Lecture 18: Oil Spills and Fracking Flashcards by Zoe Phillips

___________:
 Widely used in Alberta. 180, 000 oil wells produced since 1950’s
 More than 80% wells now are _________

what produce oil and natural gas

Hydraulic Fracturing

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______ Hydraulic Fracturing:
 Practiced in western Canada for approx. the past couple of decades (new)
 In the U.S., responsible for ~23% of all natural gas production. Expected to rise to ~50% by 2035.

drill down into product then spider out horizontally to get the most out of your well

Horizontal

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what is the process of horizontal hydraulic fracturing?

pump initial fracturing fuel and pump it into the well
insert series of plugs along line (trapping fluid in lines) induces fissures and cracks which releases natural gas/oil

water, proppants, chemical additives are injected into the ground at high pressures (~70000 kPa)

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how much fluid and water is necessary per well for fracturing?

over 10 million litres per well

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______ – injected fluid that returns
immediately to the surface from immense pressure

Flowback fluid

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_______– refers to formation water produced
from the fracturing

Produced water

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these are the characteristics of ______:
Brine (super salty brine)

Original fracturing fluid
components
* Proppants, surfactants, biocides,
scale inhibitors, etc.

Geogenic constituents
* Hydrocarbon species, metals,
and radionuclides

Newly synthesized species
* Produced from well-bore
environment
(high pressure, high temperature)

FPW, flowback and produced water

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TDS (total dissolved solids) can also be the measure of…

salinity (super high concentrations of ionic species)

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what was the biggest cause of PAHs in the samples taken 5 hr after flowback was produced?

decalins, largest form of PAH that was produced in solution

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T/F: in the same well, over time, the chemical composition of the solution can change drastically

true!! samples will be different when taken at different times

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T/F: In U.S. alone, 212 billion gallons of hydraulic fracturing flowback and produced water
(FPW) created from 2005 – 2014

true!!

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T/F: ~ 490 documented spills of produced water in Alberta from Jan 2017 – Sept 2021

true

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T/F: From Jan 2006 – April 2012, reported 24,000 spills of FPW in 11 U.S. states

true

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what is so concerning about hydraulic fracturing practices?

the governance is super decentralized, the rules are different everywhere making it difficult to make a difference and help

Spill and remediation protocols unregulated and highly variable

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what three levels are affected in fish when exposed to FPW

development
morphology
physiology

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what were the general aims of Dr. Faulkners studies?

Characterize cardio-respirometry toxicity in fish
following FPW exposure
a.) Using a tiered, multiple biological level of
organization approach
b.) Examine effects at multiple different life stages

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_____ = freshwater

Control

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_______ = exposure to saline solution which matched the salinity
and major cation/anionic constituents of the highest FPW exposure
treatment

Saline control

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______ xx% = raw FPW treatment at a specified dilution

FPW

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______ = “activated charcoal/carbon” treated FPW solution (organics and
metals removed)

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_____ = “sediment-free” FPW solution exposures (sediment removed)

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____ xx% = raw FPW treatment at a specified dilution

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why did they split up all the experimental treatments?

don’t know what is/will cause harm, need to divide up all parts of FPW to really see what will cause issues

how did Dr. Faulkner study the whole organism level?

Gross body development morphology
o Embryo metabolic rate analyses
o Swimming performance
o Swimming respirometry and aerobic
scope

how did Dr. Faulkner study the tissue level?

developmental analyses structural indices and organization qPCR

how did Dr. Faulkner study the cellular level?

cardiomyocyte contractile properties

what are the pros/cons to using embryos in research?

PROS Sedentary/immobile in nature Can target developmental parameters, actually see what happens since they're going through big developmental changes Study persistent effects (can expose them for a long time, since wouldn't be naturally moving) CONS Larger experimental investment “High risk” experimental potential

what are the pros/cons to using juveniles/adults in research?

PROS Real-world relevancy issues CONS Developmental parameters less easily targeted o Persistent effects may not be as inducible

what is an developmental window?

when something is developing within a determined timeframe of an organism

the primary cardiac formation dev. window in zebrafish is when...

12 hpf to ~24-36 hpf (first heart beat)

the primary cardiac formation dev. window in rainbow trout is when...

2 dpf- ~12 dpf (first heart beat)

why were there differences between zebrafish and rainbow trout metabolic responses from FPW?

timing of exposures, dev, states of each species of fish

Brett-type Swim Tunnel functions how?

big loop with pump pumping water in circle

Blazka-type Swim Tunnel works how?

for smaller species swim into current from motor, basically stay in same place

______: The minimum metabolic rate needed to sustain life at a specified temperature

standard metabolic rate (SMR)

_______: Refers to the rate of metabolism when the animal is undergoing normal/resting behaviours.

routine/basal metabolic rate

_____: Maximum rate of aerobic metabolism of an animal.

maximum metabolic rate (MMR)

________ (AS): * The difference between MMR and SMR (MMR - SMR = AS)

Aerobic Scope

how do we meausre the aerobic scope?

let them acclimate to a specific water speed, then slowly start increasing the speed (until the fish fatigues, gets pinned to back gate (i.e. stops swimming)) do this until the fish can't recover from its fatigue when you slow down speed

when do we measure O2 consumption when measuring swim respirometry?

right before increasing the speed of water

Ucrit = ___?

speed at which the fish reached fatigue

what happened to the Ucrit after fish groups were exposed to higher levels of FPW as embryos

was significantly lowered, even six-eight months after being raised in clean water after their initial post-fertilized exposure

T.F: no change in routine metabolic rate of fish exposed to FPW but big decrease in active metabolic rate (i.e. decrease in aerobic scope)

true, in both rainbow trout and zebrafish

Embryo Cardiac Gene Expression Analyses when were they measured in zebrafish?

immediately post-exposure of FPW differneces in structure function of cardiomyocyte cells, myocyte ion conductance, cardiac dev.

Embryo Cardiac Gene Expression Analyses when were they measured in rainbow trout?

Measured immediately post- 48 h exposure * Exposures at two different developmental timepoints: 3dpf and 10 dpf 3 dpf- differences in conductance 10dpf- differences in everything

Embryo Cardiac Gene Expression Analyses when were they measured in mahi mahi?

Measured immediately following 24 h exposures * From excised ventricle tissue sig. changes in gene expression in cardiomyocyte structure/function

T/F: no major changes in gills in FPW exposure groups

true

what does a cardiomyocyte do?

action potential induces contraction, msucle cells that make up heart

Cardiomyocyte Sarcomere Contraction Trace: what are the three main components?

Sarcomere shortening trace peak size (bl % Peak Height)- i.e. size Speed of contraction (d/dt, time to peak %)- shortening Speed of relaxation (-d/dt, time to bl %, tau)- elongating

when a cardiomyocyte is relaxing, what is driving this?

potassium (K)

when a cardiomyocyte is contracting, what is driving this?

sodium for the big initial change, calcium after

T/F: reduced relaxation rate of cardiomyocytes found after FPW exposure in fish

true

what were the end results on the embryo/whole organism when exposed to FPW?

increase in changes in body development morphology decrease in embryo metabolic rates decrease in swimming performance decrease in swimming respirometry and aerobic scope

what were the end results on the tissue level when exposed to FPW?

decrease in developmental analyses changes (both ways) in qPCR gene expression

what were the end results on the cellular level when exposed to FPW?

decrease in cardiomyocyte contractile properties