MONITORING VARIATIONS IN VEGETATION AND SOIL HEALTH NEAR HYDRAULIC FRACTURING WELLS IN COLORADO USING LANDSAT DATA

The vegetation health of the areas surrounding hydraulic fracturing sites can be used as an indicator of potential contaminates from leaking fracking fluid. Since direct sampling of these areas is prohibited, satellite imagery is ideal for studying the effects of fracking sites in the environment. I present a method for evaluating the vegetation health of the land outside of DeBeque, CO, where there has been documented contaminationof benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene from wells . Using Landsat 5, 7, and 8 data , I measured the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and the Soil-Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI) of the watershed that contained the area with documented contamination to quantify vegetation and soil health. A baseline image for each site was produced using imagery that predates the establishment of a hydraulic fracturing well. Then I used subsequent imagery of the site dating from 2000 to 2013 to determine if there was an overall change in the NDVI and SAVI. I also applied this method to watersheds in Delta, CO, and Glenwood Springs, CO, which have no established contamination from fracking wells to ensure that changes in NDVI and SAVI were not caused by yearly climate variations. Variation in NDVI and SAVI values at the DeBeque site outside the established baseline was used to indicate the presence of contamination in the area. By using this training method, I was able to show that contamination from hydraulic fracturing fluids causes an overall change in NDVI and SAVI .