Grantee Research Project Results
Final Report: Integrated Design, Modeling, and Monitoring of Geologic Sequestration of Anthropogenic Carbon Dioxide to Safeguard Sources of Drinking Water
EPA Grant Number: R834386Title: Integrated Design, Modeling, and Monitoring of Geologic Sequestration of Anthropogenic Carbon Dioxide to Safeguard Sources of Drinking Water
Investigators: McPherson, Brian J. , Deo, Milind D. , Solomon, Douglas Kip , Goel, Ramesh
Institution: University of Utah
EPA Project Officer: Aja, Hayley
Project Period: December 1, 2009 through November 30, 2012 (Extended to November 30, 2013)
Project Amount: $899,567
RFA: Integrated Design, Modeling, and Monitoring of Geologic Sequestration of Anthropogenic Carbon Dioxide to Safeguard Sources of Drinking Water (2009) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Drinking Water , Water
Objective:
The objective of this project was to develop a comprehensive risk assessment protocol for CO2 geologic sequestration (GS), specifically focused on risks to underground sources of drinking water (USDWs). The University of Utah team utilized multiple field demonstration sites to develop the "Aquifer Risk Assessment Framework," or ARAF. The ARAF is a systematic framework that researchers may use to assess and quantify potential risks to USDWs at a specific GS site. The most useful application of the ARAF is capability to determine optimized engineering conditions that minimize risks to USDWs for a given set of geologic conditions at a specific GS site.
Objectives/Hypotheses: We hypothesized that (1) GS will impact USDWs, but (2) at suitable sites, GS will not adversely impact USDWs. The specific objectives of our study were to: (1) identify risks specific to USDWs and develop associated Probability Density Functions (PDFs), (2) quantify risks to USDWs by pressure/brine/CO2 migration through seals, (3) quantify risks to USDWs by lateral migration of pressure/brine/CO2, and (4) determine conditions that minimize (or eliminate) the risks to USDWs.
Approach: A key to making the ARAF truly effective is to identify which factors (processes, parameters, etc.) are most important with respect to adverse impacts on USDWs. To achieve this, we used a case-study approach to test and evaluate the specific components with real data and results. The case study sites included (1) the Farnsworth field in Texas (PRIMARY SITE)–this site has never been subjected to prior CO2 injection, and injection began in spring 2013; (2) an active CO2 injection field site in the Permian Basin in western Texas–CO2 injection at this site began in October 2008, and injection is not slated to cease until 2012 at the earliest; and (3) an active CO2 injection field site in the San Juan Basin in northern New Mexico–CO2 injection at this site began in July 2008, and injection ceased in August 2009. The latter two of these field sites were part of the Validation Phase (Phase II) of the Southwest Regional Partnership on Carbon Sequestration, a partnership and project sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and its National Energy Technology Laboratory. A PI of this EPA STAR project (R834386) also formed the Southwest Regional Partnership and has led that project since 2003. Thus, access to the field sites and associated data were assured.
Although the Gordon Creek Field was the primary site for analysis, we included components of all three of these field sites in the EPA-sponsored ARAF STAR project. These three sites represent the three primary stages of a CCS geologic site, to facilitate evaluation of different stages of risk analysis and framework development. Specifically, Gordon Creek is a new project area slated for future CO2 injection, and thus it represents a site with no baseline CCS analysis data at the onset of the project. The Permian Basin site represents active CO2 injection and monitoring with a relatively mature set of fundamental geologic evaluation, monitoring and simulation data to support ARAF development. Finally, San Juan represents a site that has run the full course of CO2 injection from drilling to well closure (albeit a medium-scale demonstration).
For the ARAF, we evaluated the properties and attributes that make each of these a capable storage site. We quantified selected risks for all three sites. We intended this approach to provide essential ARAF elements. Additionally, we examined alternative natural sites that leak CO2 such as the Crystal Geyser in Utah, to provide context regarding what attributes may compromise storage sites and to evaluate the nature and processes of leakage. We used simulations to evaluate a range of possible injection scenarios, and took advantage of those results to evaluate what engineering conditions will minimize risks. Furthermore, we included analysis of a field program in which fundamental geologic, hydrologic, and key environmental tracer data were used to demonstrate methodology as well as to test the concepts derived from our numerical modeling. Finally, we compared ARAF development at all three sites, especially pre-injection results to post-injection results, to evaluate what aspects of the ARAF are most and least effective.
Summary/Accomplishments (Outputs/Outcomes):
The intent of the ARAF is a formalized, practical methodology for characterizing risks to USDWs and mechanisms (in the form of optimizing engineering injection conditions) for minimizing those risks. The ARAF is in the form of a documented protocol for USDW risk assessment published in this summary report. We also developed a set of companion web-pages to provide practical access to the ARAF.
Simulation of Natural Analog Sites. Natural sites that leak CO2 such as the Crystal Geyser in Utah, provide context regarding the attributes that may compromise storage sites and the nature and processes of leakage. A detailed study of the eruption mechanisms at the geyser were conducted during a field trip and the observations were reported, which included a detailed description of the geology of the site, the experimental methods and instruments and major findings. The process of CO2 leakage through a high permeability conduit or an abandoned well was studied and the whole process was categorized into stages describing the entire eruption mechanism. Hence, rather than speculating regarding conceptual models, a detailed analysis of a known CO2 leakage site located was carried out, which proved to be a starting point for the ARAF.
Simulation of Engineered Storage Sites. The ARAF team evaluated multiple site case studies for the sake of offering analysis of risk of sites at different stages of CCS operation, including the three sites mentioned above. A detailed description of geology was provided for each of the three sites and also for the Farnsworth unit in northern Texas. Site-specific static models were constructed based on the data collected for these sites. For the Gordon Creek site, the stratigraphic formation top picks, well information, and well log images available from the project site were collected to construct a geocellular model, which was used for dynamic simulation studies for CO2 injection into the target formations. The CO2 plume migration profiles and the effect of hysteresis and property heterogeneity on plume behavior were investigated and reported. In addition to the numerical simulation work based on the data available in the Gordon Creek site, the effects of heterogeneities in Aeolian Navajo Sandstone on CO2 storage with an outcrop analog study were investigated. For the EOR site in Permian Basin in West Texas (SACROC site), a detailed in-depth description of the SACROC site geology was provided. A fine scale high-resolution geocellular model was built and then upscaled to a coarser grid to facilitate dynamic simulations. Several models for CO2 injection into the oil reservoir were conducted and the findings were reported. A detailed characterization of the San Juan Basin formation, its geology and production history were reported. A comprehensive geologic model was developed on a field scale and a series of ECBM simulations were conducted to achieve history matching based on the data gathered from the site. A detailed analysis of water chemistry from the USDWs in the vicinity of the reservoir also was conducted to evaluate the effect of CO2 injection on the water quality. For the Farnsworth unit in northern Texas, geology for the storage target was described in detail. Water chemistry analysis from the wells penetrating USDWs in the vicinity was conducted to assess the impact of CO2 injection. A geocellular static model was developed based on the reservoir boundary for simulation. Permeability measurement data also were reviewed to find out the anisotropy ratio (kv/kh). Several models describing the CO2 behavior in the subsurface were built and reported.
Identification of Risk Elements and Development of PDFs. To develop a methodology for calculating the probability of leakage of CO2 into USDWs, especially via known (or unknown) fault pathways, a generalized experimental design approach was developed to generate response surfaces and subsequently probability density functions (PDFs) of important outcomes (overpressure, free CO2 concentration, etc.) as functions of significant input variables (porosity, permeability, anisotropy, etc.). Volume of CO2 sequestered in different sections of the modeled reservoir as a function of sensitivity in various parameters like porosity, permeability, presence of faults and fractures, abandoned wells, etc., were quantified and reported. Generic layer cake models with alternating low permeability shales and high permeability aquifers were built to assess the sealing capability of low permeability cap zones and a sensitivity study was conducted. CO2 saturation profiles as functions of shale permeability, ignoring diffusivity through shales, were reported. A methodology for incorporating field data to refine process models was developed using Ensemble Kalman Filter method. The general methodology and its implementation to continually improve models by incorporating pressure and flow data from wells were reported. It also was shown that this method can be used to update uncertain system parameters such as permeabilities, fault conductivities and locations. A novel definition of the model uncertainty covariance matrix approach was used. Features such as sealing and leaky faults also were identified by using this approach. In addition to these studies, the ARAF team also compiled detailed risk registries for all possible geological sequestration scenarios. The risk registries developed and reported include general risk registries for CO2 injection into saline aquifers, depleted oil reservoirs and coal bed seams, and site-specific risk registries for the Gordon Creek Field, SACROC field and San Juan Basin.
Calibration and Refinement of PDFs Using (results of analyses of) Tracer/Microbiology/Chemistry/Physical Field Data (e.g., probability of USDW contamination based on a certain event or combinations of events). Helium (⁴He) content of minerals obtained from drill core or cuttings was measured, and subsequently related to pore water concentrations of ⁴He via solubility relationships, and the derived pore-water concentrations were utilized in numerical models to evaluate natural rates of fluid flow. Step-wise procedures for measuring the helium content of the rocks, determining sample specific partition coefficients and calculating in-situ concentration of helium in pore waters were achieved by developing techniques for separating appropriately sized grains from bulk cap-rock samples. This method can be used to determine pore water concentrations where traditional methods are impractical. The spatial and temporal distribution of helium was simulated using a general 2-D model with a low-permeability zone and a site-specific 1-D model for the Kirtland Formation of the San Juan Basin. Reasonable agreement between helium concentrations from various methods spanning five orders of magnitude suggests that the new method can be applied to many basins and will help constrain aquitard and cap rock permeabilities and leakage rates.
Calibration and Refinement of Simulation Models Using Tracer/Microbiology/Chemistry/Physical Field Data. It is essential to evaluate the effect of CO2 on microbial population in the subsurface because the change in the microbial population can act as an indicator of CO2 encroachment into the aquifer. In case of CO2 leakages during or after its sequestration in the subsurface, the escaped CO2 can affect the biogeochemistry of the subsurface primarily in two ways; (1) by directly affecting the chemical equilibrium and bacterial growth due to pH changes because H2CO3 is a weak acid and, (2) by serving as a carbon source for the subsurface microbial community. Changes in bacterial cell count as a response to CO2 injections were measured under various conditions. Several batch reactions were conducted to determine the effect of anaerobic and aerobic bacteria by varying the amounts of CO2. This study proved that introduction of CO2 increases the cell count of the aerobic bacteria and hence microbial signature in ground water can serve as a fair indicator of CO2 invasion of an aquifer. In addition to laboratory studies, field samples were collected from the Farnsworth site and the microbial profile and its ecological diversity were quantified, which indicated that there was a minor increase in bacterial cell count in the samples collected.
Integration and delivery of comprehensive Aquifer Risk Assessment Framework (ARAF)
The ARAF team put together a comprehensive layout, which would take into account all the important steps in the development of a comprehensive framework for assessing the risk of CO2 leakage into an overlying aquifer. This framework takes into consideration each and every aspect from the selection of possible field sites for CO2 injection, screening the possible sites, development of simulation models, development of the probability density functions (PDFs) and long-term monitoring/risk assessment plans for the selected sites. This framework lists the quintessential important steps to be considered while evaluating the capability of a site for CO2 injection. The ARAF protocol provided also includes a demonstrative case study of the Gordon Creek field for which each step in the protocol is explained in detail and the potential of the site for CO2 injection evaluated. ARAF includes the following steps as part of its protocol:
- Site Selection
This step includes data collection with capacity estimation of the sites in question. Data gathering consists of scouring public and commercial databases for all information pertinent to the geology of a sedimentary basin or structure capable of CO2 sequestration activities. All of the data gathered then is filtered to only include geological sinks (formations) that match a specific set of criteria that make it amenable to safe, long-term CO2 storage. With the data filtered, analysis within a GIS software package allows for CO2 capacity to be determined for a variety of spatial scales.
Data gathering initiates with the collection of publicly available information from a variety of refereed journals, governmental organizations and academic institutions. A comprehensive geologic database must be built to assess subsurface qualities such as:
- Stratigraphy (including depth)
- Structure
- Lithology
- Porosity
- Permeability
- Salinity
- Temperature
- Pressure
With depth, thickness and area (basin or structure) known, the volume of the reservoir can be quickly determined. The other values from literature and database searches (porosity, in particular) then can be used to determine pore volume. All major basins and all major formations with the SWP region have had their CO2 capacities determined using the above procedure. The SWP data have been published in the NETL Atlas III (2010) and on the NATCARB Website.
For the sites in this study, the paucity of wells and resulting petrophysical data limits the estimates of CO2 capacity. Using the above procedures and estimate of porosity, a preliminary CO2 storage capacity estimate was determined.
- Site Characterization
The stratigraphic formation top picks, well information, and well log images available from the project site were collected. The characterization protocol can be classified into the following major tasks:
- Regional assessment of sedimentary basins, oilfields, and existing data
- Gathering of existingdata and associated analysis, especially
- Surface geology reconnaissance, including field mapping and/or helicopter geologic assessment
- Surface seismic surveys
- Stratigraphic well drilling and coring
- Core analysis and interpretation with other geological and geophysical data.
Pertaining to the available data, these tasks were carried out for all the sites.
- Develop Risk Registries
The generic FEPs (Factors, Events, Processes) registry has been tailored for the Gordon Creek site in the past quarter. In the FEPs registry, the risks associated with CO2 injection are ranked based on their relevance to the long-term performance of the storage system after CO2 injection. A general FEPs risk registry already has been developed as a part of SWP for saline aquifers. This FEPs registry has been tailored specifically for the Gordon Creek site.
As a part of developing this registry, the thickness of different seals over the target formations (Navajo nugget sandstone or the White Rim/Weber sandstone), accounting for the brine mixing and CO2 release through the faults in the area, leakage through abandoned wells, over pressuring, induced seismicity, etc., and many more were considered based on the geological data that have been collected as part of the SWP.
Over pressuring and induced seismicity are ranked pretty high on this list. CO2 is injected usually at less than 80% of the lithostatic pressure of the formation, but even then there are numerous induced micro seismic events that are detected around the area of study, which can be detected with geophones placed in the monitoring wells.
The target formations for injection in the Gordon Creek area are Navajo sandstone and the White rim/Weber sandstone sandstones. Both these formations are pretty deep and have several seals and other formations above them, which can structurally trap CO2 and prevent it from leaking to the formations above the targets. Hence diffusion of CO2 through seals into shallower formations can be assigned much less priority. The two major means of leakage of CO2 from the target formations are leakage through faults or fractures and leakage through abandoned wells or boreholes. There are only about a dozen wells in the Gordon Creek site and hence the leakage through them falls down the priority list. There are two major faults pretty close to the injection wells. The angle of dip and the lateral extent of the faults and the depth of these faults have not been accurately determined. Hence, leakage through faults is one of the major causes of concern and hence it is ranked pretty high. Displacement of saline formation fluids because of CO2 injection also is ranked pretty high.
At Gordon Creek, the presence of methane in one of the shallower formations (Ferron sandstone) makes the composition of the gas injected an important factor in the risk registry. It also increases the risk of the effect of CO2 on methane production in the future. Methane production is followed by injection of the produced brine into the Navajo formation. Hence, mining and other injection activities also have been included in this list. Because one of the shallower formations is a USDW (Emery sandstone), the leakage of CO2 through faults or fractures into this formation is one of the bigger risks and thus it is ranked higher on the list. The microbial signatures can be a very effective indicator to determine leakage of CO2 into an aquifer and the presence of two major faults near the injection well makes this factor significant.
A similar procedure was adopted to generate risk registries for other sites.
- Develop Simulation Models
The broad scale simulation model development can be classified as the following important steps:
- Petrophysical/Core evaluation
- Interpreting geological tops
- Structural modeling
- Fault modeling
- Fracture modeling (DFN)
- Siesmic interpretation
- Upscaling well logs and seismic data
- Geostatistical data analysis
- Variogram modeling
- Geological modeling
- Petrophysical modeling
- Upscaling grid for simulation
- Volumetric analysis
- Dynamic modeling and history match.
This complete workflow was followed for all the simulation models reported in this study.
- Develop Probability Density Functions (PDFs)
The following is the protocol for developing PDFs using Response Surface Methodology:
- Approximate response function
- Design of experiment (Box Behnken Design)
-
Step wise regression
- Identify an initial model
- repeat stepping that is repeatedly altering the model at previous step by adding or removing a predictor variable in accordance with the stepping criteria
- terminate the search when stepping is no longer possible given the stepping criteria.
- Conduct FMEA Analysis
The following is the protocol for FEMA analysis:
- Risk/FEPs characterization
- Risk/FEPs ranking
- Process influence diagrams (PID)
- Comprehensive risk/FEPs list
- Site characterization information and gaps or uncertainties
- Mathematical modeling quantifications
- Advanced simulation models
- Cost factor rates and formulas for estimating damage and mitigating costs
- Prevention and mitigation steps
- Monitoring, verification and accounting (MVA) data.
- Long Term Monitoring/Simulation Model Updates/Risk Assessment Plans for the Selected Site
A website detailing the primary findings of the study, describing the ARAF protocol with detailed mandate on each step in the protocol with links to appropriate documents, has been built as a part of the project (http://testing.rmccs.org/araf/index.html).
Conclusions:
This study has expanded on the proposed use of quartz to determine pore water helium concentrations in low permeability formations. The impregnation experiments performed on Kirtland Formation samples show that the quartz-helium sorption isotherm is linear over two orders of magnitude but varies between samples due to the variability of the fluid inclusion. High purity quartz from the Spruce Pine Intrusion showed a linear but more variable isotherm caused by much lower helium uptake attributed to a lack of fluid inclusions. Pore water helium concentrations that were calculated for the San Juan and Great Artesian Basins show concentrations greatly exceeding atmospheric solubility and correspond reasonably with measurements using the flask method (Gardner et al., 2012; Heath, 2010; Osenbrück et al., 1998). It is notable that this method can be used to determine pore water concentrations where traditional methods are impractical. Fair agreement between helium concentrations spanning five orders of magnitude suggests this method can be applied to many basins and will help constrain aquitard and caprock permeabilities and leakage rates. Citing this research, Han et al., noted that Helium can be measured in boreholes using in situ headspace samplers or from core samples. These techniques even apply to identifying subsurface flow regimes where extensive geologic and geophysical data are not available.
Microbial Community Profile of Groundwater. A water sample was collected from Chapperal-Farnsworth Site, TX. DNA was extracted from 1L groundwater using UltraClean Soil DNA kit (MoBio Laboratories, Solana Beach, CA) following the manufacturer’s protocol. The extraction was verified in 1% (w/v) agarose gel after staining with ethydium bromide. For the bacterial community, the 16S rDNA region was amplified using universal primers, 8f and 1492r. PCR products were purified using QIAQuick PCR purification kit (Qiagen Inc., Valencia, CA). The purified PCR products were ligated to a pCR®4-TOPO® (Invitrogen, CA) vector, and chemically competent E. coli cells then were transformed with ligated product following the manufacturer’s protocol. Plasmid DNA from the clones was extracted using the Zyppy™ Plasmid Miniprep Kit (Zymo Research, CA). To conduct sequencing, 1μL of the plasmid DNA was used as template with universal primer 8f. Cycle sequencing using ABI 3130 DNA sequencer (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA) was performed at the University of Utah Core Facilities. Sequences obtained from the clone libraries were compared with other identified species/sequences using the NCBI-BLAST 2.2.12 program. MEGA software version 4.0 (Tamura et al., 2007) was used to align sequences of the recovered clones with other published sequences and to construct phylogenetic trees using the maximum likelihood algorithm. Bootstrap values were based on 100 trials.
Phlyogram suggests that very low bacterial diversity was present in the groundwater samples. Bacteria belonging to the genera Bacillus, Staphylococcus and Pseudomonas were detected, which is typical for subsurface soils. Further in-depth analysis of groundwater and subsurface soils will be required to establish the effect of CO2 on the microbial diversity at CO2 sequestration tests. Ecological diversity of the microbial communities was detected in the groundwater samples:
- Both aerobic and anaerobic autotrophic growths supported by carbon dioxide gas.
-
The aerobic autotrophic bacterium, Nitrosospria multiformis at 23oC, pH of 7.3 ± 0.5, 1.5-3.0 mL Air+CO2/min was able to maintain growth and nitrification.
- There was more bacterial growth when supplied with bicarbonate as a carbon source and the CO2 had no inhibitory effects.
- Variability in system pH, variable pressure, inhibitors such as heavy metals or other geochemical minerals should be conducted.
-
The anaerobic archaeon, Methanobacterium subterraneum at 37oC, pH of 8.3± 0.5, grew on strictly bicarbonate, but the addition of CO2 gas stimulated the growth of the autotrophs.
- Effective growth rate was unclear.
- Further optimization of the probe used for enumeration would give more accurate results.
- Groundwater subjected to geological sequestration (@ Farnsworth site) revealed very low diversity of microbial communities. Although no autotrophic microbes were detected. It might be interesting to study how CO2 could affect the growth of these bacteria and in turn how they can affect the subsurface biogeochemistry.
- This research laid down an important foundation for future research.
References:
Han, Weon Shik, et al. "Transport of Groundwater, Heat, and Radiogenic He in Topography‐Driven Basins." Groundwater (2014).
Alderks, D. O. (2006). Unresolved problems involving the hydrogeology and sequence stratigraphy of the Wasatch Plateau based on mapping of the Wattis 7.5 Minute Quadrangle, Carbon and Emery Counties, Utah : insights gained from a new geologic map. Brigham Young University.
Andrews, J. ., Giles, I. ., Kay, R. L. ., Lee, D. ., Osmond, J. ., Cowart, J. ., … Gale, J. (1982). Radioelements, radiogenic helium and age relationships for groundwaters from the granites at Stripa, Sweden. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 46(9), 1533–1543. doi:10.1016/0016-7037(82)90312-X
Andrews, J. N., Goldbrunner, J. E., Darling, W. G., Hooker, P. J., Wilson, G. B., Youngman, M. J., … Stichler, W. (1985). A radiochemical, hydrochemical and dissolved gas study of groundwaters in the Molasse basin of Upper Austria. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 73(2-4), 317–332. doi:10.1016/0012-821X(85)90080-9
Andrews, J. N., & Lee, D. J. (1979). Inert gases in groundwater from the Bunter Sandstone of England as indicators of age and palaeoclimatic trends. Journal of Hydrology, 41(3-4), 233–252. doi:10.1016/0022-1694(79)90064-7
Ballentine, C. J., & Burnard, P. G. (2002). Production, Release and Transport of Noble Gases in the Continental Crust. Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry, 47(1), 481–538. doi:10.2138/rmg.2002.47.12
Battani, A., Smith, T., Robinet, J. C., Brulhet, J., Lavielle, B., & Coelho, D. (2011). Contribution of logging tools to understanding helium porewater data across the Mesozoic sequence of the East of the Paris Basin. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 75(23), 7566–7584. doi:10.1016/j.gca.2011.09.032
Baxter, E. F. (2010). Diffusion of Noble Gases in Minerals. Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry, 72(1), 509–557. doi:10.2138/rmg.2010.72.11
Bayer, R., Schlosser, P., Bönisch, G., Rupp, H., Zaucker, F., Zimmek, & G. (1989). Performance and blank components of a mass spectrometric system for routine measurement of helium isotopes and tritium by the 3He ingrowth method, 5, 241–279.
Berg, R. R. (1975). Capillary pressures in stratigraphic traps. AAPG Bulletin, 59(6), 939–956. Retrieved from http://aapgbull.geoscienceworld.org/cgi/content/long/59/6/939
Bethke, C. M., Zhao, X., & Torgersen, T. (1999). Groundwater flow and the 4 He distribution in the Great Artesian Basin of Australia. Journal of Geophysical Research, 104(B6), 12999. doi:10.1029/1999JB900085
Boden, T. A., Marland, G., & Andres, R. J. (2012). Global, Regional, and National Fossil-Fuel CO2 Emissions. Retrieved from http://cdiac.ornl.gov/trends/emis/overview_2010.html
Cardenas, M. B. (2007). Potential contribution of topography-driven regional groundwater flow to fractal stream chemistry: Residence time distribution analysis of Tóth flow. Geophysical Research Letters, 34(5), L05403. doi:10.1029/2006GL029126
Cardenas, M. B., & Jiang, X.-W. (2010). Groundwater flow, transport, and residence times through topography-driven basins with exponentially decreasing permeability and porosity. Water Resources Research, 46(11), n/a–n/a. doi:10.1029/2010WR009370
Castro, M. C., Jambon, A., de Marsily, G., & Schlosser, P. (1998). Noble gases as natural tracers of water circulation in the Paris Basin: 1. Measurements and discussion of their origin and mechanisms of vertical transport in the basin. Water Resources Research, 34(10), 2443–2466. doi:10.1029/98WR01956
Castro, M. C., Patriarche, D., & Goblet, P. (2005). 2-D numerical simulations of groundwater flow, heat transfer and 4He transport — implications for the He terrestrial budget and the mantle helium–heat imbalance. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 237(3-4), 893–910. doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2005.06.037
Celia, M. A., Nordbotten, J. M., Court, B., Dobossy, M., & Bachu, S. (2011). Field-scale application of a semi-analytical model for estimation of CO2 and brine leakage along old wells. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 5(2), 257–269. doi:10.1016/j.ijggc.2010.10.005
Cerling, T. E. (1990). Dating geomorphologic surfaces using cosmogenic 3He. Quaternary Research, 33(2), 148–156. doi:10.1016/0033-5894(90)90015-D
Chiquet, P., Daridon, J.-L., Broseta, D., & Thibeau, S. (2007). CO2/water interfacial tensions under pressure and temperature conditions of CO2 geological storage. Energy Conversion and Management, 48(3), 736–744. doi:10.1016/j.enconman.2006.09.011
Clever. (1979). IUPAC Solubility Data Series. Oxford: Pergamon Press.
Crank, J. (1979). The Mathematics of Diffusion. Clarendon Press. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books?id=XkdCAQAAIAAJ
Cserepes, L., & Lenkey, L. (1999). Modelling of helium transport in groundwater along a section in the Pannonian basin. Journal of Hydrology, 225(3-4), 185–195. doi:10.1016/S0022-1694(99)00158-4
Dunai, T. J., & Porcelli, D. (2002). Storage and Transport of Noble Gases in the Subcontinental Lithosphere. Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry, 47(1), 371–409. doi:10.2138/rmg.2002.47.10
Edwards, C., Howell, J., & Flint, S. (2005). Depositional and stratigraphic architecture of the Santonian Emery Sandstone of the Mancos Shale; implications for Late Cretaceous evolution of the Western Interior foreland basin of central Utah, U.S.A. Journal of Sedimentary Research, 75(2), 280–299. Retrieved from http://www.geoscienceworld.org/cgi/georef/2005030984
Fassett, J. E., & Hinds, J. S. (1971). Geology and fuel resources of the Fruitland Formation and Kirtland Shale of the San Juan Basin, New Mexico and Colorado. Retrieved from http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/pp676
Gale, J., Reed, R. M., & Holder, J. (2007). Natural fractures in the Barnett shale and their importance for hydraulic fracture treatments. AAPG Bulletin, 91(4), 603–622.
Gardner, P., & Solomon, D. K. (2009). An advanced passive diffusion sampler for the determination of dissolved gas concentrations. Water Resources Research, 45(6), n/a–n/a. doi:10.1029/2008WR007399
Gardner, W. P., Harrington, G. A., & Smerdon, B. D. (2012). Using excess 4He to quantify variability in aquitard leakage. Journal of Hydrology, 468-469, 63–75. doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2012.08.014
Garven, G. (1995). Continental-Scale Groundwater Flow and Geologic Processes. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 23(1), 89–117. doi:10.1146/annurev.ea.23.050195.000513
Gassiat, C., Gleeson, T., & Luijendijk, E. (2013). The location of old groundwater in hydrogeologic basins and layered aquifer systems. Geophysical Research Letters, 40(12), 3042–3047. doi:10.1002/grl.50599
Ge, S., & Garven, G. (1992). Hydromechanical modeling of tectonically driven groundwater flow with application to the Arkoma Foreland Basin. Journal of Geophysical Research, 97(B6), 9119. doi:10.1029/92JB00677
Gloyn, R. W., Tabet, D. E., Tripp, B. T., Bishop, C. E., Morgan, C. D., Gwynn, J. W., & Blackett, R. E. (2003). Energy, mineral, and ground-water resources of Carbon and Emery Counties, Utah /. Utah Geological Survey Bulletin, 132, 161.
Guo, P. (2012). Dependency of Tortuosity and Permeability of Porous Media on Directional Distribution of Pore Voids. Transport in Porous Media, 95(2), 285–303. doi:10.1007/s11242-012-0043-8
Heath, J. E. (2010). Multi-Scale Petrography and Fluid Dynamics of Caprocks Associated with Geologic CO2 Storage. New Mexico Tech. Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.211.67&rep=rep1&type=pdf
Heath, J., McPherson, B., Phillips, F., Cooper, S., & Dewersd, T. (2009). Natural helium as a screening tool for assessing caprock imperfections at geologic CO2 storage sites. Energy Procedia, 1(1), 2903–2910. doi:10.1016/j.egypro.2009.02.065
Helium Isotopes in Nature. (1984) (p. 288). Elsevier Science Ltd; First Edition edition. Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/Helium-Isotopes-Nature-Developments-Geochemistry/dp/0444421807
Hendry, M. J., Kotzer, T. G., & Solomon, D. K. (2005). Sources of radiogenic helium in a clay till aquitard and its use to evaluate the timing of geologic events. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 69(2), 475–483. doi:10.1016/j.gca.2004.07.001
Hendry, M. J., Wassenaar, L. I., & Kotzer, T. (2000). Chloride and chlorine isotopes ( 36 Cl and δ 37 Cl) as tracers of solute migration in a thick, clay-rich aquitard system. Water Resources Research, 36(1), 285–296. doi:10.1029/1999WR900278
Hintze, L. F. (1993). Geologic history of Utah. Brigham Young University.
Humez, P., Lagneau, V., Lions, J., & Negrel, P. (2013). Assessing the potential consequences of CO2 leakage to freshwater resources: A batch-reaction experiment towards an isotopic tracing tool. Applied Geochemistry, 30, 178–190. doi:10.1016/j.apgeochem.2012.07.014
IPCC. (2005). IPCC special report on cardon dioxide capture and storage. Retrieved from https://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/_reports_carbon_dioxide.htm
Jackson, R. E., Gorody, A. W., Mayer, B., Roy, J. W., Ryan, M. C., & Van Stempvoort, D. R. (n.d.). Groundwater protection and unconventional gas extraction: the critical need for field-based hydrogeological research. Ground Water, 51(4), 488–510. doi:10.1111/gwat.12074
Jiang, X.-W., Wan, L., Cardenas, M. B., Ge, S., & Wang, X.-S. (2010). Simultaneous rejuvenation and aging of groundwater in basins due to depth-decaying hydraulic conductivity and porosity. Geophysical Research Letters, 37(5), n/a–n/a. doi:10.1029/2010GL042387
Jiang, X.-W., Wang, X.-S., Wan, L., & Ge, S. (2011). An analytical study on stagnation points in nested flow systems in basins with depth-decaying hydraulic conductivity. Water Resources Research, 47(1), n/a–n/a. doi:10.1029/2010WR009346
Kipfer, R., Aeschbach-Hertig, W., Peeters, F., & Stute, M. (2002). Noble gases in lakes and ground waters. In D. Porcelli, C. J. Ballentine, & R. Wieler (Eds.), Noble gases in geochemistry and cosmochemistry (pp. 615–700). Washington, D.C.: Mineralogical Society of America, Geochemical Society.
Lehmann, B. E. (2003). Helium in solubility equilibrium with quartz and porefluids in rocks: A new approach in hydrology. Geophysical Research Letters, 30(3), 1128. doi:10.1029/2002GL016074
Lippolt, H. J., & Weigel, E. (1988). 4He diffusion in 40Ar-retentive minerals. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 52(6), 1449–1458. doi:10.1016/0016-7037(88)90215-3
Lu, J., Wilkinson, M., Haszeldine, R. S., & Fallick, A. E. (2009). Long-term performance of a mudrock seal in natural CO2 storage. Geology, 37(1), 35–38. doi:10.1130/G25412A.1
Marine, I. W. (1979). The use of naturally occurring helium to estimate groundwater velocities for studies of geologic storage of radioactive waste. Water Resources Research, 15(5), 1130–1136. doi:10.1029/WR015i005p01130
Martel, D. J., Deák, J., Dövenyi, P., Horváth, F., O’Nions, R. K., Oxburgh, E. R., … Stute, M. (1989). Leakage of helium from the Pannonian basin. Nature, 342(6252), 908–912. doi:10.1038/342908a0
Marty, B., Dewonck, S., & France-Lanord, C. (2003). Geochemical evidence for efficient aquifer isolation over geological timeframes. Nature, 425(6953), 55–8. doi:10.1038/nature01966
Mayo, A. L., Morris, T. H., Peltier, S., Petersen, E. C., Payne, K., Holman, L. S., … Gibbs, T. D. (2003). Active and inactive groundwater flow systems: Evidence from a stratified, mountainous terrain. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 115(12), 1456. doi:10.1130/B25145.1
Mazor, E. (1995). Stagnant aquifer concept Part 1. Large-scale artesian systems— Great Artesian Basin, Australia. Journal of Hydrology, 173(1-4), 219–240. doi:10.1016/0022-1694(95)02706-U
Mazurek, M., Alt-Epping, P., Bath, A., Gimmi, T., Niklaus Waber, H., Buschaert, S., … Wouters, L. (2011). Natural tracer profiles across argillaceous formations. Applied Geochemistry, 26(7), 1035–1064. doi:10.1016/j.apgeochem.2011.03.124
Michael, K., Golab, A., Shulakova, V., Ennis-King, J., Allinson, G., Sharma, S., & Aiken, T. (2010). Geological storage of CO2 in saline aquifers—A review of the experience from existing storage operations. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 4(4), 659–667. doi:10.1016/j.ijggc.2009.12.011
Morgan, T. C., & Chidsey, T. (1991). Gordon Creek, Farnham Dome and Woodside fields carbon, Carbon and Emery counties, Utah. In Geology of east-central Utah (pp. 301–309). Utah Geological Association Publication.
Myers, T. (n.d.). Potential contaminant pathways from hydraulically fractured shale to aquifers. Ground Water, 50(6), 872–82. doi:10.1111/j.1745-6584.2012.00933.x
NETL. (2010). Carbon Sequestration Atlas of the United States and Canada, 3rd ed.
Niedermann, S. (2002). Cosmic-Ray-Produced Noble Gases in Terrestrial Rocks: Dating Tools for Surface Processes. Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry, 47(1), 731–784. doi:10.2138/rmg.2002.47.16
Oh, J., Kim, K.-Y., Han, W. S., Kim, T., Kim, J.-C., & Park, E. (2013). Experimental and numerical study on supercritical CO2/brine transport in a fractured rock: Implications of mass transfer, capillary pressure and storage capacity. Advances in Water Resources, 62, 442–453. doi:10.1016/j.advwatres.2013.03.007
Oldenburg, C. M., & Pruess, K. (1995). EOS7R: Radionuclide transport for TOUGH2. Berkeley, CA. doi:10.2172/486075
Osenbrück, K., Lippmann, J., & Sonntag, C. (1998). Dating very old pore waters in impermeable rocks by noble gas isotopes. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 62(18), 3041–3045. doi:10.1016/S0016-7037(98)00198-7
PERSON, M., HOFSTRA, A., SWEETKIND, D., STONE, W., COHEN, D., GABLE, C. W., & BANERJEE, A. (2012). Analytical and numerical models of hydrothermal fluid flow at fault intersections. Geofluids, 12(4), 312–326. doi:10.1111/gfl.12002
Peterson, C. S. (2002). Four-helium Diffusion Analysis of Glacial Tills Surrounding Fremont Lake, Wyoming (p. 130). Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Utah. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books/about/Four_helium_Diffusion_Analysis_of_Glacia.html?id=rNj5NwAACAAJ&pgis=1
Pini, R., Krevor, S. C. M., & Benson, S. M. (2012). Capillary pressure and heterogeneity for the CO2/water system in sandstone rocks at reservoir conditions. Advances in Water Resources, 38, 48–59. doi:10.1016/j.advwatres.2011.12.007
Plug, W.-J., & Bruining, J. (2007). Capillary pressure for the sand–CO2–water system under various pressure conditions. Application to CO2 sequestration. Advances in Water Resources, 30(11), 2339–2353. doi:10.1016/j.advwatres.2007.05.010
Preuss, K., Oldenburg, C., & Moridis, G. (1999). TOUGH2 User’s Guide, version 2 (p. 198). Berkeley, California: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Pruess, K. (2005). TOUGH2 fluid property module for mixtures of water, NaCl, and CO2 (p. 66). Berkeley, California.
Rebour, V., Billiotte, J., Deveughele, M., Jambon, A., & le Guen, C. (1997). Molecular diffusion in water-saturated rocks: A new experimental method. Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, 28(1-2), 71–93. doi:10.1016/S0169-7722(96)00051-4
Rübel, A. P., Sonntag, C., Lippmann, J., Pearson, F. J., & Gautschi, A. (2002). Solute transport in formations of very low permeability: profiles of stable isotope and dissolved noble gas contents of pore water in the Opalinus Clay, Mont Terri, Switzerland. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 66(8), 1311–1321. doi:10.1016/S0016-7037(01)00859-6
Saar, M. O., Castro, M. C., Hall, C. M., Manga, M., & Rose, T. P. (2005). Quantifying magmatic, crustal, and atmospheric helium contributions to volcanic aquifers using all stable noble gases: Implications for magmatism and groundwater flow. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 6(3), n/a–n/a. doi:10.1029/2004GC000828
Schlosser, P., Stute, M., Dörr, H., Sonntag, C., & Münnich, K. O. (1988). Tritium/3He dating of shallow groundwater. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 89(3-4), 353–362. doi:10.1016/0012-821X(88)90122-7
Sheldon, A. L., Solomon, D. K., Poreda, R. J., & Hunt, A. (2003). Radiogenic helium in shallow groundwater within a clay till, southwestern Ontario. Water Resources Research, 39(12), n/a–n/a. doi:10.1029/2002WR001797
Shepherd, R. G. (1978). Underground water resources of South Australia (p. 66). Dept. of Mines and Energy, Geological Survey of South Australia.
Shipton, Z. K., Evans, J. P., Kirschner, D., Kolesar, P. T., Williams, A. P., & Heath, J. (2004). Analysis of CO2 leakage through “low-permeability” faults from natural reservoirs in the Colorado Plateau, east-central Utah. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 233(1), 43–58. doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.2004.233.01.05
Shuster, D. L., & Farley, K. A. (2005). Diffusion kinetics of proton-induced 21Ne, 3He, and 4He in quartz. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 69(9), 2349–2359. doi:10.1016/j.gca.2004.11.002
Smith, L., & Chapman, D. S. (1983). On the thermal effects of groundwater flow: 1. Regional scale systems. Journal of Geophysical Research, 88(B1), 593. doi:10.1029/JB088iB01p00593
Smith, S. D. (2012). Helium Equilibrium Between Pore Water and Quartz: Application to Determine Caprock Permeability (p. 87). Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Utah. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books/about/Helium_Equilibrium_Between_Pore_Water_an.html?id=fnEyMwEACAAJ&pgis=1
Solomon, D. K. (2000). 4He in Groundwater. In Environmental Tracers in Subsurface Hydrology (pp. 425–439). Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Solomon, D. K., & Cook, P. G. (2000). 3H and 3He. In Environmental Tracers in Subsurface Hydrology (pp. 397–424). Kluwer Academic Press.
Stute, M., Sonntag, C., Deák, J., & Schlosser, P. (1992). Helium in deep circulating groundwater in the Great Hungarian Plain: Flow dynamics and crustal and mantle helium fluxes. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 56(5), 2051–2067. doi:10.1016/0016-7037(92)90329-H
Swanson, S. E., & Veal, W. B. (2010). Mineralogy and petrogenesis of pegmatites in the Spruce Pine district, North Carolina USA. Journal of Geosciences, 55, 27–42.
Thomas, D. C., Streit, J. E., Siggins, A. F., & Evans, B. J. (2005). Carbon Dioxide Capture for Storage in Deep Geologic Formations. Carbon Dioxide Capture for Storage in Deep Geologic Formations (pp. 751–766). Elsevier. doi:10.1016/B978-008044570-0/50132-X
TOLSTIKHIN, I., GANNIBAL, M., TARAKANOV, S., PEVZNER, B., LEHMANN, B., IHLY, B., & WABER, H. (2005). Helium transfer from water into quartz crystals: A new approach for porewater dating. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 238(1-2), 31–41. doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2005.07.017
Torgersen, T., & Clarke, W. B. (1985). Helium accumulation in groundwater, I: An evaluation of sources and the continental flux of crustal 4He in the Great Artesian Basin, Australia. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 49(5), 1211–1218. doi:10.1016/0016-7037(85)90011-0
Torgersen, T., Habermehl, M. A., & Clarke, W. B. (1992). Crustal helium fluxes and heat flow in the Great Artesian Basin, Australia. Chemical Geology, 102(1-4), 139–152. doi:10.1016/0009-2541(92)90152-U
Torgersen, T., & Ivey, G. . (1985). Helium accumulation in groundwater. II: A model for the accumulation of the crustal 4He degassing flux. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 49(11), 2445–2452. doi:10.1016/0016-7037(85)90244-3
Tóth, J. (1962). A theory of groundwater motion in small drainage basins in central Alberta, Canada. Journal of Geophysical Research, 67(11), 4375–4388. doi:10.1029/JZ067i011p04375
Tóth, J. (1963). A theoretical analysis of groundwater flow in small drainage basins. Journal of Geophysical Research, 68(16), 4795–4812. doi:10.1029/JZ068i016p04795
Touret, J. L. R. (1985). Fluid inclusions, reviews in mineralogy, vol. 12. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 49(6), 1491. doi:10.1016/0016-7037(85)90299-6
Trull, T. W., Kurz, M. D., & Jenkins, W. J. (1991). Diffusion of cosmogenic3He in olivine and quartz: implications for surface exposure dating. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 103(1-4), 241–256. doi:10.1016/0012-821X(91)90164-D
Wei, H. F., Ledoux, E., & De Marsily, G. (1990). Regional modelling of groundwater flow and salt and environmental tracer transport in deep aquifers in the Paris Basin. Journal of Hydrology, 120(1-4), 341–358. doi:10.1016/0022-1694(90)90158-T
Weiss, R. F. (1968). Piggyback sampler for dissolved gas studies on sealed water samples. Deep Sea Research and Oceanographic Abstracts, 15(6), 695–699. doi:10.1016/0011-7471(68)90082-X
Weiss, R. F. (1971). Solubility of helium and neon in water and seawater. Journal of Chemical & Engineering Data, 16(2), 235–241. doi:10.1021/je60049a019
Weiszburg, T. G., Nagy, T., Toth, E., Mizak, J., Varga, Z., Lovas, G., & Vaczi, T. (2004). A laboratory procedure for separating from quartz in clay-sized materials. Acta Mineralogicia-Petrographica (Szeged), 45(1), 133–139.
Witkind, I. J. (1985). Geologic Map of the Huntington 30’ X 60' Quadrangle, Carbon, Emery, Grand, and Vintah Counties, Utah. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books/about/Geologic_Map_of_the_Huntington_30_X_60_Q.html?id=dFp4PgAACAAJ&pgis=1
Wunsch, A., Navarre-Sitchler, A. K., & McCray, J. E. (2013). Geochemical implications of brine leakage into freshwater aquifers. Ground Water, 51(6), 855–65. doi:10.1111/gwat.12011
Zhao, X., Fritzel Hernan, T. L. B., Quinodoz, A. M., Bethke, C. M., & Torgersen, T. (1998). Controls on the distribution and isotopic composition of helium in deep ground-water flows. Geology, 26(4), 291–294. doi:10.1130/0091-7613(1998)026
Zheng, L., Apps, J. A., Zhang, Y., Xu, T., & Birkholzer, J. T. (2009). On mobilization of lead and arsenic in groundwater in response to CO2 leakage from deep geological storage. Chemical Geology, 268(3-4), 281–297. doi:10.1016/j.chemgeo.2009.09.007
Journal Articles on this Report : 1 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
Other project views: | All 3 publications | 1 publications in selected types | All 1 journal articles |
---|
Type | Citation | ||
---|---|---|---|
|
Smith SD, Solomon DK, Gardner WP. Testing helium equilibrium between quartz and pore water as a method to determine pore water helium concentrations. Applied Geochemistry 2013;35:187-195. |
R834386 (Final) |
Exit Exit |
Supplemental Keywords:
Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS), Underground Sources of Drinking Water, USDW, USDW) Aquifer Risk Assessment Framework, ARAF, CO2 geologic sequestration, microbial community profileRelevant Websites:
http://testing.rmccs.org/araf/index.html Exit
Progress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.