USC Geology 110 Quiz 2 – Flashcards
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Hydraulic Fracturing environmental risks
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water pollution, groundwater contamination, induced earthquakes
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Geology
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the study of Earth's history and processes as recorded in rocks - is a young field, emerging in the late 1700s and early 1800s.
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Igneous
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type of rock cooled from lava
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Sedimentary
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type of rock formed from eroded older rocks/shell deposited in basins, deltas, or seabeds- 'lithified' by pressure and temperature
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metamorphic
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deformed older igneous or sedimentary rocks
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James Hutton
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"theory of the earth" 1788-1795: Age of Earth, must be Hundreds of Millions of Years, or even Thousands of Millions of Years
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Age of Earth
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4.55billion years old
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Charles Lyell
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"Principles of Geology": notion of uniformitarianism
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Global Environmental Perturbation
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at the K-T boundary, 65 mya: global iridium anomalies, shocked quartz occurrences, mega-tsunami deposits near the gulf of mexico
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Uniformitarianism
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uniformity of laws, process, rate, conditions
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Injection Induced Earthquakes
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clear connection between disposal wells and earthquakes (Oklahoma) - created a new seismic hazard in the United states
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about half of US natural gas production
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shale and "tight" gas production last year
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Shale
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Fine-grained sedimentary rock composed of very small (0.002 mm) clay particles. Shales are often rich in organic material, and so fine-grained that tiny details are preserved as fossils
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Reason for Fracking
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organic content is so high that oil has formed, but is trapped in the shale.
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History of Fracking
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been around since the 1940s and is a mature method of secondary oil recovery.
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Fracking Process
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pumping water, sand, and chemicals at high pressure into oil and gas wells to fracture the rock and thereby make it possible to more efficiently extract more oil and gas.
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Produced Fracking Water
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Can consist of fracturing fluids, heavy metals, brine waters, dissolved minerals or organic matter from the shale
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wastewater treatment plants
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- Cannot handle the quantity of water used - Unsure of the chemical composition of fracturing process - Doesnt fully remove salts and other solids
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additional treatment methods
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- Re-inject water into the ground - Allow wastewater to evaporate - Dilute produced water and reuse it in future fracking
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Marcellus Shale
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underlies a large portion of the several eastern and mid- western states, has become a major source of natural gas over the past decade. used .5 to 6 million gallons of water
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Reserve growth
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natural gas has come primarily in the form of shale gas, which (like shale oil) is extracted by horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracking technologies.
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Clastic
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small grains or clasts cemented together
