Tucson 'fracking' workshop

Bruce Smith from AAPG’s Division of Environmental Geosciences published a summary in the new issue of the AAPG Explorer of a one-day workshop on hydraulic fracturing at the recent Symposium on the Application of Geophysics to Engineering and Environmental Problems (SAGEEP) in Tucson, Ariz. in March.  The workshop, titled “Hydrofracturing 101: What Is It, What Are the Issues and How Can Geophysics Help?” had 16 presentations on topics that included:

• The hydraulic fracturing process itself.
• Geophysical monitoring of hydraulic fracturing.
• Economic and environmental issues related to hydraulic fracturing.
• Regulatory issues related to perceived threats to infrastructure, groundwater and groundwater availability.
• New approaches to monitoring and assessing possible near-surface impacts of hydraulic fracturing.

This workshop topically also serves as a lead-in to the upcoming Geoscience Technology Workshop on hydraulic fracturing that will be held in Golden, Colo. on Aug. 13-15

[this post is excerpted from Bruce Smith's column in the Explorer]