Using acoustics for the Monitoring, Measurement and Verification (MMV) of offshore carbon capture and storage (CCS) sites

We are all faced with a difficult dilemma. If we are to subscribe to the findings of climate change science then within a decade we must first stop the rise in global carbon dioxide emissions and then in the years to come, emissions must fall. If global economies continue to grow, then we will need more energy and as a consequence will emit more greenhouse gases, unless we get cleverer with our engineering. In the UK, carbon capture with offshore storage will play a vital role in helping us solve this problem. It is the only technology that can turn high carbon fuels into genuinely low carbon electricity and is viewed as a critical technology to develop. As part of a larger £1Bn programme the UK has a £125 million cross-government carbon capture and storage research, development and innovation programme with projects running out to 2018. The paper will address the role of both passive and active acoustics for the wide area Monitoring, Measurement and Verification (MMV) of carbon dioxide leaking from the seabed and infrastructure being conducted as a UK pilot programme. Whilst it will predominantly address shallow water operations in the North Sea, it will address the differing challenges of detecting leaking CO2 in deeper water. Findings and observations from multiple academic and commercial research studies conducted in support of UK governmental policy on Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) will be reported.