First 'real world' carbon sea storage test

A deep water controlled experiment to assess the safety of offshore carbon capture and storage is to be launched.

CO₂ will be injected into the North Sea floor, near a depleted gas field. The experiment, which will take place in 2018, is part of a €16m project by the National Oceanography Centre (NOC).

Dr Doug Connelly, project leader from the NOC said: “Currently, it is challenging to detect and quantify CO? emissions in the marine environment because of dispersion and attenuation effects, the small volumes involved and considering large existing natural variability. This project is a really exciting opportunity to develop innovative, safe and cost effective technology to address these problems.”

Acoustic and chemical sensors will be developed that can be fitted to remote submarines in order to ‘listen’ for the CO₂ as well as automatic photographic software to monitor any visual changes on the sea floor. Other measurements that will be collated include temperature, salinity, currents and changes in the chemistry of the sea bed.

The technology will be launched at the site, 100km north east of Aberdeen, in 2017 - a year before the controlled release of the CO₂ to better understand the current ecosystem on a daily, weekly and seasonal timeframe.

The project, STEM-CCS, has received funding from the EU’s Horizon 2020 project and will see scientists from universities from the UK, Germany, Norway and Austria in collaboration.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ukkx5ioiUs