Biogeochemical constraints on the origin of methane in an alluvial aquifer: evidence for the upward migration of methane from underlying coal measures

Iverach, Charlotte P.; Beckmann, Sabrina; Cendón, Dioni I.; Manefield, Mike; Kelly, Bryce F. J.

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-215-2017

Articles | Volume 14, issue 1

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-215-2017

© Author(s) 2017. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-215-2017

© Author(s) 2017. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Articles | Volume 14, issue 1

Research article

|

17 Jan 2017

Research article |

| 17 Jan 2017

Biogeochemical constraints on the origin of methane in an alluvial aquifer: evidence for the upward migration of methane from underlying coal measures

Charlotte P. Iverach, Sabrina Beckmann, Dioni I. Cendón, Mike Manefield, and Bryce F. J. Kelly

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-215-2017-supplement

Data sets

Assessing connectivity between an overlying aquifer and a coals seam gas resource using methane isotopes, dissolved organic carbon and tritium C. P. Iverach, D. I. Cendón, S. I. Hankin, D. Lowry, R. E. Fisher, J. L. France, A. Baker, and B. F. J. Kelly https://doi.org/10.1038/srep15996

Download

Article (2847 KB)
Full-text XML

Short summary

This research characterised the biogeochemical constraints on the origin of methane in an alluvial aquifer, concluding that the most likely source was the upward migration from a directly underlying coal seam. This research was undertaken due to concerns about the effect of coal seam gas production on groundwater quality in the study area. The implications include the fact that no methane is being produced in the aquifer (in situ) and that there is local natural connectivity in the study area.