- Date: Wednesday, December 11, 2024
- Time: 11 am – 12 pm AEDT
- Location: Room 449 (Conference Room), Madsen (F09), School of Geosciences
- Zoom Link: https://uni-sydney.zoom.us/j/84229382965?from=addon
Using Landscape Evolution Models to predict margin stratigraphy and investigate geological hydrogen storage potential
Abstract
The transition to net-zero emissions by 2050 and the urgency of decarbonisation necessitate innovative energy solutions, with green hydrogen playing a crucial role due to its potential for large-scale, long-term energy storage and the reduction of fossil fuel dependence. Hydrogen storage is typically cyclic, involving seasonal storage and withdrawal to meet energy demands. However, due to its low mass density, approximately four times less than natural gas, hydrogen requires a larger storage volume, making geological storage the best solution for hydrogen storage. Underground geological formations can be utilised to store various types of gases and fluids, such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions through carbon dioxide storage or storing excess renewable energy in the form of hydrogen for long-term energy needs.
Using an open-source landscape evolution model (Badlands) to forward predict stratigraphy, this study investigates sediment distribution patterns during the Cenozoic, with an emphasis on the transition from greenhouse to icehouse climate conditions. During icehouse climates, the presence of continental ice sheets makes sea levels highly sensitive to climatic changes driven by orbital variations (Milankovitch cycles), resulting in rapid fluctuations. These sea level changes are predicted to facilitate the formation of successive sequences of multiple sedimentary seals through repeated transgressions and regressions, potentially reducing hydrogen migration given the high mobility of the gas. In contrast, greenhouse climates, characterised by the absence of continental ice sheets, lead to relatively stable sea levels with more gradual changes. In this study, we model a generic case of landscape evolution in a passive margin context over a period of 66 million years. Understanding the patterns and the sequence of these processes is crucial to improving predictive capabilities and evaluation methods for potential geological hydrogen storage sites, typically in saline aquifers, depleted oil and gas fields, or salt caverns, thereby supporting the broader goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
