Introduction and Objective

    From as early as 1854, fossil fuels have been collected from Ventura County, California. The earliest extractions came from collecting crude oil, called asphaltum, from natural “seeps and excavations” in the county, namely from Sulphur Mountain.1 Within a decade, oil companies began digging oil tunnels and drilling small wells around Ventura for the purpose of crude oil extraction. During this time, people began extracting natural gas from water wells, and this product’s value soon became known for its heating and lighting applications in residential homes and commercial buildings.

    By 1910, natural gas pipelines were laid down in some California towns, and its production rose quickly in the coming decades as natural gas capturing techniques from conventional oil wells improved. The early strategies of production were primarily focused on extracting natural gas as a byproduct of conventional well drilling; this is called “associated gas.”1 However, the extraction of “non-associated gas,” gas without oil, rose quickly with the invention of hydraulic fracturing, (fracking) by Stanolind Oil in 1949.2 Natural gas exploration proliferated across California after the invention of this extraction technique.

    The early applications of fracking increased the energy production of previously drilled wells by 75%, on average.2 Although a similar combination of toxic fluids and proppants were pumped into the early wells, as they are now, the perceived risks to groundwater were miniscule due to the fact that the additives were less toxic, the wells were much more shallow, and the public was much less informed. Currently, the fracking process uses up to 8 million gallons of water per well (up from the previous 70,000 gallons) while reaching between 5,000 to 8,000 feet below the ground. Chemicals include “benzene, gelling agents, crosslinkers, friction reducers, corrosion inhibitors, scale inhibitors, biocides and, in some cases, diesel fuel.”3
Diagram of modern hydraulic fracturing: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/02/27/us/fracking.html

    A few factors combined in the last few decades that lead to an explosion of domestic natural gas extraction. First, new technology in the fracking process such as horizontal drilling and the use of new additives opened up “unconventional” reserves of natural gas hidden in shale deposits, nearly doubling U.S.’s proven natural gas reserves.4 Second, the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001 brought the U.S.’s dependence on Middle Eastern fossil fuel into the spotlight, which subsequently lead to policy decisions to ramp up domestic energy production. Third, natural gas was marketed as a form of “clean energy,” which lead to domestic support for its extraction. And fourth, the Energy Policy Act of 2005, under the Bush administration, specifically exempted hydraulic fracturing from the Safe Drinking Water act, effectively relinquishing the EPA’s ability to regulate the industry.5President Obama’s commitment to energy independence has continued these trends and strengthened the natural gas industry.

    The controversy over fracking revolves around its unbelievably high consumption (and subsequent pollution) of local groundwater, but the Energy Policy Act of 2005’s exemption allows for no federal oversight or any legal basis for individuals to challenge oil companies that damage this vital local resource. Furthermore, the only “law that would require all oil and gas companies to disclose where they are fracking and what chemicals are being forced into the ground during the process,”6 yet to be pushed through state Congress. Currently, citizens of Ventura County are unaware of the amount of natural gas being exploited by hydraulic fracturing in their area, and the effects this process could potentially have on their local groundwater.

    In the last couple of years, oil companies such as Vintage Oil Production California (a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum Corporation) have discovered sizeable deposits of natural gas in Ventura county, namely the Sespe oil field just north of Fillmore, which are now exploitable with improved fracking technology. It is important for locals of Ventura County to realize that this extraction is taking place, and to realize the existential threat the process of hydraulic fracturing poses to their local drinking and agricultural water. This study, using Landsat 5 satellite imagery and public California energy extraction data observes land degradation due to hydraulic fracturing between years 1997, 2009, and 2011, and the proximity of currently active fracking wells to local residences and resources. 

Objective:

   The purpose of our remote sensing analysis is to spatially and statistically measure the extent of the geophysical implications associated with hydraulic fracturing in Ventura County.This study analyzes hydraulically fractured regions in Ventura County, specifically the Ojai/Rincon Valley and northern FIllmore, using NDVI and thermal imagery from the Landsat 5 satellite in 1997, 2009 and 2011.  It’s purpose is to  detect changes in the vegetation of these regions due to the adverse effects of the fracking process and its infrastructure. This involves the construction of new roads for equipment transportation, chemical runoff that alters surface terrain, and the contamination of groundwater.  We are also expecting to find changes in the thermal properties of these regions, which might strike a correlation among these effects.  The results we generate will provide environmentalists, local governments officials, and local citizens with awareness and knowledge about the extent of the drilling in their backyards.