An Open Window Into Complex Systems
The Observ.ar Platform is a publicly accessible, spatial intelligence tool designed to monitor and visualize the intersection between fracking, water, agriculture, and communities in Argentina’s Vaca Muerta Region.
Built from satellite data, field research, and stakeholder input, it provides high-resolution insights into how extractive pressures affect ecosystems and populations — in real time.
What You Can Do With It
- Visualize spatial indicators — such as proximity to water sources, productive lands, and communities
- Explore geospatial data tied to environmental and health risk
- Track the expansion of unconventional oil and gas wells
- Identify patterns that could inform better policy, investment, or advocacy
- Access maps and data freely for research, activism, or public awareness
How It Works
The platform is powered by:
- PlanetScope satellite imagery (3m resolution, 5 bands, 5-day updates)
- Spatial indicators based on GIS and environmental risk analysis
- Machine learning models that detect land-use changes and infrastructure development
- User-centered design for easy exploration by technical and non-technical users alike
Every layer in the platform is backed by peer-reviewed methodology and transparent data sources.
Why It Matters
Fracking infrastructure expands quickly and often without oversight. This platform helps make that process visible.
By turning fragmented data into systems-level insight, we empower communities, researchers, and funders to act with precision, foresight, and
accountability.
This is not just a monitoring tool — it’s a model for environmental intelligence that can be applied elsewhere.
Explore the Platform
The current version of Observ.ar focuses on the Vaca Muerta region, including:
- Over 10 spatial indicators
- Data on land cover, water sources, agriculture, and infrastructure
- A predictive model for new well locations
Hydrocarbon Wells
We observed the number of wells located in the Limay, Río Negro, and Neuquén river basins. This data layer contains the number of wells for the period 1900–2023. The points represent the locations of the wells, and the colors indicate the type of resource: conventional (orange), unconventional (yellow), and unreported (gray). It also includes well locations (black polygons) identified with artificial intelligence using Sentinel-2 satellite imagery.
Well Interaction
This indicator takes into account the potential interaction between conventional and unconventional wells. According to literature, there may be a 10% probability of interaction between unconventional wells if they are located within 1 km of each other, while there is a 50% probability of interaction between unconventional wells when the distance between wells is less than 300 m (Loveless et al., 2019). Additionally, the casing of old conventional wells in a drilling zone, especially those drilled in the last century, can be damaged due to vibrations or through-drilling of new unconventional and conventional wells.
Here we show density polygons of at least one well within a one-kilometer radius between conventional (transparent orange) and unconventional (transparent yellow) wells, and the overlap/interaction zones of the two former (transparent red). We also show the location of two conventional wells (black diamonds) drilled in 1986, one for gas and the other for conventional oil, which in October 2022 began to spill hydrocarbons into the ground and water within a farm in Villa Manzano (green polygon), which is described in the note: Complaints of oil contamination in Villa Manzano (2023).
Proximity to Rivers
River and lake proximity indicators are used to assess their potential contamination risk. Data layers obtained from the Argentine National Geographic Institute (IGN) were used, and the distances between wells and rivers and lakes were calculated. The distance limits are: 1 km radial (highest risk), 1–2 km radial (medium risk), and >3 km radial (low risk), based on the Meng 2015 methodology. This spatial indicator represents the distance from wells to permanent rivers in watersheds. Wells located less than 1 km from the river indicate that the area has a high potential contamination risk, compared to areas from the river where wells are located more than 3 km away.
The dots represent unconventional hydrocarbon wells and sinkhole wells. The lines represent the distance from a well to the river. The colors indicate high, medium, and low risk.
Proximity to Irrigation Canals
The well proximity to irrigation canals indicator reveals which irrigation canals have nearby wells. This indicator represents the distance from the wells to the irrigation canals in the productive area; the distances for the canals are calculated in lines.
Proximity to Communities
The proximity to the wells could increase the potential risk of contamination and negative impacts on health and the ecosystem. The information layer for the localities obtained from the National Geographic Institute (IGN) was downloaded, and the distance from the wells to the corresponding points within the localities was calculated.
Looking Ahead
We are actively working to:
- Expanding the platform’s functionality
- Add new indicators (health, air quality, governance)
- Scale this model to other regions and contexts
With support, we can build a new kind of public infrastructure — one based on truth, visibility, and systems knowledge.
Want to bring this platform to another region or issue?
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