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Structural and Hydrogeological Controls on Hydrocarbon and Brine Migration into Drinking Water Aquifers in Southern New York.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Kreuzer, RL; Darrah, TH; Grove, BS; Moore, MT; Warner, NR; Eymold, WK; Whyte, CJ; Mitra, G; Jackson, RB; Vengosh, A; Poreda, RJ
Published in: Ground water
March 2018

Environmental concerns regarding the potential for drinking water contamination in shallow aquifers have accompanied unconventional energy development in the northern Appalachian Basin. These activities have also raised several critical questions about the hydrogeological parameters that control the naturally occurring presence and migration of hydrocarbon gases in shallow aquifers within petroliferous basins. To interrogate these factors, we analyzed the noble gas, dissolved ion, and hydrocarbon gas (molecular and isotopic composition) geochemistry of 98 groundwater samples from south-central New York. All samples were collected ≫1km from unconventional drilling activities and sample locations were intentionally targeted based on their proximity to various types of documented fault systems. In agreement with studies from other petroliferous basins, our results show significant correlations between elevated levels of radiogenic [4 He], thermogenic [CH4 ], and dissolved ions (e.g., Cl, Br, Sr, Ba). In combination, our data suggest that faults have facilitated the transport of exogenous hydrocarbon-rich brines from Devonian source rocks into overlying Upper Devonian aquifer lithologies over geologic time. These data conflict with previous reports, which conclude that hydrodynamic focusing regulates the occurrence of methane and salt in shallow aquifers and leads to elevated levels of these species in restricted flow zones within valley bottoms. Instead, our data suggest that faults in Paleozoic rocks play a fundamental role in gas and brine transport from depth, regulate the distribution of their occurrence in shallow aquifers, and influence the geochemistry of shallow groundwater in this petroliferous basin.

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Published In

Ground water

DOI

EISSN

1745-6584

ISSN

0017-467X

Publication Date

March 2018

Volume

56

Issue

2

Start / End Page

225 / 244

Related Subject Headings

  • Water Pollutants, Chemical
  • Salts
  • New York
  • Groundwater
  • Environmental Monitoring
  • Environmental Engineering
  • Drinking Water
  • 3709 Physical geography and environmental geoscience
  • 3707 Hydrology
  • 0799 Other Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences
 

Citation

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Kreuzer, R. L., Darrah, T. H., Grove, B. S., Moore, M. T., Warner, N. R., Eymold, W. K., … Poreda, R. J. (2018). Structural and Hydrogeological Controls on Hydrocarbon and Brine Migration into Drinking Water Aquifers in Southern New York. Ground Water, 56(2), 225–244. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwat.12638
Kreuzer, Rebecca L., Thomas H. Darrah, Benjamin S. Grove, Myles T. Moore, Nathaniel R. Warner, William K. Eymold, Colin J. Whyte, et al. “Structural and Hydrogeological Controls on Hydrocarbon and Brine Migration into Drinking Water Aquifers in Southern New York.Ground Water 56, no. 2 (March 2018): 225–44. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwat.12638.
Kreuzer RL, Darrah TH, Grove BS, Moore MT, Warner NR, Eymold WK, et al. Structural and Hydrogeological Controls on Hydrocarbon and Brine Migration into Drinking Water Aquifers in Southern New York. Ground water. 2018 Mar;56(2):225–44.
Kreuzer, Rebecca L., et al. “Structural and Hydrogeological Controls on Hydrocarbon and Brine Migration into Drinking Water Aquifers in Southern New York.Ground Water, vol. 56, no. 2, Mar. 2018, pp. 225–44. Epmc, doi:10.1111/gwat.12638.
Kreuzer RL, Darrah TH, Grove BS, Moore MT, Warner NR, Eymold WK, Whyte CJ, Mitra G, Jackson RB, Vengosh A, Poreda RJ. Structural and Hydrogeological Controls on Hydrocarbon and Brine Migration into Drinking Water Aquifers in Southern New York. Ground water. 2018 Mar;56(2):225–244.
Journal cover image

Published In

Ground water

DOI

EISSN

1745-6584

ISSN

0017-467X

Publication Date

March 2018

Volume

56

Issue

2

Start / End Page

225 / 244

Related Subject Headings

  • Water Pollutants, Chemical
  • Salts
  • New York
  • Groundwater
  • Environmental Monitoring
  • Environmental Engineering
  • Drinking Water
  • 3709 Physical geography and environmental geoscience
  • 3707 Hydrology
  • 0799 Other Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences