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Detection and impacts of leakage from sub-seafloor deep geological carbon dioxide storage

Detection and impacts of leakage from sub-seafloor deep geological carbon dioxide storage
Detection and impacts of leakage from sub-seafloor deep geological carbon dioxide storage
Fossil fuel power generation and other industrial emissions of carbon dioxide are a threat to global climate1, yet many economies will remain reliant on these technologies for several decades2. Carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) in deep geological formations provides an effective option to remove these emissions from the climate system3. In many regions storage reservoirs are located offshore4, 5, over a kilometre or more below societally important shelf seas6. Therefore, concerns about the possibility of leakage7, 8 and potential environmental impacts, along with economics, have contributed to delaying development of operational CCS. Here we investigate the detectability and environmental impact of leakage from a controlled sub-seabed release of CO2. We show that the biological impact and footprint of this small leak analogue (<1 tonne CO2 d?1) is confined to a few tens of metres. Migration of CO2 through the shallow seabed is influenced by near-surface sediment structure, and by dissolution and re-precipitation of calcium carbonate naturally present in sediments. Results reported here advance the understanding of environmental sensitivity to leakage and identify appropriate monitoring strategies for full-scale carbon storage operations.
1758-678X
1011-1016
Blackford, Jerry
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Stahl, Henrik
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Bull, Jonathan M.
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Bergès, Benoît J.P.
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Cevatoglu, Melis
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Lichtschlag, Anna
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Connelly, Douglas
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James, Rachael H.
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Kita, Jun
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Long, Dave
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Naylor, Mark
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Shitashima, Kiminori
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Smith, Dave
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Taylor, Peter
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Wright, Ian
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Akhurst, Maxine
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Chen, Baixin
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Gernon, Tom M.
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Hauton, Chris
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Hayashi, Masatoshi
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Kaieda, Hideshi
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Leighton, Timothy G.
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Sato, Toru
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Sayer, Martin D.J.
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Suzumura, Masahiro
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Tait, Karen
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Vardy, Mark E.
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White, Paul R.
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Widdicombe, Steve
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Blackford, Jerry
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Stahl, Henrik
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Bull, Jonathan M.
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Bergès, Benoît J.P.
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Cevatoglu, Melis
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Lichtschlag, Anna
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Connelly, Douglas
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James, Rachael H.
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Kita, Jun
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Long, Dave
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Naylor, Mark
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Shitashima, Kiminori
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Smith, Dave
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Taylor, Peter
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Wright, Ian
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Akhurst, Maxine
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Chen, Baixin
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Gernon, Tom M.
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Hauton, Chris
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Hayashi, Masatoshi
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Kaieda, Hideshi
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Leighton, Timothy G.
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Sato, Toru
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Sayer, Martin D.J.
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Suzumura, Masahiro
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Tait, Karen
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Vardy, Mark E.
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White, Paul R.
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Widdicombe, Steve
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Blackford, Jerry, Stahl, Henrik, Bull, Jonathan M., Bergès, Benoît J.P., Cevatoglu, Melis, Lichtschlag, Anna, Connelly, Douglas, James, Rachael H., Kita, Jun, Long, Dave, Naylor, Mark, Shitashima, Kiminori, Smith, Dave, Taylor, Peter, Wright, Ian, Akhurst, Maxine, Chen, Baixin, Gernon, Tom M., Hauton, Chris, Hayashi, Masatoshi, Kaieda, Hideshi, Leighton, Timothy G., Sato, Toru, Sayer, Martin D.J., Suzumura, Masahiro, Tait, Karen, Vardy, Mark E., White, Paul R. and Widdicombe, Steve (2014) Detection and impacts of leakage from sub-seafloor deep geological carbon dioxide storage. Nature Climate Change, 4, 1011-1016. (doi:10.1038/NCLIMATE2381).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Fossil fuel power generation and other industrial emissions of carbon dioxide are a threat to global climate1, yet many economies will remain reliant on these technologies for several decades2. Carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) in deep geological formations provides an effective option to remove these emissions from the climate system3. In many regions storage reservoirs are located offshore4, 5, over a kilometre or more below societally important shelf seas6. Therefore, concerns about the possibility of leakage7, 8 and potential environmental impacts, along with economics, have contributed to delaying development of operational CCS. Here we investigate the detectability and environmental impact of leakage from a controlled sub-seabed release of CO2. We show that the biological impact and footprint of this small leak analogue (<1 tonne CO2 d?1) is confined to a few tens of metres. Migration of CO2 through the shallow seabed is influenced by near-surface sediment structure, and by dissolution and re-precipitation of calcium carbonate naturally present in sediments. Results reported here advance the understanding of environmental sensitivity to leakage and identify appropriate monitoring strategies for full-scale carbon storage operations.

Text
Blackford et al Nature Climate Change QICS-postprint.pdf - Accepted Manuscript
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e-pub ahead of print date: 28 September 2014
Published date: November 2014
Organisations: Ocean and Earth Science, Inst. Sound & Vibration Research, Marine Geoscience

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 369551
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/369551
ISSN: 1758-678X
PURE UUID: c31d70fc-02b7-49b9-99fb-6e2571169f20
ORCID for Jonathan M. Bull: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-3373-5807
ORCID for Rachael H. James: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-7402-2315
ORCID for Tom M. Gernon: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-7717-2092
ORCID for Chris Hauton: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-2313-4226
ORCID for Timothy G. Leighton: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-1649-8750
ORCID for Paul R. White: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-4787-8713

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 30 Sep 2014 13:27
Last modified: 12 Jul 2024 01:47

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Contributors

Author: Jerry Blackford
Author: Henrik Stahl
Author: Benoît J.P. Bergès
Author: Melis Cevatoglu
Author: Anna Lichtschlag
Author: Douglas Connelly
Author: Jun Kita
Author: Dave Long
Author: Mark Naylor
Author: Kiminori Shitashima
Author: Dave Smith
Author: Peter Taylor
Author: Ian Wright
Author: Maxine Akhurst
Author: Baixin Chen
Author: Tom M. Gernon ORCID iD
Author: Chris Hauton ORCID iD
Author: Masatoshi Hayashi
Author: Hideshi Kaieda
Author: Toru Sato
Author: Martin D.J. Sayer
Author: Masahiro Suzumura
Author: Karen Tait
Author: Mark E. Vardy
Author: Paul R. White ORCID iD
Author: Steve Widdicombe

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