| This study is a geographical analysis of the environmental impacts of oil drilling and production on the landscape. The physical features resulting from oil development are distinct in their size, shape, and ability to recover from a variety of impacts. If one looks at the land surface in oil boom areas, an intriguing story is told. This story is one of waste water disposal, oil spills, oil storage, and errosion following in the wake of unbridled oil drilling activities. Prior to the 1930s, no legislation was in place to protect surface land from damage, or to reclaim this land after it was impacted. Oil fields drilled before this time show the scars of development where vegetation has not been able to recover.;Using Healdton, Oklahoma as a case study, the research establishes not only what features can be expected to be found in an old oil field, but how long it takes them to recover. This field was developed beginning in 1913, and production continues today. Analysis of features was accomplished using a grid of 144 units per square mile on historical air photos. The results showed significant natural recovery of features such as tank berms, gullied areas, and oil storage/waste disposal pits between 1913 and 1990. Total identifiable impacts dropped from 24 percent of the land surface in 1939 air photos to 7.7 percent by 1990. Despite this overall improvement, it was discovered that even 80 years is not enough time to heal areas exposed to salt water. Waste salt water disposal areas were actually found to expand early in the study. While soils and slope were a factor in the recovery of other features, salt water disposal areas promoted erosion and resisted recovery in all ecological zones within the study area. |
