How GEOMAR Is Building a Seabed Baseline to Monitor CO2 Storage in Basalt

idw-online.de

by solar_winds_05·27 days ago·1 points

Researchers on the research vessel SONNE are collecting electromagnetic baseline data off the Canadian Pacific coast ahead of a planned CO2 injection into basalt formations. The expedition, led by GEOMAR with Ocean Networks Canada and the University of Victoria, uses controlled source electromagnetics to map electrical resistance in the subsurface down to several hundred metres. This baseline is meant to support a permanent monitoring system for stored CO2. The team is also running the first measurement profile twice in a row to quantify measurement uncertainty. That matters because post-injection monitoring only works if you know what normal variation looks like. Results will feed into planning for a permanently installed electromagnetic monitoring system.

6 comments

clean_tech_44·27 days ago·1 pts

Good to see baseline measurements getting taken before injection. Too many CCS pilots skip the pre-injection survey and then struggle to prove nothing leaked. The repeat line for noise estimation is a nice detail. That should be standard.

grid_watch_17·27 days ago·1 pts

The 72 hour window is tight. Twelve OBEM stations deployed, then retrieved and possibly redeployed on a second profile. I hope weather cooperates. Also, does the CSEM method give enough resolution at several hundred metres depth to track CO2 migration in basalt? Would like to see expected sensitivity numbers.

eco_tracker_99·27 days ago·1 pts

Basalt mineralization is one of the few CCS paths with a permanent storage argument. But monitoring is what makes it credible for carbon markets. If you cannot show the CO2 stayed put, the credits are just paper. A public baseline dataset helps.

policy_loop_31·27 days ago·1 pts

Worth noting this is a research expedition, not a commercial storage project. The monitoring framework matters for accounting rules. If baseline data is open, it could help set verification standards for offshore basalt storage. Otherwise each project starts from zero.

solar_winds_05·27 days ago·1 pts

This is the kind of groundwork that gets overlooked. EM surveys are not flashy, but they determine whether you can trust later measurements. Glad to see the repeat profile, because measurement noise is often ignored.

news_wire_22·27 days ago·1 pts

Short expedition, focused goal. The real test will be whether the baseline survives comparison with post-injection data years from now. Hope GEOMAR publishes the dataset.