FREE ON-LINE SEMINAR
Landscape Disturbance Related to Natural Gas Extraction in the Mid-Atlantic Region
Sponsored by ASPRS, CaGIS and GLIS
Date & Time: June 20th, 2014 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM EST
The American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) GIS Division in partnership with the Cartography and Geographic Information Society (CaGIS) and the Geographic and Land Information Society (GLIS) would like to invite our members to attend our third online seminar for the 2014 series.
Landscape Disturbance Related to Natural Gas Extraction in the Mid-Atlantic Region
Abstract:Increased demands for cleaner burning energy, coupled with the relatively recent technological advances in accessing unconventional hydrocarbon-rich geologic formations, have led to an intense effort to find and extract natural gas from various underground sources around the country. One of these sources, the Marcellus Shale, located in the Allegheny Plateau, is currently undergoing extensive drilling and production. The technology used to extract gas in the Marcellus shale is known as hydraulic fracturing and has garnered much attention because of its use of large amounts of fresh water, its use of proprietary fluids for the hydraulic-fracturing process, its potential to release contaminants into the environment, and its potential effect on water resources. Nonetheless, development of natural gas extraction wells in the Marcellus Shale is only part of the overall natural gas story in the area of Pennsylvania. Coalbed methane, which is sometimes extracted using the similar technique, is commonly located in the same general area as the Marcellus Shale and is frequently developed in clusters across the landscape. The combined effects of these two natural gas extraction methods create potentially serious patterns of disturbance on the landscape. This presentation quantifies the landscape changes and consequences of natural gas extraction for the natural gas play in Pennsylvania between 2004 and 2010. Patterns of landscape disturbance related to natural gas extraction activities were collected and digitized using National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) imagery for 2004, 2005/2006, 2008, and 2010. The disturbance patterns were then used to measure changes in land cover and land use using the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) of 2001 as a baseline. A series of landscape metrics are also used to quantify these changes and report on the potential ecosystem effects.
About the Speaker: Terry Slonecker is a research geographer in the United States Geological Survey’s Eastern Geographic Science Center. He has over 30 years of experience in remote sensing and geospatial analysis including positions with the U.S. Air Force, private industry and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. His current research interests include hyperspectral analysis of heavy metals, hazardous substances, hydrocarbons, and related vegetation stress. He recently taught hyperspectral remote sensing at the Afghanistan Geological Society in Kabul and has been involved in several emergency response efforts including the Deepwater Horizon spill in 2010. He received his master’s degree in Geographic and Cartographic Sciences, and his doctorate in Environmental Science and Public Policy from George Mason University, in Fairfax, Virginia. He is currently working on mapping and measuring the landscape effects of natural gas development and on evaluating remote sensing as a tool for hazardous waste site monitoring. On several occasions, he has served as an expert witness for the U.S. Federal Government on remote sensing related matters.
Date & Time: Date & Time: June 20th, 2014 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM EST
Remote Access / Registration:
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7083743658768443137
NOTE: Registration is limited to the first 500 people who sign up and log in to the seminar.
If you are unable to attend the live seminar, a recording will be posted at
http://www.asprs.org/GISD-Division/Online-Seminars.html several days after the seminar.
Questions, Contact:
David Alvarez, CMS, GISP
GIS Division Director (ASPRS)
davidalvarez76@gmail.com
East Nantmeal Gas Pipeline Information 