Geology News
Arkansas Current Events

Geology.com and RockTumbler.com are both GeoShops.com websites.

Lots of people enjoy going to fee mining sites where you can prospect inactive surface mines, mine tailings, soil, sediments or outcrops and keep any rocks, gems, minerals or fossils that you find. Examples include: Herkimer Diamond Mines where you can search for doubly-terminated quartz crystals, and Crater of Diamonds where you might be lucky enough to find a real diamond.

“A new study by scientists at Duke University and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) finds no evidence of groundwater contamination from shale gas production in Arkansas.” Quoted from the Duke University press release.

The folks at MyTopo.com are now printing supersized topo maps; large enough make a huge 8′ x 5′ (or 5′ x 8′) map that will look fantastic on the wall of your office, conference room, lobby, cabin or den. These maps are custom-centered on any location that you pick using their online map-making tool.

We are affiliates of MyTopo.com and receive a commission on sales.

Raven Maps are beautiful examples of shaded-relief wall maps that display the elevation of a state in vibrant colors. These large maps look great in a classroom, den or office. Use one to mark the locations of your work or company.

An entrepreneur in Arkansas goes from running his diesel pickup truck on waste oil from a catfish restaurant to selling millions of dollars worth of consulting and products that help people run their vehicles on unconventional fuels.

USGS has released a report about groundwater quality and geochemistry for the Fayetteville Shale gas production area.

A goal of the report was to compare analyses conducted prior to natural gas development with those conducted after drilling and production.

“The Upper Cretaceous Austin Chalk forms a low-permeability, onshore Gulf of Mexico reservoir that produces oil and gas from major fractures oriented parallel to the underlying Lower Cretaceous shelf edge. Horizontal drilling links these fracture systems to create an interconnected network that drains the reservoir.” Quoted from USGS Scientific Investigations Report 2012–5159.

Since January 2010, most of the increase in the dry shale gas production in the United States has been generated by the Marcellus Shale and the Haynesville Formation.

The Marcellus Shale (Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland) could overtake the Haynesville Shale (Arkansas, Texas) as the most productive gas shale in the United States.

Mountain Press Publishing has released a new book by Albert B. Dickas titled: 101 American Geo-Sites You’ve Gotta See.

It provides a two-page presentation on each site that features photos, text and a map. It is a good way to get a quick glimpse of these 101 fantastic sites. It sells for $23.99.

See a table of contents.

“The economic impact of natural gas production in the Fayetteville Shale has exceeded projections made in 2008, despite sharply lower gas prices and indications of lower expenditures in the area in 2012 than in 2011.”

Rig counts in the Fayetteville Shale of Arkansas have fallen to their lowest level in six years.

Four years ago the Haynesville Shale began generating lots of jobs and income for northern Louisiana. Now many companies are redirecting their activities from dry gas to areas where natural gas liquids and oil can be produced from shale – walking away from the boom areas that previously experienced rapid growth.

An article in The Advocate explores who Encana Corporation and other natural gas drillers are responding to natural gas falling nearly $10 per thousand cubic feet since 2008.

“The third and probably the most widely felt of the three major earthquakes occurred on February 7, 1812, at about 3 a.m.”

Many property owners are very surprised when the royalties that they receive from a natural gas well on their property decline sharply. They are learning about production decline curves.