How does oil drilling impact water life? This is what a recent study published in ACS ES&T Water hopes to address as a team of researchers investigated the long-term implications of oil and gas extraction on stream biodiversity. This study has the potential to help researchers, climate scientists, legislators, and the public better understand the climate and ecological consequences of fossil fuels and the steps we can take to mitigate them.
For the study, the researchers used a combination of archival datasets and field samples from Pennsylvania microbial communities to evaluate unconventional oil and gas development (UOGD) and conventional oil and gas development (COGD) on water biodiversity. The motivation behind the study comes from scientists recognizing crucial gaps in our knowledge and understanding of how energy production impacts the environment.
In the end, the researchers found that while UOGD was found to have little to no impact on biodiversity numbers, COGD was found to have a significantly negative impact on biodiversity numbers, specifically regarding decreased groups of organisms (richness), diversity, and biotic integrity. The researchers note how future studies could focus on inactive wells, distance to wells (whereas this study focused on well density), and conducting similar studies in New York, Ohio, and West Virginia.
“While our study focuses on Pennsylvania, many other states and countries have similar histories of conventional oil and gas development,” said Dr. Tao Wen, who is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Syracuse University and a co-author on the study. “The broader message—that legacy infrastructure can have lasting ecological effects—likely applies elsewhere. Our framework provides a way to evaluate cumulative impacts and prioritize restoration where it will matter most.”
What new insight into fossil fuels and biodiversity will researchers make in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science!
As always, keep doing science & keep looking up!
Sources: ACS ES&T Water, EurekAlert!
Featured Image Credit: Meng Grahpics LLC
