Date of Award
Fall 2018
Document Type
Open Access Thesis
Department
Geography
First Advisor
Camelia C. Knapp
Abstract
The sequestration of carbon dioxide (CO2) is emerging as a major player in offsetting anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. With 40% of the United States’ anthropogenic CO2 emissions originating in the southeast, characterizing potential CO2 sequestration sites is vital to reducing the United States’ emissions. The overall goal of this research project, funded by the Department of Energy, is to estimate the CO2 storage potential for the Southeastern United States Atlantic Continental Margin. Previous studies find storage potential in the Atlantic continental margin. Up to 16 Gt and 175 Gt of storage potential are estimated for the Upper Cretaceous and Lower Cretaceous formations, respectively. Considering 5.2 Gt of CO2 were emitted by the United States in 2016, substantial storage potential is present in the Southeastern United States Atlantic Continental Margin.
Stratigraphic units were picked in two-way-time depth and were converted to depths in feet. Seismic reflection horizons were extrapolated using well log data from the COST GE-1 well. An interpolated seismic section was created using these seismic horizons. A velocity model was created using previously published stacking velocities. Semblance analysis was used to pick stacking velocities on common midpoint gathers from selected pre-stack seismic lines. These velocity analysis points were used for quality control of the published stacking velocities. Stacking velocities were converted to interval velocities using Dix conversion. These interval velocities are used to create the velocity model and calculate the depths of stratigraphic units in feet. Using this velocity model, the seismic reflection data can be converted to depth in order to estimate the thickness and storage potential of CO2 reservoirs in the Southeastern United States Atlantic Continental Margin.
Rights
© 2018, John Ollmann
Recommended Citation
Ollmann, J.(2018). Velocity Model for CO2 Sequestration in the Southeastern United States Atlantic Continental Margin. (Master's thesis). Retrieved from https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/4995