Background

Several technological options have been proposed to stabilize atmospheric concentrations of CO2. One proposed remedy is to separate and capture CO2 from fossil-fuel power plants and other stationary industrial sources and inject the CO2 into deep subsurface formations for long-term storage and sequestration.

Characterization of geologic formations for sequestration of large quantities of CO2 needs to be carefully considered to ensure that sites are suitable for long-term storage and that there will be no adverse impacts to human health or the environment. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage (Final Draft, October 2005) states that “Site characterization, selection and performance prediction are crucial for successful geological storage. Before selecting a site, the geological setting must be characterized to determine if the overlying cap rock will provide an effective seal, if there is a sufficiently voluminous and permeable storage formation, and whether any abandoned or active wells will compromise the integrity of the seal....Moreover, the availability of good site characterization data is critical for the reliability of models.”