The United Kingdom’s National Oceanography Center has teamed up with researchers from the University of Southampton and the University of Edinburgh to investigate the threat of offshore CO2 leakage through “chimney-like” structure in the sub-seafloor of the North Sea. The North Sea has been regarded as holding vast potential for offshore carbon storage, and many studies have been conducted concerning how to facilitate the activity. These “chimney-like” structures, however, are considered possible pathways for the leakage of CO2.
“I am really excited about this ambitious seismic experiment – it could become a method for detecting the weak spots in submarine sediment that would otherwise potentially compromise the integrity of storage sites. We need to understand this process of potential CO2 leakage in order to help marine CCS site selection and check integrity,” Angus Best, who is leading the project for the NOC, said in a press release.
The research project is scheduled to take four years, with a major fieldwork program planned in 2017 at a chimney structure in the North Sea.
