He and Ne as tracers of natural CO₂ migration up a fault from a deep reservoir

Gilfillan, S.M.V., Wilkinson, M., Haszeldine, R.S., Shipton, Z.K., Nelson, S.T. and Poreda, R.J. (2011) He and Ne as tracers of natural CO₂ migration up a fault from a deep reservoir. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 5(6), pp. 1507-1516. (doi: 10.1016/j.ijggc.2011.08.008)

Abstract

Capture and geological storage of CO₂ is emerging as an attractive means of economically abating anthropogenic CO₂ emissions from point sources. However, for the technology to be widely deployed it is essential that a reliable means to assess a site for both storage performance and regulation compliance exists. Hence, the ability to identify the origin of any CO₂ seepage measured at the near-surface and ground surface and determine if it originates from a deep storage site or a different source is critical. As an analogue for post-emplacement seepage, here we examine natural CO₂ rich springs and groundwater wells in the vicinity of the St. Johns Dome CO₂ reservoir located on the border of Mid-Arizona/New Mexico, USA. Extensive travertine deposits in the region document a long history of migration of CO₂ rich fluids to the surface. The presence of CO₂ rich fluids today are indicated by high levels of HCO₃− in surface spring and groundwater well waters. We document measurements of dissolved noble gases and carbon isotopes from these springs and wells. We show that a component of the He fingerprint measured in gaseous CO₂ sampled in the deep reservoir, can be traced along a fault plane to occur in waters from both groundwater wells and the majority of springs emerging at the surface above the reservoir. Our results show for the first time that CO₂ can be fingerprinted from source to surface using noble gases and illustrates that this technique could be used to identify dissolved CO₂ migration from engineered storage sites.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Gilfillan, Mr Stuart and Shipton, Dr Zoe
• Authors: Gilfillan, S.M.V., Wilkinson, M., Haszeldine, R.S., Shipton, Z.K., Nelson, S.T., and Poreda, R.J.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Geographical and Earth Sciences
• Journal Name: International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control
• ISSN: 1750-5836
• Published Online: 14 September 2011

Project Code	Award No	Project Name	Principal Investigator	Funder's Name	Funder Ref	Lead Dept
39829	1	Carbon Capture and Storage: CO2-brine sealing system; reservoir-injection-faultseal-overburden - implications for safety parameters	Zoe Shipton	Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)	NE/C516428/1	SCHOOL OF GEOGRAPHICAL & EARTH SCIENCES