Abstract

Oil field landscape studies are in their formative stages despite nearly a century of oil production in many areas. For those new to the sights and smells of an old oil field, the experience can reveal a completely foreign environment. Vegetation, where it can be found, is often made up of different species than those found on surrounding, undeveloped land. There is also the evidence of production, left behind in the form of old equipment, pipelines, and tank berms. One of the most extensive and striking features of old oil fields is an abundance of gullying and bare soils. Such sites may remind the onlooker of a moon surface or a desert landscape. These sites are usually the result of surface wastewater disposal and may cover up to 40 hectares of land. This study analyzes the impacts of surface wastewater (producing water) on the landscape of the Healdton oil field in Oklahoma. Healdton has been producing oil since 1913, and air photos of the oil field were studied for 1939, 1969, and 1990. A grid analysis of land use in the oil field indicated that bare sites made up a total of 5.4% of the oil field’s area in 1939, 5.9% in 1969, and 2.6% in 1990. Field study revealed water pollution levels and gullying of bare sites were still severe. Gullies reached depths in excess of 7 m in some locations. Salt concentrations in surface runoff from these sites were found to exceed all state and federal standards for safe domestic, agricultural, or industrial use. Despite these negative findings, there was evidence that recovery has begun in some bare areas. Precipitation has leached out enough salinity to allow hardy plants to return, and the total area taken up by bare soils was less than half of its total from 1939.