Sub-seabed CO2 Storage: Impact on Marine Ecosystems
The project will establish a framework of best environmental practices to guide the management of offshore CO2 injection and storage and as addendum to the EU directive on "Geological Storage of CO2" for the marine realm. This includes the quantitative assessment of potential and actual impacts on marine ecosystems at a CO2 injection facility and the entire storage site. A comprehensive monitoring concept for storage sites will be developed comprising innovative techniques that are apt to detect different modes and levels of leakage including that of pre-cursors. Field studies at operated and prospective sites (Sleipner, Snøhvit) and natural CO2 seeps (North Sea, Mediterranean Sea) are completed by lab experiments and numerical simulations on different scales. An integral part of the project is to transfer this knowledge into a risk management concept and an economic valuing of the costs of leakage, monitoring, mitigation measures, and a clear communication framework. An understanding of the precautionary principle as primary tool for balancing the environmental risks will be built.
Available reports:
Contact person: Klaus Wallmann