Noble Gases and Stray Methane in the Trinity Aquifer

This Waterlines episode examines how inert noble gases can help trace the source of methane found in shallow groundwater. The featured study compares noble gas fingerprints in Barnett Shale production gas, Strawn Group production gas, and flowing stray gas from water wells in the Trinity Aquifer in north-central Texas. The authors find that the stray gas more closely matches the shallower Strawn Group than the deeper Barnett Shale, supporting the interpretation that the gas likely came from Strawn accumulations rather than directly from the Barnett production interval.Citation: Wen, T.; Castro, M. C.; Nicot, J.-P.; Hall, C. M.; Pinti, D. L.; Mickler, P.; Darvari, R.; Larson, T. Characterizing the Noble Gas Isotopic Composition of the Barnett Shale and Strawn Group and Constraining the Source of Stray Gas in the Trinity Aquifer, North-Central Texas. Environmental Science & Technology 2017, 51 (11), 6533-6541. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6b06447Disclosure: This episode package is written for AI-generated voices, and the produced audio would use AI-generated hosts.