. Uplands were targeted because natural mixing with brine and hydrocarbons from deep formations is less common in those areas compared to valleys. Methane (CH4) -isotope and pre-drill CH4 data indicate one proximal sample (5 percent of proximal samples) contains thermogenic CH4 (2.6 milligrams per liter (mg/L)) associated with shale-gas production. Chloride (Cl), bromide (Br), lithium (Li), and neon-20 (20Ne)/argon-36 (36Ar) data suggest that CH4 leaked from a nearby gas well in a gas phase. Another proximal sample contains volatile hydrocarbons (0.03-0.4 micrograms per liter (µg/L)), including benzene, found in some hydraulic fracturing fluid. Modeled groundwater-age distributions, calibrated to tritium (3H), sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), and carbon-14 (14C) concentrations, indicate that water recharged prior to shale-gas development, suggesting surface releases associated with shale-gas production were not the source of those hydrocarbons, although leakage from a nearby gas well directly into the old groundwater cannot be ruled out. Estimated age distributions in the samples span ~20 to >10,000 years and have implications for relating occurrences of hydrocarbons in groundwater to surface releases associated with recent shale-gas production, and to the time required to flush contaminants from the system. This data release contains isotopic tracer, noble gas, and groundwater-age tracer concentration data collected by the U.S. Geological Survey and data for pH, specific conductance, major ions, and methane collected by Chesapeake Energy Corporation.
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Complete Metadata
| @type | dcat:Dataset |
|---|---|
| accessLevel | public |
| bureauCode |
[
"010:12"
]
|
| contactPoint |
{
"fn": "Peter B McMahon",
"@type": "vcard:Contact",
"hasEmail": "mailto:pmcmahon@usgs.gov"
}
|
| description | Water samples from 50 domestic wells located <1 kilometer (km) (proximal) and >1 km (distal) from shale-gas wells in upland areas of the Marcellus Shale region were analyzed for chemical, isotopic and groundwater-age tracers. Uplands were targeted because natural mixing with brine and hydrocarbons from deep formations is less common in those areas compared to valleys. Methane (CH4) -isotope and pre-drill CH4 data indicate one proximal sample (5 percent of proximal samples) contains thermogenic CH4 (2.6 milligrams per liter (mg/L)) associated with shale-gas production. Chloride (Cl), bromide (Br), lithium (Li), and neon-20 (20Ne)/argon-36 (36Ar) data suggest that CH4 leaked from a nearby gas well in a gas phase. Another proximal sample contains volatile hydrocarbons (0.03-0.4 micrograms per liter (µg/L)), including benzene, found in some hydraulic fracturing fluid. Modeled groundwater-age distributions, calibrated to tritium (3H), sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), and carbon-14 (14C) concentrations, indicate that water recharged prior to shale-gas development, suggesting surface releases associated with shale-gas production were not the source of those hydrocarbons, although leakage from a nearby gas well directly into the old groundwater cannot be ruled out. Estimated age distributions in the samples span ~20 to >10,000 years and have implications for relating occurrences of hydrocarbons in groundwater to surface releases associated with recent shale-gas production, and to the time required to flush contaminants from the system. This data release contains isotopic tracer, noble gas, and groundwater-age tracer concentration data collected by the U.S. Geological Survey and data for pH, specific conductance, major ions, and methane collected by Chesapeake Energy Corporation. |
| distribution |
[
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"format": "XML",
"accessURL": "https://doi.org/10.5066/P93M7JCD",
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|
| identifier | http://datainventory.doi.gov/id/dataset/USGS_5c58ad28e4b0708288ff2ab6 |
| keyword |
[
"Bradford County, PA",
"Broome County, NY",
"Cycle 3",
"Domestic well",
"Groundwater",
"Groundwater-age distribution",
"Hydrocarbons",
"Marcellus Shale",
"NAWQA",
"New York",
"Pennsylvania",
"Shale-gas well",
"Sullivan County, PA",
"Susquehanna County, PA",
"Tioga County, NY",
"USGS:5c58ad28e4b0708288ff2ab6",
"Water quality",
"Wyoming County, PA"
]
|
| modified | 2020-08-26T00:00:00Z |
| publisher |
{
"name": "U.S. Geological Survey",
"@type": "org:Organization"
}
|
| spatial | -77.0989898925, 41.142764154, -75.2590423178, 42.5552347924 |
| theme |
[
"geospatial"
]
|
| title | Data Release for Hydrocarbons in Upland Groundwater, Marcellus Shale Region, Northeastern Pennsylvania and Southern New York, USA |
