Last modified: Monday, September 29, 2003
Indiana Geological Survey scientists to study alternate methods of reducing greenhouse gas
The Indiana Geological Survey, a research institute at Indiana University Bloomington, will join more than 40 other state agencies, universities and private companies to determine whether carbon dioxide, an important greenhouse gas, can be removed from the atmosphere by trapping it underground in oil and gas fields, coal seams and brine-filled aquifers.
IGS will be a part of two U.S. Department of Energy research consortia, the Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership and the Midwest Geologic Sequestration Consortium. Both consortia will investigate possible ways carbon dioxide can be prevented from entering the atmosphere and trapped within geological systems. Along with five other regional partnerships covering most other states, the two consortia are key parts of President Bush's Global Climate Change Initiative, whose stated goal is to reduce manmade greenhouse gas emissions in the United States by 2012.
"We are very pleased to have been selected to be a part of these exclusive teams addressing the critical issues of fossil fuel usage and climate change," said project director John A. Rupp, who will oversee IGS's contributions to the consortia. "Each regional partnership is comprised of a diverse team well suited to using their different strengths and technological abilities to evaluate different methods of managing carbon."
Much of the carbon dioxide emitted by the United States comes from coal-fired power and ethanol plants in the Midwest.
Members of the Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership will be funded over two years by $2.4 million from a combination of DOE, state and private sources. Members of the Midwest Geological Sequestration Consortium will receive $3.2 million over two years from DOE, public and private sources.
A complete list of partners and other information about the DOE consortia are located online at https://fossil.energy.gov/news/techlines/03/tl_sequestration_partnershipselections.html.
