Oil and gas (OG) wastewaters are commonly disposed of by underground injection and previous research showed that activities at a disposal facility in West Virginia affected stream biogeochemistry and sediment microbial communities downstream from the facility. Microorganisms can control the fate and transport of organic and inorganic components of OG wastewater highlighting the need to characterize the effects of OG wastewater components on microbial activity. We conducted a series of aerobic microcosm experiments to assess the influence of high total dissolved solids (TDS) and hydraulic fracturing fluid additives (2,2-dibromo-3-nitrilopropionamide (DBNPA), a biocide, and ethylene glycol, an anti-scaling additive), on microbial community structure and function. Microcosms were constructed with sediment from upstream (background) or downstream (impacted) from the disposal facility in West Virginia and four treatment conditions each with heat-killed controls were tested: 1) brine (high TDS) + DBNPA, 2) brine + ethylene glycol, 3) brine, and 4) unamended control. Microbial terminal electron accepting processes were monitored over time and changes in microbial community composition were characterized. Over the course of the incubation, the sediment layer in the microcosms became anoxic, and addition of DBNPA was observed to inhibit iron reduction.

A large spill of wastewater from oil and gas operations was discovered adjacent to Blacktail Creek near Williston, North Dakota in January 2015. To determine the effects of this spill on streambed microbial communities over time, bed sediment samples were taken from Blacktail Creek upstream, adjacent to, and at several locations downstream from the spill site. Blacktail Creek is a tributary of the Little Muddy River, and additional samples were taken upstream and downstream from the confluence of Blacktail Creek and the Little Muddy River. Samples were collected in February 2015, June 2015, June 2016, and June 2017. DNA was extracted from these sediments, and sequencing of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene was performed to enable analysis of the microbial community structure. Raw sequence data was processed, and taxonomy was assigned based on the Silva 132 database (Yilmaz et al, 2014) using the MOTHUR software package (Schloss et al, 2009). Raw sequence data are available from GenBank at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/PRJNA666160.

A large spill of wastewater from oil and gas operations was discovered adjacent to Blacktail Creek near Williston, North Dakota in January 2015. To determine the effects of this spill on streambed microbial communities over time, bed sediment samples were taken from Blacktail Creek upstream, adjacent to, and at several locations downstream from the spill site. Blacktail Creek is a tributary of the Little Muddy River, and additional samples were taken upstream and downstream from the confluence of Blacktail Creek and the Little Muddy River. Samples were collected in February 2015, June 2015, June 2016, and June 2017. DNA was extracted from these sediments, and sequencing of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene was performed to enable analysis of the microbial community structure. Raw sequence data was processed, and taxonomy was assigned based on the Silva 132 database (Yilmaz et al, 2014) using the MOTHUR software package (Schloss et al, 2009). Raw sequence data are available from GenBank at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/PRJNA666160.

Low biomass waters provide a unique challenge in the field of microbial ecology. It is difficult to determine, when biomass concentrations are extremely low, whether or not the sequencing data received are of good quality and representative of the waters sampled. Fifty-nine samples including 8 blanks were collected from a low biomass hydraulically fractured well producing from the Niobrara Shale in Colorado. At least 4 samples were collected by filtering the exact volume for each listed here: 1000 mL, 900 mL, 800 mL, 700 mL, 600 mL, 500 mL, 400 mL, 300 mL, 200 mL, 100 mL, 0 mL (blanks).

Low biomass waters provide a unique challenge in the field of microbial ecology. It is difficult to determine, when biomass concentrations are extremely low, whether or not the sequencing data received are of good quality and representative of the waters sampled. Fifty-nine samples including 8 blanks were collected from a low biomass hydraulically fractured well producing from the Niobrara Shale in Colorado. At least 4 samples were collected by filtering the exact volume for each listed here: 1000 mL, 900 mL, 800 mL, 700 mL, 600 mL, 500 mL, 400 mL, 300 mL, 200 mL, 100 mL, 0 mL (blanks).

The Permian Basin, straddling New Mexico and Texas, is one of the most productive oil and gas (OG) provinces in the United States. OG production yields large volumes of wastewater that contain elevated concentrations of major ions including salts (also referred to as brines), and trace organic and inorganic constituents. These OG wastewaters pose unknown environmental health risks, particularly in the case of accidental or intentional releases. Releases of OG wastewaters have resulted in water-quality and environmental health effects at sites in West Virginia (Akob, et al., 2016, Orem et al. 2017, Kassotis et al. 2016) and in the Williston Basin region in Montana and North Dakota (Cozzarelli et al. 2017, Cozzarelli et al. 2021, Lauer et al. 2016, Gleason et al. 2014, and Mills et al. 2011). Starting in November 2017, 39 illegal dumps of OG wastewater were identified in southeastern New Mexico on public lands by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Illegal dumping is an unpermitted release of waste materials that is in violation of Federal and State laws including the U.S. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (U.S. EPA, 1976), Federal Land Policy and Management Act (U.S. DOI, 2016; 43 USC 1701(a)(8); 43 USC 1733(g)), the State of New Mexico’s Oil and Gas Act (New Mexico Legislature. 2019), and New Mexico Administrative Code § 19.15.34.20. To evaluate the effects of these releases, changes in soil geochemistry and microbial community structure at 6 sites were analyzed by comparing soils from within OG wastewater dump-affected zones to corresponding unaffected (control) soils. In addition, the effects on local vegetation were evaluated by measuring the chemistry of 4 plant species from dump-affected and control zones at a single site. Samples of local produced waters were geochemically and isotopically characterized to link soil geochemistry to reservoir geochemistry. These data sets included field observations; soil water extractable inorganic chemical composition, pH, strontium (Sr) isotopes, and specific conductance; bulk soil Raman, carbon (C), nitrogen (N), mercury (Hg), radium (Ra) and thorium (Th) isotopes, and percent moisture; plant inorganic chemical composition; and soil microbial community composition data. At each site, triplicate soil samples were collected from dump-affected and control zones and duplicate field samples were collected at each site. Plant biomass was collected in triplicate from dump-affected and control zones at a single site. This data release includes eleven data tables provided as machine readable 'comma-separated values' format (*.csv): T01_Permian_Data_Dictionary.csv, the entity and attribute metadata section for tables T02-T11 in table format; T02_Soil_Geochemistry.csv, descriptions of sampling sites and concentrations of major anions, cations, and trace elements from the soil samples; T03_Plant_Geochemistry.csv, concentrations of major anions, cations, trace elements, and Sr isotopes from the vegetation samples; T04_Soil_Isotopes.csv, Sr, Ra, and Th isotopes from the soils; T05_Raman_Counts.csv, Raman spectra counts from the soil samples; T06_Raman_Band_Separation.csv, Raman band separation from selected soil samples; T07_Soil_Organics_Spectra.csv, spectral data of alkane unresolved complex mixtures (UCMs) from soil extracts; T08_Soil_Organics_Summary.csv, a summary of alkane UCMs from soil extracts; T09_Soil_16S_BIOM.csv, microbial operational taxonomic units from the soils; T10_Produced_Water.csv, selected geochemistry and isotopic measurements from produced water samples; T11_Limits_AnalyticalMethods.csv, a listing of analytical detection limits.

The Permian Basin, straddling New Mexico and Texas, is one of the most productive oil and gas (OG) provinces in the United States. OG production yields large volumes of wastewater that contain elevated concentrations of major ions including salts (also referred to as brines), and trace organic and inorganic constituents. These OG wastewaters pose unknown environmental health risks, particularly in the case of accidental or intentional releases. Releases of OG wastewaters have resulted in water-quality and environmental health effects at sites in West Virginia (Akob, et al., 2016, Orem et al. 2017, Kassotis et al. 2016) and in the Williston Basin region in Montana and North Dakota (Cozzarelli et al. 2017, Cozzarelli et al. 2021, Lauer et al. 2016, Gleason et al. 2014, and Mills et al. 2011). Starting in November 2017, 39 illegal dumps of OG wastewater were identified in southeastern New Mexico on public lands by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Illegal dumping is an unpermitted release of waste materials that is in violation of Federal and State laws including the U.S. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (U.S. EPA, 1976), Federal Land Policy and Management Act (U.S. DOI, 2016; 43 USC 1701(a)(8); 43 USC 1733(g)), the State of New Mexico’s Oil and Gas Act (New Mexico Legislature. 2019), and New Mexico Administrative Code § 19.15.34.20. To evaluate the effects of these releases, changes in soil geochemistry and microbial community structure at 6 sites were analyzed by comparing soils from within OG wastewater dump-affected zones to corresponding unaffected (control) soils. In addition, the effects on local vegetation were evaluated by measuring the chemistry of 4 plant species from dump-affected and control zones at a single site. Samples of local produced waters were geochemically and isotopically characterized to link soil geochemistry to reservoir geochemistry. These data sets included field observations; soil water extractable inorganic chemical composition, pH, strontium (Sr) isotopes, and specific conductance; bulk soil Raman, carbon (C), nitrogen (N), mercury (Hg), radium (Ra) and thorium (Th) isotopes, and percent moisture; plant inorganic chemical composition; and soil microbial community composition data. At each site, triplicate soil samples were collected from dump-affected and control zones and duplicate field samples were collected at each site. Plant biomass was collected in triplicate from dump-affected and control zones at a single site. This data release includes eleven data tables provided as machine readable 'comma-separated values' format (*.csv): T01_Permian_Data_Dictionary.csv, the entity and attribute metadata section for tables T02-T11 in table format; T02_Soil_Geochemistry.csv, descriptions of sampling sites and concentrations of major anions, cations, and trace elements from the soil samples; T03_Plant_Geochemistry.csv, concentrations of major anions, cations, trace elements, and Sr isotopes from the vegetation samples; T04_Soil_Isotopes.csv, Sr, Ra, and Th isotopes from the soils; T05_Raman_Counts.csv, Raman spectra counts from the soil samples; T06_Raman_Band_Separation.csv, Raman band separation from selected soil samples; T07_Soil_Organics_Spectra.csv, spectral data of alkane unresolved complex mixtures (UCMs) from soil extracts; T08_Soil_Organics_Summary.csv, a summary of alkane UCMs from soil extracts; T09_Soil_16S_BIOM.csv, microbial operational taxonomic units from the soils; T10_Produced_Water.csv, selected geochemistry and isotopic measurements from produced water samples; T11_Limits_AnalyticalMethods.csv, a listing of analytical detection limits.

In order to determine the innate microbial community of shale gas reservoirs and how they are impacted by hydraulic fracturing, this study analyzed biomass collected from produced water and rock from hydraulically fractured wells in the Utica Shale. The samples include rock chips from a drill core from one Utica well, produced water from that same Utica well, and produced water from 12 different Utica wells that had been in production between 1-5 years, spanning the oil and gas windows of SE Ohio. The samples were filtered for biomass, extracted, amplified, and 16S rRNA gene sequencing was performed on the Illumina MiSeq platform.

In order to determine the innate microbial community of shale gas reservoirs and how they are impacted by hydraulic fracturing, this study analyzed biomass collected from produced water and rock from hydraulically fractured wells in the Utica Shale. The samples include rock chips from a drill core from one Utica well, produced water from that same Utica well, and produced water from 12 different Utica wells that had been in production between 1-5 years, spanning the oil and gas windows of SE Ohio. The samples were filtered for biomass, extracted, amplified, and 16S rRNA gene sequencing was performed on the Illumina MiSeq platform.

The data associated with the following data release were collected between 2016 and 2017 at three locations on Lake Michigan: Racine, WI; Chicago, IL; and East Chicago, IN. Individual water samples were collected one day a week for ten weeks between June and August. Samples were collected from eight specific sites made up of two river and six shoreline type environments. Sampling was completed at sites where various morphology (embayment, sand and sediment characteristics, size and shape) and hydrologic conditions (currents and waves) were present. Then samples were analyzed using microbial communities (metagenomic analysis), markers of contamination (microbial source tracking), and fecal indicator bacteria (E. coli).