Marcellus Shale gas drilling accidents have contaminated surface and ground waters that supply several wetlands in the Moshannon State Forest in Pennsylvania. Water quality testing in 2009 indicated high total dissolved solids and specific conductance, as well as high concentrations of strontium, manganese, barium, sodium, and chloride, all which is typical of Marcellus Shale well discharge water. Vegetation sampling, water quality sampling, amphibian sampling, and bird point-count surveys will be conducted in these contaminated wetlands. The sites will be used as proxies to assess potential impacts to wetlands in the Marcellus Shale region of the Lake Ontario watershed in New York, where similar sampling will be conducted at comparable unimpacted wetlands. We hope to identify how drilling by hydraulic fracturing is impacting the contaminated wetlands and to highlight any potential problems that could be expected in New York State if Marcellus Shale gas drilling begins.
| Presenter: | Andrea Graham (Graduate Student) |
|---|---|
| Topic: | Environmental Science |
| Location: | 122 Hartwell |
| Time: | 4:15 pm Session V |
