--> Testing Radiogenic Strontium to Determine Provenance of Dissolved Solids in North Texas

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Testing Radiogenic Strontium to Determine Provenance of Dissolved Solids in North Texas

Abstract

Environmental contamination from hydraulic fracturing activities is a source of current debate. The introduction of potentially hazardous chemicals into a region raises an array of potential environmental and health concerns. As a result, methods need to be developed to determine if a particular contaminant is present as a result of anthropogenic influences or natural sources. River, well water and core samples were collected in the region of hydraulic fracturing activities, within the Barnett Shale in North Texas. A flowback sample was acquired through the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA). Core samples (powdered) will be leached through a sequential extraction in the lab. All samples will be prepared under Clean Lab conditions at UTA. The samples will be analyzed to determine strontium concentration and 87Sr/86Sr. Results will be presented including a discussion of any trends displayed by the data. This work will verify whether or not radiogenic strontium (87Sr/86Sr) can act as a fingerprint of the source of dissolved solids in the Barnett Shale region of North Texas. The water and core samples should display different radiogenic strontium values particular to its source of Sr that can be useful as a tracer of dissolved solids.