Time-lapse Gravity Research Articles

Radial Derivative and Radial Inversion for Interpreting 4D Gravity Anomaly Due to Fluids Injection Around Reservoir

The 4D gravity or time lapse gravity has been used many reseracher to identify fluid injection in oil reservoir. The objective of this study is to find the better way in interpreting 4D gravity anomaly due to fluid injection around the reservoir. Radial Derivatives are derivative values of gravity anomalies against horizontal distances in the radial direction. Radial inversion is a two-dimensional inversion of lines with radial directions resulting in a 3-dimension model. Time lapse microgravity research have been performed in “X Oil Field” with amount of 604 data point covering area of 4000m x 5000m. This Radial derivative and Radial inversion have been aplied at an injection well of the X oil field. The yield show that 4D gravity anomaly value due to injection is 0.02 mGal to 0.36 mGal. Radial derivative value in the area is 0 micro Gal/cm to 0,012 mGal/meter. Radial inversion shows radius of fluid front movement is 304 meters to 1120 meters. Radial derivative and Radial inversion have been proven fairly good to identify injected fluid movement in the reservoir.

Virtual time-lapse seismic monitoring using fully coupled flow and geomechanical simulations

SEAM Time Lapse, a collaborative technical project of SEG and the Society of Petroleum Engineers, created integrated geologic, reservoir, and geophysical models to simulate temporal changes in the geometry and physical properties of a complex reservoir with the detail and accuracy needed to explain the subtle effects seen in time-lapse surveys of real oil fields. The geologic model consisted of 2 billion grid cells, representing a region 12.5 × 12.5 km in horizontal extent and 5 km in depth and including a 420 m thick reservoir with upper and lower units separated by an impermeable shale layer and offset by faults. Deepwater clastic turbidite channels and lobes were used to create a typical shallow Gulf of Mexico reservoir that also can serve as an analogue of other turbidite fields around the world. Stratigraphic detail within the reservoir was retained in the simulation model through careful finite-element meshing. The reservoir simulation computed the fully coupled three-phase fluid flow and linear geomechanical response in a production scenario involving 11 production wells and six water-injection wells penetrating the reservoir's three compartments. Seismic surveys were simulated with isotropic elastic-wave modeling before the start of production and after 27.5 months of production at a simulated rate of about 67,500 barrels per day, with about 32,500 barrels per day of water injection. Rock properties were updated by petrophysical models calibrated to turbidite systems in the Gulf of Mexico. Analysis of the model and simulations improves understanding of the complex interaction of fluid effects, pressure changes, and rock deformation. For example, compaction in the reservoir may cancel time-lapse fluid effects, and compaction or dilation in the surrounding shales may override the observed reservoir signal in the seismic bandwidth. Strain-induced velocity changes in the shales have a much larger effect on estimated time-lapse time shifts than do strain-induced changes in path lengths. Geomechanical effects impact the interpretation of 4D seismic difference attributes and require careful consideration. The integrated, full-physics SEAM approach used for this model provides a unique data set to explore these complex production effects and the value of 4D seismic surveys. The models and data, which also include simulations of time-lapse gravity and electromagnetic surveys, are publicly available through SEAM.

On the Resolvability of Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage Reservoirs Using Time-Lapse Gravity Gradiometry

Unconventional heavy oil resource plays are important contributors to oil and gas production, as well as controversial for posing environmental hazards. Monitoring those reservoirs before, during, and after operations would assist both the optimization of economic benefits and the mitigation of potential environmental hazards. This study investigates how gravity gradiometry using superconducting gravimeters could resolve depletion areas in steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) reservoirs. This is achieved through modelling of a SAGD reservoir at 1.25 and 5 years of operation. Specifically, the density change structure identified from geological, petrological, and seismic observations is forward modelled for gravity and gradients. Three main parameters have an impact on the resolvability of bitumen depletion volumes and are varied through a suitable parameter space: well pair separation, depth to the well pairs, and survey grid sampling. The results include a resolvability matrix, which identifies reservoirs that could benefit from time-lapse gravity gradiometry monitoring. After 1.25 years of operation, during the rising phase, the resolvable maximum reservoir depth ranges between the surface and 230 m, considering a well pair separation between 80 and 200 m. After 5 years of production, during the spreading phase, the resolvability of depletion volumes around single well pairs is greatly compromised as the depletion volume is closer to the surface, which translates to a larger portion of the gravity signal. The modelled resolvability matrices were derived from visual inspection and spectral analysis of the gravity gradient signatures and can be used to assess the applicability of time-lapse gradiometry to monitor reservoir density changes.

Estimating saturation and density changes caused by CO2 injection at Sleipner — Using time-lapse seismic amplitude-variation-with-offset and time-lapse gravity

We have developed a calibrated, simple time-lapse seismic method for estimating saturation changes from the [Formula: see text]-storage project at Sleipner offshore Norway. This seismic method works well to map changes when [Formula: see text] is migrating laterally away from the injection point. However, it is challenging to detect changes occurring below [Formula: see text] layers that have already been charged by some [Formula: see text]. Not only is this partly caused by the seismic shadow effects, but also by the fact that the velocity sensitivity for [Formula: see text] change in saturation from 0.3 to 1.0 is significantly less than saturation changes from zero to 0.3. To circumvent the seismic shadow zone problem, we combine the time-lapse seismic method with time-lapse gravity measurements. This is done by a simple forward modeling of gravity changes based on the seismically derived saturation changes, letting these saturation changes be scaled by an arbitrary constant and then by minimizing the least-squares error to obtain the best fit between the scaled saturation changes and the measured time-lapse gravity data. In this way, we are able to exploit the complementary properties of time-lapse seismic and gravity data.

Time-lapse gravity surveying as a monitoring tool for CO2 storage

Time-lapse gravity surveys are a potential low cost method for detecting CO2 migration from a storage site, particularly where accumulation within an overlying aquifer is predicted. The modelled storage system consists of a storage reservoir (1000m crestal depth) and an overlying aquifer at variable depths (50–750m crest), within a simple dome structure. In leakage scenarios, these are connected by a single vertical permeable pathway. CO2 leakage was simulated using the Permedia® CO2 simulator, and a gravity model calculated to compare a leakage and a non-leakage scenario. Time-lapse gravity surveys are likely to be able to detect CO2 leakage with CO2 accumulation within an aquifer to depths of at least 750m, at least within an actively subsiding sedimentary basin where sandstones are expected to have high porosities at shallow burial depths. For a high relief structure in which the CO2 accumulates, the change in gravity cannot be used to detect the location of the leakage pathway as the measured gravity anomaly is centred on the geological structure. The first detection of leakage is possible after 11–15 years of leakage, though a maximum of only c. 1% of injected CO2 will have leaked at this time.

Integrating gravimetric and interferometric synthetic aperture radar data for enhancing reservoir history matching of carbonate gas and volatile oil reservoirs

Reservoir history matching is assuming a critical role in understanding reservoir characteristics, tracking water fronts, and forecasting production. While production data have been incorporated for matching reservoir production levels and estimating critical reservoir parameters, the sparse spatial nature of this dataset limits the efficiency of the history matching process. Recently, gravimetry techniques have significantly advanced to the point of providing measurement accuracy in the microgal range and consequently can be used for the tracking of gas displacement caused by water influx. While gravity measurements provide information on subsurface density changes, i.e., the composition of the reservoir, these data do only yield marginal information about temporal displacements of oil and inflowing water. We propose to complement gravimetric data with interferometric synthetic aperture radar surface deformation data to exploit the strong pressure deformation relationship for enhancing fluid flow direction forecasts. We have developed an ensemble Kalman-filter-based history matching framework for gas, gas condensate, and volatile oil reservoirs, which synergizes time-lapse gravity and interferometric synthetic aperture radar data for improved reservoir management and reservoir forecasts. Based on a dual state–parameter estimation algorithm separating the estimation of static reservoir parameters from the dynamic reservoir parameters, our numerical experiments demonstrate that history matching gravity measurements allow monitoring the density changes caused by oil–gas phase transition and water influx to determine the saturation levels, whereas the interferometric synthetic aperture radar measurements help to improve the forecasts of hydrocarbon production and water displacement directions. The reservoir estimates resulting from the dual filtering scheme are on average 20%–40% better than those from the joint estimation scheme, but require about a 30% increase in computational cost.

Investigating hydrological contributions to volcano monitoring signals: a time-lapse gravity example

SUMMARY Geophysical techniques are widely used to monitor volcanic unrest. A number of studies have also demonstrated that hydrological processes can produce or trigger geophysical signals. Hydrologically induced gravity signals have previously been recorded by specifically designed gravitysurveysaswellas,inadvertently,byvolcanomonitoringstudies.Watertablecorrections ofmicrogravitysurveysarecommonplace.However,thefluctuationsofthewatertablebeneath survey locations are often poorly known, and such a correction fails to account for changes in water-mass storage in the unsaturated zone. Here, we combine 2-D axis-symmetrical numerical fluid-flow models with an axis-symmetric, distributed-mass, gravity calculation to model gravity changes in response to fluctuating hydrological recharge. Flow simulations are based on tropical volcanic settings where high surface permeabilities promote thick unsaturated zones. Our study highlights that mass storage (saturation) changes within the unsaturated zone beneath a survey point can generate recordable gravity changes. We show that for a tropical climate, recharge variations can generate gravity variations of over 150 µGal; although, we demonstrate that for the scenarios investigated here, the probability of recording such large signals is low. Our modelling results indicate that microgravity survey corrections based on water table elevation may result in errors of up to 100 µGal. The effect of inter-annual recharge fluctuations dominate over seasonal cycles which makes prediction and correction of the hydrological contribution more difficult. Spatial hydrogeological heterogeneity can also impact on the accuracy of relative gravity surveys, and can even result in the introduction of additional survey errors. The loading fluctuations associated with saturation variations in the unsaturated zone may also have implications for other geophysical monitoring techniques, such as geodetic monitoring of ground deformation.

PyGrav, a Python-based program for handling and processing relative gravity data

pyGrav is a Python-based open-source software dedicated to the complete processing of relative-gravity data. It is particularly suited for time-lapse gravity surveys where high precision is sought. Its purpose is to bind together single-task processing codes in a user-friendly interface for handy and fast treatment of raw gravity data from many stations of a network. The intuitive object-based implementation allows to easily integrate additional functions (reading/writing routines, processing schemes, data plots) related to the appropriate object (a station, a loop, or a survey). This makes pyGrav an evolving tool. Raw data can be corrected for tides and air pressure effects. The data selection step features a double table-plot graphical window with either manual or automatic selection according to specific thresholds on data channels (tilts, gravity values, gravity standard deviation, duration of measurements, etc.). Instrumental drifts and gravity residuals are obtained by least square analysis of the dataset. This first step leads to the gravity simple differences between a reference point and any point of the network. When different repetitions of the network are done, the software computes then the gravity double differences and associated errors. The program has been tested on two specific case studies: a large dataset acquired for the study of water storage changes on a small catchment in West Africa, and a dataset operated and processed by several different users for geothermal studies in northern Alsace, France. In both cases, pyGrav proved to be an efficient and easy-to-use solution for the effective processing of relative-gravity data.

4D inversion of borehole gravity data for monitoring fluid fronts

SUMMARY Monitoring fluid movement is an important component in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and CO2 sequestration. The newly available slim-hole gravimeter operating at high temperature offers a new avenue for such monitoring efforts because of the direct sensitivity to the change in the density distribution. We present a time-lapse gravity inversion algorithm for recovering the front of injected fluid using borehole gravity measurements. We assume that the horizontal extent of the fluid can be represented by a polygon with known but variable thickness and density contrast due to fluid substitution. We represent the evolution of the front as a 4D function of the spatial position and time since the initiation of the injection. The inversion can be carried out either independently at discrete time points or as a single inversion simultaneously over all time points. We demonstrate that the latter approach is superior in that it is more stable and offers improved capability in detecting break-through events at later times. In this paper, we will describe the details of the two inversion approaches, including two different model objective functions in polar coordinates and the nonlinear solution strategies. We will illustrate the advantages and drawbacks of independent and simultaneous 4D inversions using numerical examples

Deformation induced topographic effects in inversion of temporal gravity changes: First look at Free Air and Bouguer terms

Abstract We review here the gravitational effects on the temporal (time-lapse) gravity changes induced by the surface deformation (vertical displacements). We focus on two terms, one induced by the displacement of the benchmark (gravity station) in the ambient gravity field, and the other imposed by the attraction of the masses within the topographic deformation rind. The first term, coined often the Free Air Effect (FAE), is the product of the vertical gradient of gravity (VGG) and the vertical displacement of the benchmark. We examine the use of the vertical gradient of normal gravity, typically called the theoretical or normal Free Air Gradient (normal FAG), as a replacement for the true VGG in the FAE, as well as the contribution of the topography to the VGG. We compute a topographic correction to the normal FAG, to offer a better approximation of the VGG, and evaluate its size and shape (spatial behavior) for a volcanic study area selected as the Central Volcanic Complex (CVC) on Tenerife, where this correction reaches 77% of the normal FAG and varies rapidly with terrain. The second term, imposed by the attraction of the vertically displaced topo-masses, referred to here as the Topographic Deformation Effect (TDE) must be computed by numerical evaluation of the Newton volumetric integral. As the effect wanes off quickly with distance, a high resolution DEM is required for its evaluation. In practice this effect is often approximated by the planar or spherical Bouguer deformation effect (BDE). By a synthetic simulation at the CVC of Tenerife we show the difference between the rigorously evaluated TDE and its approximation by the planar BDE. The complete effect, coined here the Deformation Induced Topographic Effect (DITE) is the sum of FAE and TDE. Next we compare by means of synthetic simulations the DITE with two approximations of DITE typically used in practice: one amounting only to the first term in which the VGG is approximated by normal FAG, the other adopting a Bouguer corrected normal FAG (BCFAG).

On inverting gravity changes with the harmonic inversion method: Teide (Tenerife) case study

Abstract Here we investigate the applicability of the harmonic inversion method to time-lapse gravity changes observed in volcanic areas. We carry out our study on gravity changes occured over the period of 2004–2005 during the unrest of the Central Volcanic Complex on Tenerife, Canary Islands. The harmonic inversion method is unique in that it calculates the solution of the form of compact homogeneous source bodies via the mediating 3-harmonic function called quasigravitation. The latter is defined in the whole subsurface domain and it is a linear integral transformation of the surface gravity field. At the beginning the seeds of the future source bodies are introduced: these are quasi-spherical bodies located at the extrema of the quasigravitation (calculated from the input gravity data) and their differential densities are free parameters preselected by the interpreter. In the following automatic iterative process the source bodies change their size and shape according to the local values of quasigravitation (calculated in each iterative step from the residual surface gravity field); the process stops when the residual surface gravity field is sufficiently small. In the case of inverting temporal gravity changes, the source bodies represent the volumetric domains of temporal mass-density changes. The focus of the presented work is to investigate the dependence of the size and shape of the found source bodies on their differential densities. We do not aim here (yet) at interpreting the found solutions in terms of volcanic processes associated with intruding or rejuvenating magma and/or migrating volatiles.

Inversion for permeability distribution from time-lapse gravity data

Understanding reservoir properties plays a key role in managing a reservoir’s resources and optimizing production. History matching is an important means for characterizing those properties. We developed a method to invert for the distribution of permeability directly from time-lapse gravity data. In this process, we used fluid flow in a porous medium coupled with forward modeling of the time-lapse gravity response as the forward operator, and then we solved a nonlinear inversion to reconstruct the permeability distribution in the reservoir. We were able to formulate the deterministic inversion as a Tikhonov regularization problem because of the relatively low computational cost of forward modeling time-lapse gravity data. The inversion can combine the information from time-lapse gravity and injection-production data sets to determine a static state of the reservoir described by the permeability. The resulting model satisfied all data sets simultaneously while obeying the mechanics of fluid flow through a porous medium. The inverse formulation also enabled the estimation of the uncertainty of the constructed permeability model with respect to the data, and our numerical simulations indicated that the information content in the two dynamic data sets appeared to be sufficiently high to constrain the recovery of permeability distribution.

Feasibility analysis for time-lapse seafloor gravity monitoring of producing gas fields in the Northern Carnarvon Basin, offshore Australia

Highly accurate seafloor gravity data can detect small density changes in subsurface hydrocarbon reservoirs by precisely repositioning the gravimeters on the seafloor. In producing gas fields, these small density changes are primarily caused by production-related changes to the pressure and gas/fluid saturations in the reservoir pore space. Knowledge of the pressure and saturation changes is vital to optimize the gas recovery, especially in offshore environments in which wells are expensive and sparse. We assessed the feasibility of time-lapse seafloor gravity monitoring for the giant gas fields in Australia’s premier hydrocarbon province, the Northern Carnarvon Basin. We determined that gravity monitoring is more feasible for reservoirs with a large areal extent and/or shallow burial depths, with high porosities and high net-to-gross sand ratios. Forward modeling of the gravity responses using simple equivalent geometry shapes and full 3D complex heterogeneous models predicted that density changes in several of these producing gas reservoirs will result in readily detectable gravity signals ([Formula: see text]) within just a year or so of gas production. In a pure water-drive production regime, this gravity response equated to a fieldwide change in the gas-water contact height of approximately 2–3 m, or in a pure depletion-drive regime, a pressure decline equated to approximately 3–4 MPa (435–580 psi). We assessed the feasibility of time-lapse seafloor gravity monitoring for producing gas reservoirs that is flexible and practical, and it may be useful for a wide range of subsurface fluid-flow monitoring applications.

Feasibility of time-lapse gravity and gravity gradiometry monitoring for steam-assisted gravity drainage reservoirs

There is presently an increased need to monitor production efficiency as heavy oil reservoirs become more economically viable. We present a feasibility study of monitoring steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) reservoirs using time-lapse gravimetry and gravity gradiometry. Even though time-lapse seismic has historically shown great success for SAGD monitoring, the gravimetry and gravity gradiometry methods offer a low-cost interseismic alternative that can complement the seismic method, increase the survey frequency, and decrease the cost of monitoring. In addition, both gravity-based methods are directly sensitive to the density changes that occur as a result of the replacement of heavy oil by steam. Advances in technologies have made both methods viable candidates for consideration in time-lapse reservoir monitoring, and we have numerically evaluated their potential application in monitoring SAGD production. The results indicate that SAGD production should produce a strong anomaly for both methods at typical SAGD reservoir depths. However, the level of detail for steam-chamber geometries and separations that can be recovered from the gravimetry and gravity gradiometry data is site dependent. Gravity gradiometry shows improved monitoring ability, such as better recovery of nonuniform steam movement due to reservoir heterogeneity, at shallower production reservoirs. Gravimetry has the ability to detect SAGD steam-chamber growth to greater depths than does gravity gradiometry, although with decreasing resolution of the expanding steam chambers.

Time-lapse monitoring of CO2 sequestration: A site investigation through integration of reservoir properties, seismic imaging, and borehole and surface gravity data

We have developed a feasibility study on the application of time-lapse gravity as a monitoring tool for a proposed [Formula: see text] sequestration test site. The results are a component of a larger geotechnical suitability study to evaluate a specific field’s potential for [Formula: see text] storage and to evaluate viable techniques for effective monitoring there. The reservoir model for this study was constructed from detailed reservoir data available through separate reservoir characterization studies of the field. The gravity inversion used was a highly constrained binary approach that incorporated reservoir geometry from seismic data and the internal 3D distributions of density change predicted from the reservoir engineering database. Incorporating borehole data for joint surface/borehole monitoring further improved the potential of time-lapse gravity to define [Formula: see text] movement during sequestration. In this paper, we present a subset of the entire study. Our results indicate that the site likely has a favorable combination of geometry, depth, thickness, and predicted density change from [Formula: see text] movement to be effectively monitored with surface time-lapse gravity.

Hydro-gravimetry in West-Africa: First results from the Djougou (Benin) superconducting gravimeter

The increasing number of hydro-gravimetry studies proves the rising interest of the hydrology community toward this monitoring method. The accuracy of superconducting gravimeters (SG) potentially allows the retrieval of small water storage changes (WSC) down to a few millimeters of equivalent water thickness. However, the importance of corrections applied to SG data to achieve such a precision in gravity residuals should be recalled. The Djougou permanent gravity station presented in this paper and located in northern Benin, West-Africa, provides a good opportunity to review these considerations. This station is equipped since July 2010 with the superconducting gravimeter SG-060 aimed at deriving WSC at different time-scales, daily to inter-annual. In this area, WSC are (1) part of the control system for evapotranspiration (ET) process, a key variable of the West-African monsoon cycle and (2) the state variable for resource management, a critical issue in storage-poor hard rock basement contexts such as in northern Benin. The potential for deriving WSC from time-lapse gravity data partly depends on environmental features such as topography and the instrument shelter. Therefore, this issue is addressed first, with the background idea that such sensitivity analysis should be undertaken before setting up any new instrument. In Djougou, local topography is quite flat leading to a theoretical straightforward relationship between gravity changes and WSC, close to the standard Bouguer value. However, the shelter plays a significant masking role, which is the principal limitation to the retrieval of fast hydrological processes such as ET following a rain event. Several issues concerning classical gravity corrections are also addressed in the paper. These include gap-filling procedures during rain-events and drift estimates for short time series. Special attention is provided to atmospheric corrections, and different approaches are tested: a simple scalar admittance, a filtered scalar admittance, a frequency-dependent admittance and direct atmospheric loading calculations. It is shown that the physically based approach of direct loading calculations performs better in both residual minimization and ET retrieval. Moreover, non-local hydrological effects are investigated and account for about 20% of the gravity residuals. Finally, gravity residuals are briefly analyzed at two distinct time scales: rapid (up to a few days) and seasonal. At the rapid time-scale, it is shown that ET retrieval is hardly achievable given shelter size and state-of-the-art atmospheric corrections. Still, mean values retrieved from this study are in accordance with known values of potential ET and lateral flow. Direct comparison of gravity changes with hydrological data (neutron probe monitoring and water table levels) show some discrepancies, particularly for the hydrological year of 2011, for which all hydrological data show a deficit, but SG and FG5 data do not. This preliminary analysis both provides a basis and call for further hydro-gravity modeling, to comprehensively investigate the water-cycle at the Djougou station.

Designing a Genetic Algorithm for Efficient Calculation in Time-Lapse Gravity Inversion

As an advanced application of soft computation in the oil and gas industry, genetic algorithms (GA) can contribute to geophysical inversion problems in order to achieve better results and efficiency in the computational process. Time-lapse gravity responses to pore-fluid density changes can be modeled to provide the density distribution in the subsurface. This paper discusses the progress of work in inverse modeling of time-lapse gravity data using value encoding with alphabet formulation. The alphabet formulation was designed to provide the solution for positive and negative density change with respect to a reference value (0 gr/cc). The inversion was computed using a genetic algorithm as the optimization method. Working with genetic algorithms, time-intensive computational processes are a challenge, so the algorithm was designed in steps through the evaluation of a GA operator performance test. The performances of several combinations of GA operators (selection, crossover, mutation, and replacement) were tested with a synthetic model of a single-layer reservoir. Sharp boundaries of density changes in the reservoir layer were derived from interpretation of the averaged calculation of several model samples. Analysis showed that the combination of stochastic universal sample–multipoint crossover–quenched simulated annealing per generation–no duplicity achieved the most promising results.

Geophysical Monitoring Methods Evaluation for the FutureGen 2.0 Project

A comprehensive monitoring program will be needed in order to assess the effectiveness of carbon sequestration at the FutureGen 2.0 carbon capture and storage (CCS) field-site. Geophysical monitoring methods are sensitive to subsurface changes that result from injection of CO2 and will be used for: (1) tracking the spatial extent of the free phase CO2 plume, (2) monitoring advancement of the pressure front, (3) identifying or mapping areas where induced seismicity occurs, and (4) identifying and mapping regions of increased risk for brine or CO2 leakage from the reservoir. Site-specific suitability and cost effectiveness were evaluated for a number of geophysical monitoring methods including: passive seismic monitoring, reflection seismic imaging, integrated surface deformation, time-lapse gravity, pulsed neutron capture logging, cross-borehole seismic, electrical resistivity tomography, magnetotellurics and controlled source electromagnetics. The results of this evaluation indicate that CO2 injection monitoring using reflection seismic methods would likely be difficult at the FutureGen 2.0 site. Electrical methods also exhibited low sensitivity to the expected CO2 saturation changes and would be affected by metallic infrastructure at the field site. Passive seismic, integrated surface deformation, time-lapse gravity, and pulsed neutron capture monitoring were selected for implementation as part of the FutureGen 2.0 storage site monitoringmore » program.« less

FutureGen 2.0 Monitoring Program: An Overview of the Monitoring Approach and Technologies Selected for Implementation

Abstract The FutureGen 2.0 Project will design and build a first-of-its-kind, near-zero emissions coal-fueled power plant with carbon capture and storage (CCS). To assess storage site performance and meet the regulatory requirements of the Class VI Underground Injection Control (UIC) Program for CO 2 Geologic Sequestration, the FutureGen 2.0 project will implement a suite of monitoring technologies designed to 1) evaluate CO 2 mass balance and 2) detect any unforeseen loss in CO 2 containment. The monitoring program will include direct monitoring of the injection stream and reservoir, and early-leak-detection monitoring directly above the primary confining zone. It will also implement an adaptive monitoring strategy whereby monitoring results are continually evaluated and the monitoring network is modified as required, including the option to drill additional wells in out-years. Wells will be monitored for changes in CO 2 concentration and formation pressure, and other geochemical/isotopic signatures that provide indication of CO 2 or brine leakage. Indirect geophysical monitoring technologies that were selected for implementation include passive seismic, integrated surface deformation, time-lapse gravity, and pulsed neutron capture logging. Near-surface monitoring approaches that have been initiated include surficial aquifer and surface- water monitoring, soil-gas monitoring, atmospheric monitoring, and hyperspectral data acquisition for assessment of vegetation conditions. Initially, only the collection of baseline data sets is planned; the need for additional near- surface monitoring will be continually evaluated throughout the design and operational phases of the project, and selected approaches may be reinstituted if conditions warrant. Given the current conceptual understanding of the subsurface environment, early and appreciable impacts to near-surface environments are not expected.

Chapter 14 Continuous and campaign-style gravimetric investigations on Montserrat 2006 to 2009

Abstract Gravimetric time series can provide vital clues about subsurface dynamics associated with active volcanism. Here, we report on continuous and campaign-style gravimetric observations on Montserrat between 2006 and 2009. More than 240 days of continuous gravimetric records enabled us to derive a first local joint solid Earth tides and ocean loading model for Montserrat, and we report the tidal harmonics for 14 major wave groups. Compared to global predictions, the new model (MTY11) achieves an up to one order of magnitude better precision over diurnal and semi-diurnal frequencies. We anticipate that the model will help reduce the effects of tidal perturbations on other geodetic time series recorded on Montserrat. Abrupt variations in gravity accompanied Vulcanian explosions and probably reflect the response of a shallow aquifer to stress changes during pressurization and depressurization of the subvolcanic plumbing system. Campaign data enabled the quantification of mass variations during a cycle of activity including dome formation and repose. Both forward and inverse modelling of the spatio-temporal time series indicates that the source of the recorded gravity variations is situated beneath central Montserrat. Our favourite interpretation of the campaign data is that the gravity variations reflect volcano-tectonic interaction beneath the Centre Hills of Montserrat that are triggered by changes in the active magmatic system of Soufrière Hills Volcano (SHV). We also discuss our findings on subsurface mass variations in relation to annual precipitation records and active dome formation. Both continuous and discrete gravimetric observations indicate coupling between the dominant magmatic sources responsible for the ongoing eruption at SHV and shallow-seated local sources such as aquifers and fluid-saturated fault-damage zones. Our investigations demonstrate the value of including gravimetric observations over a wide frequency range for volcanic system characterization in a volcanic island arc setting. Supplementary material: Details on the inversion routine of the explorative source model GROWTH 2.0 and the resulting images from its application to time-lapse gravity data are available at http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/SUP18701 .