Over the weekend, the BSCSP Surface Water Monitoring Team returned to the Kevin Dome project site to conduct a second round of fieldwork. The team – led by Laura Dobeck (Montana State University), Travis McLing (Idaho National Lab), and Martin Stute (Barnard College, Columbia University) – collected surface water and groundwater samples from sites across the project area, including ponds, reservoirs, and shallow water wells.
Similar to the first round of fieldwork in the fall of 2013, these water samples will undergo laboratory analysis and provide a critical set of baseline data on the current chemical composition and general water quality of shallow subsurface and surface waters in the project area.
This baseline information will be compared to future water samples collected during and after the carbon dioxide (CO2) injection phase of the project. These comparisons will allow BSCSP scientists to provide assurance that water resources in the area are not being damaged.
To learn more about CO2 monitoring science and technologies, check out the National Energy Technology Laboratory’s online educational resources here.