Hyperspectral Sensor for Large-Area Monitoring of Carbon-Dioxide Reservoirs and Pipelines

Geologic carbon sequestration has been identified as a potential means of reducing the amount of carbon­dioxide emitted into our atmosphere, thereby reducing one of the major contributors to global warming and climate change. A major difficulty with carbon­dioxide sequestration is monitoring sequestration sites and pipelines for leakage, which may come from zones on the order of 1 meter in size and be spread over areas on the order of hundreds of square kilometers. Consequently, a cost­effect, high­resolution, large­area monitoring technology for carbon­dioxide leakage is required. The carbon­dioxide leakage monitoring technology proposed here utilizes hyperspectral imaging to identify the natural change in reflectance of vegetation as it responds to carbon­dioxide leakage. Since plants cover a large fraction of potential leakage sites, they provide a massive natural array of sensors for carbon­dioxide leakage, which enables high­resolution, cost­effective monitoring with the proposed system. During the Phase I effort, an underground, slotted pipeline was used to simulate carbon­dioxide leaks at the minimum levels needed for geologic carbon sequestration. Airborne hyperspectral images were recorded and used to identify plant stress due to their exposure to the simulated carbon­dioxide leakage, thereby demonstrating feasibility. The Phase II effort will include scientific experiments to better understand the capabilities and limitations of the technology, development of ancillary sensors and software to enable practical large­scale use of the technology, and rigorous testing on airborne platforms. Commercial Applications and other Benefits as described by the awardee: In addition to monitoring carbon sequestration sites and pipelines, the proposed technology will find applications in agriculture, pipeline monitoring for other gases such as methane, and environmental monitoring, including point­source pollution, algal blooms in oceans, and beetle­kill in forests.