Fluid Samples from Hydraulic Fracturing Wells (IMAGE)
Caption
Ohio State University researchers and their colleagues have identified a new genus of bacteria living inside hydraulic fracturing wells. These jars contain samples of "produced water fluids" -- the fluid that is collected at the surface of a hydraulic fracturing well after fracturing -- from wells in Marcellus and Utica shale formations. The fluids are orange because they contain large amounts of iron that oxidizes when the fluids are brought to the surface. By analyzing the genomes of microbes in the water, the researchers are piecing together the existence of microbial communities inside the wells.
Credit
Photo by Rebecca Daly, courtesy of The Ohio State University.
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