Brian Lutz, assistant professor of biogeochemistry at Kent State University, will visit West Virginia University April 2-3 to discuss the implications of mountaintop mining and natural gas development.
Hosted by the WVU Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design, Lutz is an invited speaker for the Forestry and Natural Resources Seminar Series.
At 2 p.m. on April 2, he will present a lecture entitled “Regional Impacts of Energy Extraction: Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining, Hydraulic Fracturing, and Water Resources in the Eastern US” in room 101A of the National Research Center for Coal and Energy.
With strategies for producing fossil energy changing rapidly, emerging methods that are generally more water-intensive than their predecessors, Lutz will talk about ongoing research investigating surface water impairment associated with mountaintop removal coal mining in the Central Appalachians.
He’ll also discuss wastewater generation associated with shale gas development in the Marcellus region, as well as possible frameworks for comparing the on-site water resources impacts of these different energy extraction practices.
“Dr. Lutz’s research brings to light the environmental trade-offs of two dominant and ever expanding energy sources from the Appalachian Region,” said Nicolas Zegre, assistant professor of forest hydrology. “In a region with copious freshwater water resources, and marked connectivity between the uplands and downstream river systems, understanding the environmental impacts of energy development is paramount for sound, science-driven policy. Dr. Lutz’s research complements numerous research efforts across WVU’s campus.”
Immediately following his lecture and the morning of April 3, Lutz will be available to meet with interested WVU researchers by appointment.
As a biogeochemist, his research focuses on environmental impacts of energy extraction practices, watershed biogeochemistry, the effects of climate change on ecosystem water and element cycles, and the interactions between element cycles.
Lutz was recently featured on National Public Radio to discuss Marcellus Shale and mountaintop mining
His research has been published in Water Resources Research, Environmental Science & Technology, Ecological Monographs, Ecology, Quaternary Research, Journal of the American Water Resources Association, and Limnology and Oceanography.
For more information or to schedule an appointment with Lutz, please contact Zegre at Nicolas.Zegre@mail.wvu.edu or 304-293-0049.
The April 2 event is free and open to the public.
-WVU-
law/3/26/13
CONTACT: Nicolas Zegre, Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Design
304-293-0049, Nicolas.Zegre@mail.wvu.edu
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