The debate over hydrofracking in regions of Marcellus shale drilling is growing. Many residents near drilling fields are concerned that the process will taint their drinking water with methane.

An important study led by one West Virginia University faculty member has found that dissolved methane gas already exists in groundwater where there is no shale gas drilling.

Shikha Sharma, assistant professor at WVU, moved to Morgantown last year after directing a core isotope research facility at the University of Wyoming. Her main research involves the use of stable isotopes to address issues related to water and energy. She is now researching the origins of methane gas in the Monongahela River watershed and other areas of this region.

“The source of methane gas can range from active or inactive deep coal mines, landfills, gas storage fields or microbial gas generated in a shallow subsurface,” said Sharma. “However, all methane is not isotopically the same. Depending on how and where this methane is formed it can have very different C and H isotope signatures, this gives us the ability to know if it comes from hydrofracking releases or some other source.”

Sharma’s research is being funded by a $25,000 grant from the U.S. Geological Survey provided through the West Virginia Water Research Institute. This money allows Sharma and her graduate student, Michon Mulder, to gather and test water samples from groundwater wells in the Monongahela River watershed.

The study is being completed in collaboration with scientists in the U.S. Geological Survey West Virginia Water Science Center in Charleston, W.Va. The study will allow the researchers to construct a picture of existing methane gas sources in the area, which can then potentially be used as a baseline for identifying dissolved methane releases associated with Marcellus shale gas drilling.

“There are some concerns associated with higher levels of dissolved methane,” continued Sharma. “The levels of dissolved methane higher than 28 milligrams per liter are considered potentially flammable. Because dissolved methane already exists in some of our samples, we need to figure out where the actual sources of this dissolved methane gas are located.”

Sharma believes that in an area where hydrofracking is becoming a common occurrence, residents and researchers should be aware of what already exists in the waters in some parts of the watershed.

“As a scientist, it is my job to stay focused on the scientific perspective of this study while staying neutral on the political and social issues associated with it,” she said. “It is important to understand exactly how much methane exists in the groundwater now and what sources it comes from, so that unbiased decisions can be made regarding the potential and real impacts of hydrofracking on our water sources in the future.”

For more information, contact Shikha Sharma at Shikha.Sharma@mail.wvu.edu.

-WVU-

jl/9/19/11

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