Basic Research Needs for Geosciences - Energetics Meetings and ...

GRAND CHALLENGE:INTEGRATED CHARACTERIZATION, MODELING, AND MONITORING OF GEOLOGIC SYSTEMSmanner. Particularly challenging is the identification and quantification of vertical fluid features(chimneys), residual oil or gas chimneys (dispersed fluids), and the ongoing migration ofbuoyant fluid (continuous fluid phase) associated with leaked CO 2 . A recent example of a remotesensing technology specifically developed to detect potential leakage paths as well as gasconcentration is illustrated in Figure 35. Analogous challenges are posed by localized leakage offluids from nuclear repositories.RESEARCH APPROACHESA revolutionary approach for multiprocess simulation of flow and transport over a continuum ofscales in porous media will require breakthrough results at the interfaces between appliedmathematics, computational science, and geoscience engineering. Retooling of existing modelingcodes will not achieve the desired results. Only a top-to-bottom redesign of modeling systemswill suffice.Numerical and computational algorithms with input from the geological, geophysical,geochemical, hydrological, and reservoir engineering communities need to be developed. Theseshould integrate modeling tools that accept a variety of parameterizations and predict a variety ofresponses. Laboratory studies, a priori modeling, and examination of data to develop couplingrelationships between critical geochemical and geophysical properties should be included,allowing joint inversion and forward modeling.Improved understanding and descriptions of spatial and temporal heterogeneity should comewith models including upscaling and downscaling of measurements and processes from pore tofield scales. Examples are how depositional/diagenetic heterogeneity impacts spatialdistributions of saturation and mineral reactivity, how biological activity impacts fluid flux, andhow the depositional environment, diagenesis and structural history constrain model inversionsboth at and below resolution scale.Direct coupling of advanced monitoring and modeling approaches through joint inversion orsimulation could be tackled through the development of a common computational frameworkthat jointly honors phenomena associated with waves, potential fields, flow, transport anddeformation.Conceptual models, numerical model sensitivity analyses, and case studies associated withmanipulated and natural analogue sites should be useful for guiding the choice of parameters andphenomena to be monitored, and for identifying thresholds or regions that might mandateenhanced monitoring effort. To advance the use of remote datasets for quantifying subsurfacetransformations, it is necessary to:• Tackle resolution issues• Develop the petrophysical models that link the geophysical attributes to the particulartransformational end-products• Investigate scaling issues associated with using disparate measurements and phenomena• Develop integration frameworks that can incorporate the time-lapse imagery andpetrophysics with direct measurements to produce an integrated interpretation90 Basic Research Needs for Geosciences: Facilitating 21 st Century Energy Systems