Geochemical evidence for possible natural migration of Marcellus Formation brine to shallow aquifers in Pennsylvania

• Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 2012-07, Vol.109 (30), p.11961-11966
• Main Authors: Warner, Nathaniel R, Jackson, Robert B, Darrah, Thomas H, Osborn, Stephen G, Down, Adrian, Zhao, Kaiguang, White, Alissa, Vengosh, Avner
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: alluvium; Aquifers; barium; basins; Brines; bromine; Chromatography, Ion Exchange; Contamination; Drilling; Drinking water; gases; Geochemistry; Geological Phenomena; Groundwater; Groundwater - chemistry; hydrodynamics; Isotopes - analysis; Mass Spectrometry; Methane; mixing; Oil exploration; oxygen; Pennsylvania; Physical Sciences; Potable water; radionuclides; radium; Radium - analysis; risk; rural communities; saline water; Salinity; Salts - chemistry; Saltwater; shale; Shales; Shallow water; sodium; stable isotopes; strontium; Strontium Isotopes - analysis; Water Movements; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis; water quality; water salinization; Water Supply - analysis; wells
• ISSN: 0027-8424; 1091-6490
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1121181109

The debate surrounding the safety of shale gas development in the Appalachian Basin has generated increased awareness of drinking water quality in rural communities. Concerns include the potential for migration of stray gas, metal-rich formation brines, and hydraulic fracturing and/or flowback fluids to drinking water aquifers. A critical question common to these environmental risks is the hydraulic connectivity between the shale gas formations and the overlying shallow drinking water aquifers. We present geochemical evidence from northeastern Pennsylvania showing that pathways, unrelated to recent drilling activities, exist in some locations between deep underlying formations and shallow drinking water aquifers. Integration of chemical data (Br, Cl, Na, Ba, Sr, and Li) and isotopic ratios (⁸⁷Sr/ ⁸⁶Sr, ²H/H, ¹⁸O/ ¹⁶O, and ²²⁸Ra/ ²²⁶Ra) from this and previous studies in 426 shallow groundwater samples and 83 northern Appalachian brine samples suggest that mixing relationships between shallow ground water and a deep formation brine causes groundwater salinization in some locations. The strong geochemical fingerprint in the salinized (Cl > 20 mg/L) groundwater sampled from the Alluvium, Catskill, and Lock Haven aquifers suggests possible migration of Marcellus brine through naturally occurring pathways. The occurrences of saline water do not correlate with the location of shale-gas wells and are consistent with reported data before rapid shale-gas development in the region; however, the presence of these fluids suggests conductive pathways and specific geostructural and/or hydrodynamic regimes in northeastern Pennsylvania that are at increased risk for contamination of shallow drinking water resources, particularly by fugitive gases, because of natural hydraulic connections to deeper formations.