Atmospheric Mixing of CO2 above Carbon Storage Sites: Coupling Physics Based Models within a CO2 Sequestration System Modeling Framework

The Zero Emissions Research and Technology (ZERT) project at the Los Alamos National Laboratory is studying the injection of CO2 into geologic repositories. We are formulating the problem as science based decision framework that can address issues of risk, cost, and technical requirements at all stages of the sequestration process. The framework, called CO2-PENS , is implemented in a system model that is capable of performing stochastic simulations to address uncertainty in different geologic sequestration scenarios. In this talk we examine the changes atmospheric concentrations directly above a potential repository caused by diffuse CO2 leakage that migrates to the atmosphere from the repository. We present an atmospheric mixing model that accounts for local surface effects, local climate data, and daily variations in the mixing layer thickness. We compare model results to field data collected at a controlled flux tower experiment. We next show how the atmospheric mixing model can provide estimates of uncertainty when used from within the CO2- PENS framework. Finally, we discuss data needs and future work needed to make the atmospheric component more flexible so that it can quickly be applied to any potential repository.