24 research outputs found
Technical synthesis report on droplet/bubble dynamics, plume dynamics and modelling parameters, use of hydro-acoustics to quantify droplet/bubble fluxes, and carbonate system variable assessment
Get PDFAssuring the integrity of offshore carbon dioxide storage
Get PDFCarbon capture and storage is a key mitigation strategy proposed for keeping the global temperature rise below 1.5 °C. Offshore storage can provide up to 13% of the global CO2 reduction required to achieve the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change goals. The public must be assured that potential leakages from storage reservoirs can be detected and that therefore the CO2 is safely contained. We conducted a controlled release of 675 kg CO2 within sediments at 120 m water depth, to simulate a leak and test novel detection, quantification and attribution approaches. We show that even at a very low release rate (6 kg day−1), CO2 can be detected within sediments and in the water column. Alongside detection we show the fluxes of both dissolved and gaseous CO2 can be quantified. The CO2 source was verified using natural and added tracers. The experiment demonstrates that existing technologies and techniques can detect, attribute and quantify any escape of CO2 from sub-seabed reservoirs as required for public assurance, regulatory oversight and emissions trading schemes
Assurance offshore CO2 monitoring, a cross-disciplinary approach. 
No full text<div>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">Formulating appropriate monitoring programs for offshore geological CO</span><sub><span data-contrast="auto">2</span></sub><span data-contrast="auto"> storage projects, from either a regulatory or operator viewpoint, is difficult to achieve without a properly quantified cost-benefit analysis of what that monitoring could and should achieve. In addition, communicating risks and uncertainties is a challenge for offshore storage projects, and tools assisting in dialogue with stakeholders, governments and public at large will be of value.  </span><span data-ccp-props="{"> </span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">The monitoring programs will have a role in communicating risks and benefits for storage projects and assure against unjustified accusations for having adverse environmental effects but cannot be seen in isolation from the multi-leveled CCUS (Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage) management systems.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"> </span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">Evaluations of CO</span><sub><span data-contrast="auto">2</span></sub><span data-contrast="auto"> storage monitoring techniques usually aim to determine the suitability to user‐defined project scenario (e.g., IEAGHG monitoring selection tool, <span lang="FR">https://ieaghg.org/ccs-resources/monitoring-selection-tool</span></span><span data-contrast="auto">) or to assess the availability of sensors that can measure variables that are likely to fluctuate under a seepage scenario, or processes that are sensitive to CO</span><sub><span data-contrast="auto">2</span></sub><span data-contrast="auto">-related stress. Less focus has been on how they perform relative to regulatory requirements, cost efficiency, and user friendliness. </span><span data-ccp-props="{"> </span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">We can use observations and models to characterise the natural variability of the marine system, or the noise from which an anomalous signal must be detected. We can use models to simulate hypothetical leak events thereby defining the monitoring target(s). We have algorithms that assess the cost-benefit of a range of anomaly criteria – i.e., a signal that would provoke a more concerted monitoring campaign and finally algorithms that can derive the optimal deployment strategy – i.e., where to monitor and when. The challenge is to collate these abilities into a coherent whole, which then allows the presentation of an evaluated monitoring system that can be judged against regulatory and societal expectations.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"> </span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p>We outline the approach chosen in the ACTOM project (<span lang="FR">https://actom.w.uib.no)</span> to develop procedures for design and execution of appropriate, rigorous, and cost-effective monitoring of offshore carbon storage, aligning industrial, societal, and regulative expectations with technological capabilities and limitations. </p>
</div>
<div>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">The ACTOM toolbox is capable of simulating “what if” seep scenarios, as well as monitoring deployments, that can be used to deliver environmental impact assessments as required under the CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage) and EIA directives. As a result, recommended monitoring strategies could be delivered autonomously and be dependent on established generic operational marine simulation models, both factors reducing costs. </span><span data-ccp-props="{"> </span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">We will demonstrate use of the toolbox on three sites in the Gulf of Mexico, in southern North Sea and off the coast of Norway, each with distinctive features and availability of data. </span><span data-ccp-props="{"> </span></p>
&lt;/div&gt;</jats:p
Assurance offshore CO2 monitoring:a cross-disciplinary approach
No full textFormulating appropriate monitoring programs for offshore geological CO2 storage projects, from either a regulatory or operator viewpoint, is difficult to achieve without a properly quantified cost-benefit analysis of what that monitoring could and should achieve. In addition, communicating risks and uncertainties is a challenge for offshore storage projects, and tools assisting in dialogue with stakeholders, governments and public at large will be of value. The monitoring programs will have a role in communicating risks and benefits for storage projects and assure against unjustified accusations for having adverse environmental effects but cannot be seen in isolation from the multi-leveled CCUS (Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage) management systems. Evaluations of CO2 storage monitoring techniques usually aim to determine the suitability to user‐defined project scenario (e.g., IEAGHG monitoring selection tool, https://ieaghg.org/ccs-resources/monitoring-selection-tool) or to assess the availability of sensors that can measure variables that are likely to fluctuate under a seepage scenario, or processes that are sensitive to CO2-related stress. Less focus has been on how they perform relative to regulatory requirements, cost efficiency, and user friendliness. We can use observations and models to characterise the natural variability of the marine system, or the noise from which an anomalous signal must be detected. We can use models to simulate hypothetical leak events thereby defining the monitoring target(s). We have algorithms that assess the cost-benefit of a range of anomaly criteria – i.e., a signal that would provoke a more concerted monitoring campaign and finally algorithms that can derive the optimal deployment strategy – i.e., where to monitor and when. The challenge is to collate these abilities into a coherent whole, which then allows the presentation of an evaluated monitoring system that can be judged against regulatory and societal expectations. We outline the approach chosen in the ACTOM project (https://actom.w.uib.no) to develop procedures for design and execution of appropriate, rigorous, and cost-effective monitoring of offshore carbon storage, aligning industrial, societal, and regulative expectations with technological capabilities and limitations. The ACTOM toolbox is capable of simulating “what if” seep scenarios, as well as monitoring deployments, that can be used to deliver environmental impact assessments as required under the CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage) and EIA directives. As a result, recommended monitoring strategies could be delivered autonomously and be dependent on established generic operational marine simulation models, both factors reducing costs. We will demonstrate use of the toolbox on three sites in the Gulf of Mexico, in southern North Sea and off the coast of Norway, each with distinctive features and availability of data
Svalbard reindeer population size and trends in four sub-areas of Edgeøya
No full textIn summer 2006 Svalbard reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus) in south-western Edgeøya (Plurdalen, Grunnlinjesletta, Siegelfjellet and Burmeisterfjellet) showed a low population (181 animals) and recruitment rate, in terms of both calves (9.4%) and yearlings (1.2%). The low recruitment rates were not accompanied by high winter mortality: of only five carcasses found, none were calves born in 2005. A comparison with survey data from 1969 in a restricted part of the study area (Plurdalen and Grunnlinjesletta) shows a consistently low recruitment rate since 1975, indicating a stable or slowly decreasing population
Monitoring offshore CO2 storage projects, aligning capabilities with regulations and public expectations.
No full text
&lt;p&gt;We will report on preliminary results and present plans for the continuation of an international project, ACTOM. The overall objective of ACTOM is to develop internationally applicable capabilities to design and execute adequate, rigorous and cost-effective monitoring of offshore carbon storage projects, aligning industrial, societal and regulative expectations with technological capabilities and limitations.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;At the core of the project is a web based pre-operational tool-kit that will deliver new abilities to design a site specific marine monitoring program that will ultimately:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;enable regulators to quantifiably assess that a proposed monitoring strategy delivers an acceptable standard of assurance,&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;enable operators to properly plan, cost and adapt monitoring strategies to site specific circumstances,&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;enable regulators and operators to communicate to the effectiveness of proposed monitoring strategies to enable informed societal consensus in view of marine spatial planning.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI)&lt;/em&gt; is an approach to anticipate and assess implications and expectations of new technologies on the society, a framework increasingly being used in marine environmental studies and in biotechnology and innovation. We use this framework on Carbon Capture Usage and Storage (CCUS), considering the technology in view of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. In an extension of this, potential legal conflicts between storage projects or other uses of the seas, will be addressed in view of marine spatial planning.&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;By viewing CCUS and offshore storage in view of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and in the RRI framework, the aim is to ease communicating the benefits of the technology while addressing the uncertainties and risks in a coherent way.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;This work is part of the project ACTOM, funded through the ACT programme (Accelerating CCS Technologies, Horizon2020 Project No 294766). Financial contributions made from; The Research Council of Norway, (RCN), Norway, Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), Netherlands, Department for Business, Energy &amp; Industrial Strategy (BEIS) together with extra funding from NERC and EPSRC research councils, United Kingdom, US-Department of Energy (US-DOE), USA. In-kind contributions from the University of Bergen are gratefully acknowledged.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
</jats:p
Response Behaviors of Svalbard Reindeer TOwards Humans and Humans Disguised as Polar Bears on Edgeøya
No full text
