Tapping into rock formations at sites thousands of feet deep, a government-industry team is using seismic testing to help determine whether those sites can serve as reservoirs to safely store carbon dioxide (CO2), a major greenhouse gas.
The Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) is sponsoring the tests in a program to develop carbon sequestration technology as part of the President's Global Climate Change Initiative. The initiative is aimed at reducing greenhouse gas intensity (the ratio of greenhouse gas emissions to economic output) by 18 percent by 2012.
"The seismic testing in the Appalachian Basin helps to transfer carbon sequestration technology from the laboratory to the field," said Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy Jeffrey Jarrett. "The tests move the nation's carbon sequestration program one step closer to determining
the technologies, permitting, and infrastructure best suited in each region of the country for permanently storing greenhouse gases and addressing global climate change."
