{"id":2308,"date":"2024-01-15T14:15:45","date_gmt":"2024-01-15T14:15:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/quality\/shale-gas\/national-methane-baseline-survey-of-uk-groundwaters\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T15:17:31","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T14:17:31","slug":"national-methane-baseline-survey-of-uk-groundwaters","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/energy\/shale-gas-and-groundwater\/national-methane-baseline-survey-of-uk-groundwaters\/","title":{"rendered":"National methane baseline survey of UK groundwaters"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t\t<section class=\"hero-section hero-section-with-social\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hero-info-wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"row\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hero-info\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h1>National methane baseline survey of UK groundwaters<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"social-wrap social-wrap-inline-them\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"sea-background-f\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<span>Share this article<\/span><a target=\"_blank\"  href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/energy\/shale-gas-and-groundwater\/national-methane-baseline-survey-of-uk-groundwaters\/\"><span class=\"icon-facebook\"><span class=\"hidden\">Facebook<\/span><\/span><\/a><a target=\"_blank\"  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=National%20methane%20baseline%20survey%20of%20UK%20groundwaters&#038;url=https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/energy\/shale-gas-and-groundwater\/national-methane-baseline-survey-of-uk-groundwaters\/\"><span class=\"icon-twitter\"><span class=\"hidden\">Twitter<\/span><\/span><\/a><a   onclick=\"javascript:void( (function() {var e=document.createElement('script' );e.setAttribute('type','text\/javascript' );e.setAttribute('charset','UTF-8' );e.setAttribute('src','\/\/assets.pinterest.com\/js\/pinmarklet.js?r='+Math.random()*99999999);document.body.appendChild(e)})());\"  href=\"javascript:void(0);\"><span class=\"icon-pinterest\"><span class=\"hidden\">Pinterest<\/span><\/span><\/a><a target=\"_blank\"  href=\"https:\/\/wa.me?text=https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/energy\/shale-gas-and-groundwater\/national-methane-baseline-survey-of-uk-groundwaters\/\"><span class=\"icon-whatsapp\"><span class=\"hidden\">WhatsApp<\/span><\/span><\/a><a   href=\"mailto:?subject=National%20methane%20baseline%20survey%20of%20UK%20groundwaters&#038;body=Creating%20a%20national%20baseline%20dataset%20of%20the%20current%20distribution%20of%20methane%20in%20our%20groundwater.%20(https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/energy\/shale-gas-and-groundwater\/national-methane-baseline-survey-of-uk-groundwaters\/)\"><span class=\"icon-mail\"><span class=\"hidden\">Email<\/span><\/span><\/a><a href=\"#\" data-copy=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/energy\/shale-gas-and-groundwater\/national-methane-baseline-survey-of-uk-groundwaters\/\" class=\"copy-url-on-click\"><span class=\"icon-link\"><span class=\"hidden\">Copy Link<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\n\n\n<section class=\"wp-block-bgs-blocks-content-container content-section\"><div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row\"><div class=\"col-12\">\n<p>Methane (CH<sub>4<\/sub>) occurs naturally in the atmosphere and is commonly found at trace levels as a dissolved component of groundwater. CH<sub>4<\/sub> is also released by human activity and is an important greenhouse gas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>BGS surveyed the current distribution of CH<sub>4<\/sub> concentrations in UK groundwaters, focusing on areas where aquifers are underlain by shale units that may be exploited for shale gas. The dataset is a reference point against which any future changes in groundwater CH<sub>4<\/sub> concentrations can be measured and it is of particular interest to researchers and environmental regulators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Summary of the CH<sub>4<\/sub> baseline results with links to the regional summaries<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<figure  class=\"img-wrap\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/08\/P883250.jpg\" data-toggle=\"lightbox\" data-footer=\"&lt;p&gt;Collecting dissolved gases into an evacuated glass bulb for research into methane in UK groundwater. BGS \u00a9 UKRI.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-gallery=\"gallery_51333\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/08\/P883250.jpg\" class=\"lazy-blur\" alt=\"A white person&#039;s hand holding up a bottle containing a clear, colourless liquid with gas bubbling through it\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/08\/P883250.jpg\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"caption \">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-content\/themes\/bgs\/img\/info-caption.svg\" alt=\"Information icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-text\"><p>Collecting dissolved gases into an evacuated glass bulb for research into methane in UK groundwater. BGS \u00a9 UKRI.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"expand-box expand-box-top\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/08\/P883250.jpg\" ><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-content\/themes\/bgs\/img\/expand.svg\" alt=\"Expand icon\"><\/a><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The need for UK CH<sub>4<\/sub> baseline data<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The need for a CH<sub>4<\/sub> baseline in the UK was recognised in the 2012 report on shale gas extraction, published by the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/royalsociety.org\/-\/media\/policy\/projects\/shale-gas-extraction\/shale-gas-extraction-in-the-uk-a-review-of-hydraulic-fracturing-june-2012.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineering<\/a> (pdf).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Understanding the current distribution of CH<sub>4<\/sub> in UK groundwaters provides a baseline against which any future changes can be measured. This has become particularly important with increasing interest in&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/geology-projects\/shale-gas\/\">shale gas&nbsp;in the UK<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Evidence from the USA has shown very high CH<sub>4<\/sub> concentrations in some aquifers in some of the areas where shale rocks are being commercially exploited for gas. However, there is considerable uncertainty and argument over the source(s) of the CH<sub>4<\/sub> and how it has entered the aquifers. Crucially, there was no consistent baseline data on CH<sub>4<\/sub> concentrations in groundwater in the USA collected <em>before <\/em>shale gas exploitation began, which makes it very difficult to assess and deal with the observed problems of CH<sub>4<\/sub> in groundwater.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure  class=\"img-wrap\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/01\/uk-methane-samples.webp\" data-toggle=\"lightbox\" data-footer=\"&lt;p&gt;Map showing the distribution of CH&lt;sub&gt;4 &lt;\/sub&gt;baseline data for UK groundwaters. Summary results are available. BGS \u00a9 UKRI.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-gallery=\"gallery_13382\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/01\/uk-methane-samples-150x150.webp\" class=\"lazy-blur\" alt=\"Map showing the distribution of methane baseline data for UK groundwater.\u00a0Summary results are available. BGS \u00a9 UKRI.\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/01\/uk-methane-samples-205x300.webp\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"caption \">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-content\/themes\/bgs\/img\/info-caption.svg\" alt=\"Information icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-text\"><p>Map showing the distribution of CH<sub>4 <\/sub>baseline data for UK groundwaters. Summary results are available. BGS \u00a9 UKRI.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"expand-box expand-box-top\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/01\/uk-methane-samples.webp\" ><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-content\/themes\/bgs\/img\/expand.svg\" alt=\"Expand icon\"><\/a><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>BGS scientists built on our previous work and measured CH<sub>4<\/sub> concentrations in groundwater in a range of aquifers before any shale gas development started. This provides a baseline against which any future environmental changes can be assessed and will enable informed management decisions to be taken. The CH<sub>4<\/sub> baseline&nbsp;is defined for this project as the current background range of CH<sub>4<\/sub> concentrations in UK groundwaters before any significant exploitation of unconventional hydrocarbons, such as shale gas, takes place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The measured CH<sub>4<\/sub> may not necessarily originate&nbsp;naturally&nbsp;from geological sources \u2014 in some cases, it may have been produced or released because of other human activities, such as coal mining or landfill operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Fieldwork and sampling<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Collecting groundwater samples for CH<sub>4<\/sub> analysis is straightforward, providing certain precautions are undertaken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To get an accurate concentration measurement, groundwater has to be sampled before it comes into contact with air so that no gas can escape. This means collecting a sample directly from a pumped borehole, by attaching a hose with an airtight connection at the top of the borehole before the pumped water enters a storage tank or is treated in any way.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure  class=\"img-wrap\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/11\/DSC_6335.jpg\" data-toggle=\"lightbox\" data-footer=\"&lt;p&gt;Sampling groundwater for CH&lt;sub&gt;4&lt;\/sub&gt; in Lancashire. BGS \u00a9 UKRI.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-gallery=\"gallery_49629\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/11\/DSC_6335.jpg\" class=\"lazy-blur\" alt=\"A woman dressed in dark clothing hold a long piece of blue hosepipe\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/11\/DSC_6335.jpg\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"caption sm-line\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-content\/themes\/bgs\/img\/info-caption.svg\" alt=\"Information icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-text\"><p>Sampling groundwater for CH<sub>4<\/sub> in Lancashire. BGS \u00a9 UKRI.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"expand-box expand-box-top\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/11\/DSC_6335.jpg\" ><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-content\/themes\/bgs\/img\/expand.svg\" alt=\"Expand icon\"><\/a><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>Special containers are used to preserve the sample until it reaches the laboratory. In addition to sampling for dissolved CH<sub>4<\/sub>, a number of chemical parameters are measured in the field (for example, groundwater temperature, dissolved oxygen content and redox potential) and samples are collected for laboratory analysis of a broader range of chemical parameters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Find out more information about the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/quality\/https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/quality\/baseline-chemistry-uk-aquifers\/\">national baseline groundwater chemistry<\/a>&nbsp;programme<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Partners<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>BGS greatly appreciates the support provided by the Environment Agency, Natural Resources Wales, water utility companies and other private borehole owners such as farms and golf courses to find suitable boreholes, <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Further reading<\/h2>\n\n\n<div  class=\"accordions\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"acc-wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"acc-top secondary-background icon-arrow button no-btn\"><span class=\"button-content\" tabindex=\"-1\">References<\/span><\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"acc-body sea-background-e\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Bell, R A, Darling, W G, Ward, R S, Basava-Reddi, L, Halwa, L, Manamsa, K, and \u00d3 Dochartaigh, B \u00c9. 2017. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.scitotenv.2017.05.191\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">A baseline survey of dissolved methane in aquifers of Great Britain<\/a>.\u00a0<em>Science of the Total Environment<\/em>, Vol. 601\u2013602, 1803\u20131813. DOI: https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.scitotenv.2017.05.191<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>Bell, R A, Darling, W G, Manamsa, K, and \u00d3 Dochartaigh, B \u00c9. 2016. <a href=\"http:\/\/nora.nerc.ac.uk\/514557\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The baseline concentrations of methane in Great British groundwater \u2014 the National Methane Baseline Survey<\/a>. <em>British Geological Survey Open Report <\/em>OR\/15\/071. (Nottingham, UK: British Geological Survey.)<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<h3>Methane data from previous BGS water quality surveys<\/h3>\n<p>Methane data from previous BGS water quality surveys has been published in papers and reports that are available from the <a href=\"http:\/\/nora.nerc.ac.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">NERC Open Research Archive<\/a> (NORA). Please note that a small amount of data from these published sources has not been used in the statistical summaries for the regions presented in the accompanying web pages because they were considered unrepresentative of typical baseline conditions.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>Gooddy, D, and Darling, W G. 2005.\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1016\/j.scitotenv.2004.07.019\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The potential for methane emissions from groundwaters of the UK<\/a>.\u00a0<em>Science of the Total Environment<\/em>, Vol. 339, 117\u2013126. DOI: http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1016\/j.scitotenv.2004.07.019<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>Darling, W G, and Gooddy, D C. 2006.\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1016\/j.chemgeo.2005.11.003\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The hydrogeochemistry of methane: evidence from English groundwaters<\/a>.\u00a0<em>Chemical Geology<\/em>, Vol. 229(4), 293\u2013312. DOI: http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1016\/j.chemgeo.2005.11.003<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>\u00d3 Dochartaigh, B E, Smedley, P L, MacDonald, A M, Darling, W G, and Homoncik, S. 2011.\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/nora.nerc.ac.uk\/14314\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Baseline Scotland: groundwater chemistry of the Carboniferous sedimentary aquifers of the Midland Valley<\/a>. <em>British Geological Survey Open Report <\/em>OR\/11\/021. (Nottingham, UK: British Geological Survey.)<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n<section class=\"cta-section  sea-background-e \">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row md-row\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12\">\n\t\t\t\t<h2>Need more information?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"btn-wrap\"><a href=\"mailto:enquiries@bgs.ac.uk\"  class=\"button primary-background   \">Contact BGS Enquiries<\/a><\/div>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Creating a national baseline dataset of the current distribution of methane in our groundwater.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":4259,"parent":62,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"1","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2308","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - 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