By Regina,
posted on Sunday, June 20, 2010.
Recent
news coverage has raised questions about how and why methane
might appear in water. In the latest edition of Hear Our Voices,
Dr. Charles Groat, Director of the Energy and Earth Resources
Graduate Program at the Jackson School of Geo Sciences at the
University of Texas, explains how natural gas forms organically
beneath the earth over geologic time. In many parts of the country,
having this "biogenic methane" percolate to the surface by natural
processes is "an everyday occurrence." "There are thick shale
sequences, for example in upstate New York, that have been bubbling
gas for millions of years, and it does get into water. It's there
naturally," Dr. Groat explains. "Methane moving around in the
natural environment is not an unusual occurrence." Dr. Groat points
out that in areas where communities are less familiar with this
geologic phenomenon, there is often a
false assumption made that the cause is natural gas
development. The challenge, he notes, is promoting "familiarity,
education and understanding" to help communities better understand
this naturally occurring event.
Thank you, Dr. Groat, for helping answer these questions and
promoting this vital understanding.