Duke prof hosts webcast on 'fracking'

Duke University takes on the controversial natural gas extraction process known as "fracking" Thursday in a live web chat. Robert Jackson, a professor of Biology and a geochemist will explain his research into the environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing beginning at noon.

"Fracking" forces high-pressure liquids into underground rock to break it up and release natural gas and oil. It has proven to be a source of previously unavailable domestic energy, and property owners have profited.

But Jackson's work has shown that the liquids used in fracking and the by-products of the process have the potential to contaminate groundwater. Jackson and his colleagues at Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment found methane contamination in well water near shale-gas drilling and hydrofracking sites.

Jackson is the Nicholas Chair of Global Environmental Change at Duke. 

To ask a question during the webcast, send an email to live@duke.edu or tweet with the tag #dukelive.