The Experts below are selected from a list of 12993 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Constantine Samaras - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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estimating the consumptive use costs of shale Natural Gas Extraction on pennsylvania roadways
Journal of Infrastructure Systems, 2014Co-Authors: Shmuel Abramzon, Constantine Samaras, Aimee E Curtright, Aviva Litovitz, Nicholas BurgerAbstract:AbstractThe development of Natural Gas resources in the Marcellus Shale formation has progressed rapidly in the last several years, particularly in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. These activities require many heavy truck trips for equipment and materials, which can damage state and local roads that were not designed for high volumes of heavy truck traffic. For state transportation agencies, one measure of costs of shale Gas development is the potential degradation of roadways resulting from shale Gas development. This technical note, provides a first-order an estimate of roadway consumptive use costs of additional heavy truck traffic on Pennsylvania state-maintained roadways from Marcellus Shale Natural Gas development in 201, estimated at 1 about $13,000–$23,000 per well for all state roadway types, or $5,000–$10,000 per well if state roads with the lowest traffic volumes are excluded. This initial estimate of costs, is based on data on the distribution of well activity and roadway type in Pennsylvani...
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estimation of regional air quality damages from marcellus shale Natural Gas Extraction in pennsylvania
Environmental Research Letters, 2013Co-Authors: Aviva Litovitz, Shmuel Abramzon, Aimee E Curtright, Nicholas Burger, Constantine SamarasAbstract:This letter provides a first-order estimate of conventional air pollutant emissions, and the monetary value of the associated environmental and health damages, from the Extraction of unconventional shale Gas in Pennsylvania. Region-wide estimated damages ranged from $7.2 to $32 million dollars for 2011. The emissions from Pennsylvania shale Gas Extraction represented only a few per cent of total statewide emissions, and the resulting statewide damages were less than those estimated for each of the state's largest coal-based power plants. On the other hand, in counties where activities are concentrated, NOx emissions from all shale Gas activities were 20–40 times higher than allowable for a single minor source, despite the fact that individual new Gas industry facilities generally fall below the major source threshold for NOx. Most emissions are related to ongoing activities, i.e., Gas production and compression, which can be expected to persist beyond initial development and which are largely unrelated to the unconventional nature of the resource. Regulatory agencies and the shale Gas industry, in developing regulations and best practices, should consider air emissions from these long-term activities, especially if development occurs in more populated areas of the state where per-ton emissions damages are significantly higher.
Robert B Jackson - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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the environmental costs and benefits of fracking
Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 2014Co-Authors: Robert B Jackson, Thomas H Darrah, Avner Vengosh, William J Carey, Richard J Davies, Francis Osullivan, G PetronAbstract:Unconventional oil and Natural Gas Extraction enabled by horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (fracking) is driving an economic boom, with consequences described from “revolutionary” to “disastrous.” Reality lies somewhere in between. Unconventional energy generates income and, done well, can reduce air pollution and even water use compared with other fossil fuels. Alternatively, it could slow the adoption of renewables and, done poorly, release toxic chemicals into water and air. Primary threats to water resources include surface spills, wastewater disposal, and drinking-water contamination through poor well integrity. An increase in volatile organic compounds and air toxics locally are potential health threats, but the switch from coal to Natural Gas for electricity generation will reduce sulfur, nitrogen, mercury, and particulate air pollution. Data gaps are particularly evident for human health studies, for the question of whether Natural Gas will displace coal compared with renewables, and fo...
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the integrity of oil and Gas wells
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2014Co-Authors: Robert B JacksonAbstract:Public concerns about oil and Natural Gas Extraction these days inevitably turn to hydraulic fracturing, where millions of gallons of water, sand, and chemicals are pumped underground at high pressures to crack open rocks. Hydraulic fracturing often occurs a mile or more down, far from the water we drink or the air we breathe. The focus for safety and environmental stewardship should often be somewhere else—nearer the surface—emphasizing risks from spills, wastewater disposal, and the integrity of oil and Natural Gas wells passing through drinking-water aquifers (1⇓⇓–4). In PNAS, Ingraffea et al. (5) examine one of these factors, well integrity, across the Marcellus region of Pennsylvania, using inspection records from the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). In a technical sense, “well integrity” refers to the zonal isolation of liquids and Gases from the target formation or from intermediate layers through which the well passes. In a practical sense, it means that a well doesn’t leak. Drilling companies emphasize well integrity because a faulty well is expensive to repair and, in the rarest of cases, costs lives, as in the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Drillers use steel casing (pipes), cement between nested casings and between the outside casing and rock wall, and mechanical devices to keep fluids inside the well. Faulty casing and cementing cause most well integrity problems. Steel casing can leak at the connections or corrode from acids. Cement can deteriorate with time too, but leaks also happen when cement shrinks, develops cracks or channels, or is lost into the surrounding rock when applied. If integrity fails, Gases and liquids can leak out of the casing or, just as importantly, move into, up, and out of the well through faulty cement between the casing and the rock wall. Much is … [↵][1]1Email: rob.jackson{at}stanford.edu. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1
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air impacts of increased Natural Gas acquisition processing and use a critical review
Environmental Science & Technology, 2014Co-Authors: Christopher W Moore, G Petron, Barbara Zielinska, Robert B JacksonAbstract:During the past decade, technological advancements in the United States and Canada have led to rapid and intensive development of many unconventional Natural Gas plays (e.g., shale Gas, tight sand Gas, coal-bed methane), raising concerns about environmental impacts. Here, we summarize the current understanding of local and regional air quality impacts of Natural Gas Extraction, production, and use. Air emissions from the Natural Gas life cycle include greenhouse Gases, ozone precursors (volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides), air toxics, and particulates. National and state regulators primarily use generic emission inventories to assess the climate, air quality, and health impacts of Natural Gas systems. These inventories rely on limited, incomplete, and sometimes outdated emission factors and activity data, based on few measurements. We discuss case studies for specific air impacts grouped by Natural Gas life cycle segment, summarize the potential benefits of using Natural Gas over other fossil ...
Yetkin Borlu - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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local impacts of unconventional Gas development within pennsylvania s marcellus shale region gauging boomtown development through the perspectives of educational administrators
Society & Natural Resources, 2014Co-Authors: Kai A. Schafft, Leland Glenna, Brandn Green, Yetkin BorluAbstract:Using survey and interview data gathered from educators and educational administrators, we investigate school and community impacts of unconventional Gas Extraction within Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale region. Respondents in areas with high levels of drilling are significantly more likely to perceive the effects of local economic gains, but also report increased inequality, heightened vulnerability of disadvantaged community members, and pronounced strains on local infrastructure. As community stakeholders in positions of local leadership, school leaders in areas experiencing Marcellus Shale Natural Gas Extraction often face multiple decision-making dilemmas. These dilemmas occur in the context of incomplete information and rapid, unpredictable community change involving the emergence of both new opportunities and new insecurities.
Gluyas Jon - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Monitoring land motion due to Natural Gas Extraction: validation of the intermittent SBAS (ISBAS) DInSAR algorithm over Gas fields of North Holland, the Netherlands
'Elsevier BV', 2016Co-Authors: Gee David, Sowter Andrew, Novellino Alessandro, Marsh Stuart, Gluyas JonAbstract:The differential interferometric synthetic aperture radar (DInSAR) remote sensing technique has proven to be invaluable in the remote monitoring of earth surface movements associated with the Extraction and geostorage (subsurface injection) of Natural resources (water, oil, Gas). However, a significant limitation of this technique is the low density and uneven coverage that may be achieved over vegetated rural environments. The Intermittent Small Baseline Subset (ISBAS) method, an amended version of the established SBAS algorithm, has been designed to improve coverage over rural, vegetated, land cover classes by allowing for the intermittent coherence that is predominant in such areas. In this paper we perform a validation of the ISBAS method over an area of Gas production and geostorage in North Holland, the Netherlands. Fortytwo ERS-2 (SAR) C-band images (1995-2000) and 63 ENVISAT (ASAR) C-band images (2003-2010) were processed using the ISBAS technique and the derived measurements enabled the identification of subsidence patterns in rural and urban areas alike. The dominant feature was an area of subsidence to the west of Alkmaar, attributed to Natural Gas production from the Bergermeer reservoir, where subsidence rates in the region of 3 mm/year were measured. Displacements derived using linear and non-linear surface deformation models were validated with respect to the first order system of levelling benchmarks which form the Amsterdam Ordnance Datum (NAP). It was established that ISBAS products were accurate to within 1.52 mm/year and 1.12 mm/year for the ERS and ENVISAT data sets respectively. Error budgets were comparable to results using persistent scatterers interferometry (PSI) during a validation activity carried out in the European Space Agency Terrafirma project. These results confirm the capability of the ISBAS method to provide a more regular sampling of land motion measurements over Gas fields that may be critically used in future to infer the properties of buried, fluid-filled, porous rock
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Monitoring land motion due to Natural Gas Extraction : validation of the Intermittent SBAS (ISBAS) DInSAR algorithm over Gas fields of North Holland, the Netherlands.
'Elsevier BV', 2016Co-Authors: Gee David, Sowter Andrew, Novellino Alessandro, Marsh Stuart, Gluyas JonAbstract:The differential interferometric synthetic aperture radar (DInSAR) remote sensing technique has proven to be invaluable in the remote monitoring of earth surface movements associated with the Extraction and geostorage (subsurface injection) of Natural resources (water, oil, Gas). However, a significant limitation of this technique is the low density and uneven coverage that may be achieved over vegetated rural environments. The Intermittent Small Baseline Subset (ISBAS) method, an amended version of the established SBAS algorithm, has been designed to improve coverage over rural, vegetated, land cover classes by allowing for the intermittent coherence that is predominant in such areas. In this paper we perform a validation of the ISBAS method over an area of Gas production and geostorage in North Holland, the Netherlands. Forty-two ERS-2 (SAR) C-band images (1995–2000) and 63 ENVISAT (ASAR) C-band images (2003–2010) were processed using the ISBAS technique and the derived measurements enabled the identification of subsidence patterns in rural and urban areas alike. The dominant feature was an area of subsidence to the west of Alkmaar, attributed to Natural Gas production from the Bergermeer reservoir, where subsidence rates in the region of 3 mm/year were measured. Displacements derived using linear and non-linear surface deformation models were validated with respect to the first order system of levelling benchmarks which form the Amsterdam Ordnance Datum (NAP). It was established that ISBAS products were accurate to within 1.52 mm/year and 1.12 mm/year for the ERS and ENVISAT data sets respectively. Errors achieved were comparable to results using persistent scatterers interferometry (PSI) during a validation activity carried out in the European Space Agency Terrafirma project. These results confirm the capability of the ISBAS method to provide a more regular sampling of land motion measurements over Gas fields that may be critically used in future to infer the properties of buried, fluid-filled, porous rock
Emily Grubert - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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communication science for science communication water management for oil and Natural Gas Extraction
Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, 2017Co-Authors: Emily Grubert, Margaret CookAbstract:AbstractWater management for oil and Natural Gas Extraction in the United States has become a topic of public interest and concern. This societal relevance simultaneously heightens the need for rig...
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can switching fuels save water a life cycle quantification of freshwater consumption for texas coal and Natural Gas fired electricity
Environmental Research Letters, 2012Co-Authors: Emily Grubert, Fred C Beach, Michael E WebberAbstract:Thermal electricity generation is a major consumer of freshwater for cooling, fuel Extraction and air emissions controls, but the life cycle water impacts of different fossil fuel cycles are not well understood. Much of the existing literature relies on decades-old estimates for water intensity, particularly regarding water consumed for fuel Extraction. This work uses contemporary data from specific resource basins and power plants in Texas to evaluate water intensity at three major stages of coal and Natural Gas fuel cycles: fuel Extraction, power plant cooling and power plant emissions controls. In particular, the water intensity of fuel Extraction is quantified for Texas lignite, conventional Natural Gas and 11 unconventional Natural Gas basins in Texas, including major second-order impacts associated with multi-stage hydraulic fracturing. Despite the rise of this water-intensive Natural Gas Extraction method, Natural Gas Extraction appears to consume less freshwater than coal per unit of energy extracted in Texas because of the high water intensity of Texas lignite Extraction. This work uses new resource basin and power plant level water intensity data to estimate the potential effects of coal to Natural Gas fuel switching in Texas’ power sector, a shift under consideration due to potential environmental benefits and very low Natural Gas prices. Replacing Texas’ coal-fired power plants with Natural Gas combined cycle plants (NGCCs) would reduce annual freshwater consumption in the state by an estimated 53 billion gallons per year, or 60% of Texas coal power’s water footprint, largely due to the higher efficiency of NGCCs.
