SUBSIDENCE TRENDS IN THE POWDER RIVER BASIN CORRESPONDING TO COALBED METHANE PRODUCTION

For nearly a decade, the Power River Basin (PRB) of northeastern Wyoming underwent a boom and subsequent bust of coalbed methane (CBM) production. The extraction process of this resource involved the pumping and discharge of untreated groundwater into the surrounding landscape. This groundwater, high in salinity and sodicity, has found to be a contributing factor to soil degradation in areas populated by wells through geochemical studies. In order to add new supplementary data, we examine multiple locations within the PRB using interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR). Using data acquired from JAXA’s Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) and ESA’s Sentinel-1A satellite, we produce multiple interferograms dating from 2007 to 2015. These interferograms, covering the boom and bust of CBM production, are then used to produce change in elevation data. These data are used to compare subsidence trends in several areas with high well density. These trends are used to determine overall patterns within the PRB and to examine the possibility of anthropogenic subsidence. This approach provides a new possible technique to track energy production and its environmental effects.