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Surface CO 2 leakage during two shallow subsurface CO 2 releases
Author(s) -
Lewicki J. L.,
Oldenburg C. M.,
Dobeck L.,
Spangler L.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2007gl032047
Subject(s) - water table , leakage (economics) , environmental science , groundwater , soil science , hydrology (agriculture) , dissolution , flux (metallurgy) , soil water , geology , materials science , chemistry , geotechnical engineering , metallurgy , economics , macroeconomics
A new field facility was used to study CO 2 migration processes and test techniques to detect and quantify potential CO 2 leakage from geologic storage sites. For 10 days starting 9 July 2007, and for seven days starting 3 August 2007, 0.1 and 0.3 t CO 2 d −1 , respectively, were released from a ∼100‐m long, sub‐water table (∼2.5‐m depth) horizontal well. The spatio‐temporal evolution of leakage was mapped through repeated grid measurements of soil CO 2 flux (F CO2 ). The surface leakage onset, approach to steady state, and post‐release decline matched model predictions closely. Modeling suggested that minimal CO 2 was taken up by groundwater through dissolution, and CO 2 spread out on top of the water table. F CO2 spatial patterns were related to well design and soil physical properties. Estimates of total CO 2 discharge along with soil respiration and leakage discharge highlight the influence of background CO 2 flux variations on detection of CO 2 leakage signals.