What is Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking)?
In TASK 1 you should have found that shale is a sedimentary rock. Marcellus Shale is a sedimentary rock buried thousands of feet beneath the earth’s surface. It stretches from upstate New York south through Pennsylvania to West Virginia and west to parts of Ohio (see picture below). The rock itself is millions of years old, formed from mud and organic material. The natural gas created over millions of years as a byproduct of decomposition is trapped in tiny spaces and fissures within the rock. The Marcellus is one of the first shale plays to be tapped, after the Barnett Shale formation in Texas.
TASK 2: Watch the youtube video below to learn about what fracking is and some of the pros and cons of fracking. After watching the video complete the questions below the proceed to TASK 3.
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