By Earl Chough, Dario Jurkovic, Nate Schapmann

Fracking or Hydraulic fracturing is the propagation of fractures in a rock layer, as a result of the action of a pressurized fluid.

First, a well is drilled about a mile down until the layer of shale is reached.

When the drill reaches the shale layer, it begins to move horizontally, and then the shale formation is hydraulically fractured.

Next, millions of gallons of water, sand and fracking chemicals (know simply as fracking fluid) are pumped into these fractures.

Finally, methane gas trapped in the shale is released.

The reason why many companies are doing this is to extract natural gas.

One of the few efficient ways to extract natural gas from underground but at a cost to harming the environment.

As fracking fluids seep into the land, soil is contaminated, clearing the vegetation on the land affected. If this type of accident were to occur on the beach where sand grass is present, no plant life could ever grow, since the pioneer species is no longer present to build up soil for later, more complex plant life. Therefore, many species of trees could no longer exist here, and the stages of succession would also cease to exist.

Disrupts secondary succession. Contaminates water

The pollutants contaminate the water by seeping into aquifers which run through underground and run off into other bodies of watdr.

Fracking fluids contain Mercury, Uranium, Benzene, Radium, Formaldehyde, Lead elements, Diesel Fuel, Sodium Hydroxide, Hydrochloric Acid. Only 30% remain in the ground and cannot be removed.

Pollutes the air Harmful contaminates go into the air from the

condensate tank which may cause harm to skin and respiratory system.

Kills Vegetation

If an accident involving these dangerous fracking fluids were to affect the environment then the organisms living in the area where the fracking occurs will die. Some Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Species that reside in the dunes include White baneberry, Virginia snake root, Shooting Star, American columbo, and Pink corydalis.

White Baneberry

The Indiana Dunes are a very beautiful place and fracking there will destroy the plant life or the allure of the Indiana Dunes.

The Indiana Dunes are one of the few natural monuments Indiana has to offer to the greatest country in the world.

Fracking is known to cause environmental harm. Doing so in the Indiana dunes with not only kill organisms but will disrupt biodiversity within the ecosystem.

Primary succession is ecological succession where plant life emerges from a previous area devoid of vegetation and lacking soil.

Secondary succession is when plant life reemerges from an area that encountered some sort of disaster that wiped out the previous vegetation. Plant life regrowing after a blowout would be an example of secondary succession

Blowout

Sand grass is a pioneer species, meaning it can survive in harsh conditions (where minerals in soil are minimal). It is also the first plant life observed after moving inland, away from the beach.

Close up of sand grass, which is known as a dune builder since its roots extent deep into the sand, binding with it to keep the wind from blowing it away, maintaining the structural integrity of the dune. It also must resist extreme drying.

As we move further inland, we see taller and more complex plant life in the second major stage of succession. (cottonwood can be seen on bottom right)

More evidence of taller and more complex species (cottonwood in the middle of photo)

As we move still further inland, we encounter the climax community, the oak forest (above) which is the last stage of dunal succession and contains the tallest trees. (close up of the leaves of an oak tree ,right)

The creation of roads, pathways, and parking lots have definitely left a small but lasting impact onto the dunes.

The buildings are also human creations that minutely impacted the Dunes environment. The concrete fortress that separates the Dunes from the shoreline is one human impact that is already seen in the habitat.

Coastal Sand Dunes An example of Primary Succession. (1998). Retrieved September 19, 2012, from Offwell Woodland & Wildlife Trust website: http://www.countrysideinfo.co.uk/successn/primary2.htm 

Dune plant succession. (2005). Retrieved September 14, 2012, from Landscapes of Scotland website: http://www.landforms.eu/Lothian/dune%20succession.htm 

Stump, K., & Melcic, J. (2000). Stay on the Trail OR ELSE. Retrieved September 22, 2012, from Think Quest website: http://library.thinkquest.org/C006838/  succession.html

Colin, S. (2005). Summer 2005 Pioneer Plant Adaptations in Dune Systems. Retrieved September 24, 2012, from Sefton Coast website: http://www.seftoncoast.org.uk/articles/05summer_pioneerplants.html