Radioactive isotopes reveal age of oil, gas wastewater spills
Tuesday, May 10, 2016 - 13:10
in Earth & Climate
Radium isotopes in soils can be used to determine the age of oil and gas wastewater spills, research shows. Three new isotopic age-dating methods developed by the team could be useful for identifying the source of a spill where it's not certain if contamination stems from recent unconventional oil and gas drilling or from older, conventional oil and gas operations in the same watershed.