Introduction
My Geographic Information Systems (GIS) 2 course will be examining frac sand mining in Wisconsin. We will be looking at Trempealeau county extensively throughout the semester. GIS will be used to model various components of the mining in Trempealeau country through mapping and reports. This post will cover an overview of what frac sand mining is, where it is in Wisconsin, and the issues associated with it.
What is frac sand mining?
Frac Sand mining has recently been a very heated topic in Wisconsin due to the state's reservoirs of fine grained quartz. While sand mining in Wisconsin has persisted for hundreds of years the industry has recently seen an explosion of mining proposals. Wisconsin sands are of high quality and fine grain, which in turn is the leading cause of the increase in permit requests. Once the sand is mined it is shipped out of state to be used by oil companies in Texas, North Dakota and Montana. The process that Oil fields use to pull the fuel from the earth's crust is called hydrofracking. Hydrofracking, hydraulic fracturing, is the process of drilling into the earth's surface, using explosives to break apart the rock and then surging water mixed with the frac sand which helps to hold the fractures open. The busting of the rock layers release natural gasses and liquids which are retrieved for commercial value.
Where is it in Wisconsin?
Western Wisconsin has the largest reservoirs of the silica sand that is needed for the hydrofracking process. Eau Claire, Chippewa, Trempealeau, and Monroe see a heavy amount of mining. Sand stone formations span across western and central Wisconsin where the concentration of mine sites are located. As stated at the beginning of this blog Trempealeau county is our studies focus and is also one of the best examples of a western Wisconsin county who is highly affects by sand mining. Trempealeau county, as seen in the figure below, has a very high concentration of both mines and processing plants. Sand from glacial and river beach deposits are generally too angular to be used in the hydrofracking process, so Wisconsin's sandstone mines are the best place to get pure sand. However not all sands are usable for hydrofracking. Natural resource companies look for a certain grain of sand to use.
Issues associated with Frac sand mining
In recent news the frac sand mines have been seen as more of an issue that in its several hundred year history. Regulators, local and state governments and the general public have all generated interest in this topic for their own reasons. The public's greatest concern appears to be the encroachment of mines into residential areas. Regulators want to create laws and guidelines for mining companies so as to limit the amount of sand taken. Sand mines fall under the jurisdiction of keeping water safe for drinking and also to keep hazardous materials out. Even though these laws are in place these issues still persist. The removal of overburden, which is the top of hills that covers the sandstone, has also met the public's eye because it is destroying the hills of western Wisconsin.
Using GIS to help observe some of these issues
Our course is designed for the enhancing of GIS knowledge, but our labs will also give us skills and knowledge of very important environmental issues in our region. We will also obtain the ability to download and use data from outside resources. We will be using ArcGIS to help in our investigation of Trempealeau counties frac sand mines. Lab 1 will be posted shortly, however because of the government shutdown my data download has been greatly hindered. I will post again as soon as possible!
Thank you for your attention!
http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/Mines/documents/SilicaSandMiningFinal.pdf
http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/mines/silica.html
http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/Mines/Deposit.html
http://wisconsingeologicalsurvey.org/pdfs/frac-sand-factsheet.pdf
No comments:
Post a Comment