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Geology News
Pennsylvania Current Events

Rapid development of the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania has state government working to field more inspectors and pass new regulations intended to protect the environment from potential impact of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing.

“NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this view of the Chesapeake Bay region as the clouds were clearing on December 20.

The Mid-Atlantic states were completely white in the wake of a record-breaking snow storm. The storm deposited between 12 and 30 inches of snow in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. on December 19. Snowfall totals broke records in many locations.” Quoted from Earth Observatory.

This article in the Washington Post reviews the ongoing debate over the environmental and human impact of hydraulic fracturing, in the development of natural gas reservoirs in shales such as the Marcellus of the Appalachian Basin.

The books in the Roadside Geology series will help you learn about the geology of your favorite state. These books are great to take on a trip but they work even better if you use them in advance to plan your trip wisely.

120 years ago in 1889, a dam failure caused the disastrous inundation of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Geology professor Dr. Davis Todd set out to investigate the historic flood that killed over 2,000 people.

Over the past year a small area in Pennsylvania has experienced over 600 small earthquakes. Many of them are strong enough for humans to feel and they have been cause for considerable concern.

An article on the PennLive.com website reports that a landowners group negotiated a deal with Chesapeake Energy that will pay them $5750 per acre plus royalties for a 37,000 acre package. This is the highest per acre Marcellus Shale payment that we have seen.

Geologists and other outdoor workers should know how to recognize ticks, avoid tick bites and recognize the early signs of Lyme disease. Early treatment with antibiotics can produce a rapid and complete recovery. If you miss the early symptoms Lyme disease can cause chronic neurological problems and joint pain that can persist for years.

The Benld Elementary School in Benld, Illinois has been damaged by mine subsidence. An article on the Boston.com website tells several stories about mine subsidence in Illinois, Kentucky, Pennsylvania states.

This isn’t geology, but instead an interesting mapping application. A Pittsburgh newspaper provides a map of recent homicides that have occurred in the city. Using the map you can see geographic trends in homicides by cause, race and gender. Similar maps are being made for other types of crime and they share the geographic trends of crime with the public. The maps are relatively easy to make and could be a good communication tool for sharing the location of geologic hazards with the public – if you have a latitude/longitude database of incidences.

An article on the Pittsburgh Live website reports that 1067 Marcellus Shale drilling permits were issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection between January 1 and August 21 of this year compared to 476 permits for all of 2008. Low gas prices have not slowed permitting activity.

The Pennsylvania Geological Survey has a news page dedicated to carbon sequestration in Pennsylvania. A quote from their page: “Pennsylvania has an estimated carbon storage capacity – including croplands, forest lands, minelands, and wetlands, and most prominently in geologic formations – to store hundreds of years worth of carbon emissions at present rates.”

You can now download a detailed geologic map of Pennsylvania as a .pdf document. This is a scanned copy of the paper 1:250,000-scale bedrock geology map in three sheets (each as a separate .pdf document). State geologic map GIS datasets are also available.

In a recent news release from Chesapeake Energy, data was provided on their expected yield for wells in the various shale plays. They expect the total yield from their Haynesville wells to be 6.5 bcfe, Fayetteville 2.4 bcfe, and Marcellus wells to yield 4.2 bcfe. These numbers might increase as technology improves.

The city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has introduced 500 solar-powered trash compactors to its downtown sidewalks. The “BigBelly” machine can crush and accumulate four times as much garbage as a standard bin, which is saving the city collection money as well as space.

Stormwater runoff and sewage contaminate many US beaches. A study done by the Natural Resources Defense Council sampled, tested and rated 200 of the most popular beaches in the United States – both ocean and freshwater beaches were included in the study. Some of them had consistently high water quality and some had consistently low. You can view the report and a listing of the beaches on their website.

You can see what might be the world’s first photograph of a meteor taken through a telescope at Mike’s Astro Photos. Instead of being a single streak there are multiple streaks of different size.

Raven Maps are the most beautiful state wall maps that I have ever seen. They show the elevation and relief of a complete state through a skillful use of vibrant colors and topographic shading. Maps are available for individual states, the Conterminous United States, North America, Mexico and the world.

Learn about the geology of your favorite state as seen along the highway. This series of books by Mountain Press are filled with maps, photos, park locations and detailed descriptions. Get one before your next trip.

The-Vug.com’s quarterly mineral magazine is now online for free viewing. This issue looks at mineral collecting in Chester County, Pennsylvania and St. Lawrence County, New York.

While you are there you can see three previous editions of the magazine and check out their videos, articles, and events calendar.

The United States Geological Survey has a new fact sheet titled: “Water Resources and Natural Gas Production from the Marcellus Shale”. It addresses what many consider to be the number one environmental challenge facing the development of the Marcellus Shale – water supply protection.

Local governments in areas above the country’s many natural gas plays can produce their own gas. The President of the Allegheny County Council (Pennsylvania) says that they should drill wells to heat county buildings, generate their own electricity and sell the rest on the open market.

Much has been written on the topic of how geology influenced Civil War battles. If you want a brief introduction an article at Smithsonian.com is a good place to start.

A county official in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania wants to see his county government getting into the natural gas business. He envisions how gas could be drilled on county properties to heat buildings, fuel vehicles, produce electricity and more.

Range Resources entered the Marcellus Shale natural gas play in 2004, ahead of other companies. Now, John Pinkerton, CEO, reports that their early investment in about 1.4 million net acres is going to pay back nicely.

This .pdf document contains one of the most detailed presentations of hydraulic fracturing in the Marcellus Shale that you will find. It was written by staff members of ALL Consulting.

Pennsylvania State University’s Cooperative Extension has published a .pdf document titled: Marcellus Shale: What Local Government Officials Need to Know.

Geology.com article on the Marcellus Shale.

The Susquehanna River Basin Commission has an information document titled “Gas Well Drilling and Development – Marcellus Shale” on their website. It explains basic information about the Marcellus Shale and presents Commission regulations on consumptive water use and surface water withdrawal. More news about the Marcellus Shale.

Students and a faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown are blogging about Pennsylvania geology, rocks, minerals and environmental topics. For some it might be their first exposure to blogging but it looks like a good experience.

A tank truck carrying hydrofluoric acid overturned on Route 33 near Wind Gap, Pennsylvania. About 5000 people living or working within about a one mile radius of the spill were evacuated.