Testing Lagrangian atmospheric dispersion modelling to monitor CO2 and CH4 leakage from geosequestration

We assess the performance of an inverse Lagrangian dispersion technique for its suitability to quantify leakages from geological storage of CO2. We find the technique is accurate (〈QbLS/Q〉=0.99,σ=0.29) when strict meteorological filtering is applied to ensure that Monin–Obukhov Similarity Theory is valid for the periods analysed and when downwind enrichments in tracer gas concentration are 1% or more above background concentration. Because of their respective baseline atmospheric concentrations, this enrichment criterion is less onerous for CH4 than for CO2. Therefore for geologically sequestered gas reservoirs with a significant CH4 component, monitoring CH4 as a surrogate for CO2 leakage could be as much as 10 times more sensitive than monitoring CO2 alone. Additional recommendations for designing a robust atmospheric monitoring strategy for geosequestration include: continuous concentration data; exact inter-calibration of up- and downwind concentration measurements; use of an array of point concentration sensors to maximise the use of spatial information about the leakage plume; and precise isotope ratio measurement to confirm the source of any concentration elevations detected.