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Earthquake Potential of Carbon Sequestration?1 min read

by ESD News and Events on January 30, 2015

Geologic Carbon Sequestration Program Hydrogeology Department In The Press

Source:  Jonny Rutqvist and Dan Hawkes

Earthquake_all3An article appearing earlier this past week (January 24, 2015) in Science News by noted science journalist (and former S.F. Chronicle reporter) Charles Petit discusses geological carbon sequestration and its potential for triggering earthquakes. Within the article, ESD’s Jonny Rutqvist is mentioned prominently as the leader of several modeling studies (also involving ESD’s Antonio Rinaldi and Frederic Cappa) investigating “multiple scenarios of how sustained large-scale deep injections of CO2 [underground] might work out.” Summarizing Rutqvist’s results, the article states that “while some earthquakes big enough to alarm local people (magnitude 3.0 to 4.5 at most) appear inevitable, very few would be large enough to damage buildings,” and that “very few if any quakes would open paths for significant CO2 to escape.”

To read more, go to: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/pumping-carbon-dioxide-deep-underground-may-trigger-earthquakes?mode=magazine&context=189691

Relevant Reading:

  • Rutqvist, J. (2012), The geomechanics of CO2 storage in deep sedimentary formations.  International Journal of Geotechnical and Geological Engineering, 30, 525–551. (http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10706-011-9491-0)
  • Rutqvist J., F. Cappa, A.P. Rinaldi, and M. Godano (2014), Modeling of induced seismicity and ground vibrations associated with geologic CO2 storage, and assessing their effects on surface structures and human perception.  International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 24, 64–77. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1750583614000553)
  • Rinaldi A.P., J. Rutqvist, and F. Cappa (2014), Geomechanical effects on CO2 leakage through fault zones during large-scale underground injection. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 20, 117–131. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1750583613003848)

News & Events

EGD Postdoc Fellow Receives Young Researcher Presenter Award1 min read

January 21, 2021

Pramod Bhuvankar, an EGD postdoctoral fellow working with research scientist Abdullah Cihan, received a Young Researcher Presenter Award during the 2020 Computational Methods in Water Resources conference in December. His presentation, “Pore-scale simulations of permeability decline in porous media due to fines migration,” described a pore-scale CFD study of clay mobilization in porous media due…

Berkeley Lab Partners with International Collaborators in Geothermal Energy Research1 min read

January 20, 2021

  Scientists from the Energy Geosciences Division have begun working with European partners on three new geothermal research projects through the Department of Energy’s membership in GEOTHERMICA, a transnational consortium that combines the in-country financial resources and research expertise of 15 participating countries to demonstrate and validate novel concepts in geothermal energy use. This marks the…

EESA Senior Scientist Talks Earthquake Building Resilience1 min read

Berkeley Lab senior scientist David McCallen leads a subproject called Earthquake Sim, or EQSIM, for the DOE’s Energy Exascale Computing Project. He is also professor and director of the Center for Civil Engineering Earthquake Research in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Nevada, Reno. McCallen recently spoke with Scott Gibson of…

EESA Scientist Coauthors New Comprehensive Guide on Removing CO2 from the Atmosphere2 min read

January 18, 2021

Berkeley Lab researchers are working on ways to sequester more carbon in soil, including through agricultural practices. (Credit: Berkeley Lab) Scientists say that any serious plan to address climate change should include carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies and policies, which makes the newly launched CDR Primer an especially vital resource, says Berkeley Lab scientist Margaret Torn, one…

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