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Scientist Responds to Questions About ‘Fracking’ in Live Webcast Thursday

Duke University Professor Robert Jackson appears on "Office Hours" September 15 at noon to explain his research on hydraulic fracturing

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Robert Jackson

The word "fracking" has entered the news media's vocabulary during the past year as reports pile up on the promise and perils of the new method for extracting natural gas and oil from underground deposits by using high-pressure fluids that fracture surrounding rock.

Duke biology professor and geochemist Robert Jackson performed one of the first peer-reviewed studies on the environmental consequences of hydrofracking and found evidence consistent with contamination of nearby drinking water, though the findings were not conclusive.

"At least some of the homeowners who claim that their wells were contaminated by shale-gas extraction appear to be right," Jackson said.

During a live, interactive webcast, Jackson will answer your questions about the controversies surrounding hydraulic fracturing, as well as related issues of alternative energy sources and global climate trends. To ask Jackson a question, send an email to live@duke.edu, tweet with the tag #dukelive or post to the Duke University Facebook page.

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Duke doctoral student Nathaniel Warner samples well water in Pennsylvania.

The study conducted by Jackson and researchers at Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment, "Methane contamination of drinking water accompanying gas-well drilling and hydraulic fracturing," is among the top five papers on the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences website and has attracted more than 1,700 media stories. In it, Jackson and his colleagues found methane contamination in well water near shale-gas drilling and hydrofracking sites. 

In a follow-up white paper, Jackson and his colleagues made recommendations for policies for hydraulic fracturing.

"As a cleaner source of energy, and as a bridge to a carbon constrained future, natural gas has many desirable qualities," they said. "Despite these benefits, more research is needed to assess the mechanisms of water contamination and possible methane losses to the atmosphere."

Jackson is the Nicholas Chair of Global Environmental Change at the Nicholas School of the Environment and a professor in the Biology Department. Jackson has received numerous awards, including the Murray F. Buell Award from the Ecological Society of America, a 1999 Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering from the National Science Foundation (one of 19 scientists honored at the White House by President Clinton), and a Fellow in the American Geophysical Union.

Duke's weekly "Office Hours" webcast series aims to bring the insights of Duke faculty members to anyone with an Internet connection and an interest in ideas. Topics have ranged from brain-machine interfaces and the power of retail brands to the legacy of Michael Jackson and the ecology of Antarctica. 

Find a schedule of upcoming broadcasts, as well as archives of previous conversations, on the Office Hours website. For notifications about Office Hours shows, sign up for the mailing list.