Environmental impacts of oil and gas activities in northern Colorado

2018 Fall.Includes bibliographical references.The surge of shale oil and gas exploration and production in the United States is driven by the application of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing which require and generate massive amount of water during the production of crude oil and natural gas. Since 2010, shale oil and gas production from northern Colorado (Wattenberg field) has increased rapidly due to the rich deposit of oil and natural gas in the shale formation, which also raises a lot of concerns over its potential environmental impacts on groundwater and air. To understand the contaminant transport mechanisms, identify the sources of contamination caused by oil and gas operations, and detect the contamination associated with drilling and fracturing activities will help improve the environmental and economic sustainability of shale-gas extraction. Therefore, our research focuses on the following topics: 1, determine the contaminants due to horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing; 2, study on the subsurface transport and distribution of contaminants related to oil and gas activities in groundwater; 3, design and evaluate a regional groundwater monitoring network to detect the contamination events