Cyberinfrastructure for collaborative geologic carbon sequestration research: a conceptual model

Abstract

This paper describes the design and development of a conceptual framework for creating and implementing a cyberinfrastructure model to support interdisciplinary science associated with geologic carbon sequestration at the University of Wyoming. "Cyberinfrastructure" is a term increasingly used within the scientific community to represent information infrastructure networks connecting technology, data, and people to support research activities and the dissemination of its results. In this study, a cyberinfrastructure was designed for a multi-team, multi-task project case study centered on carbon sequestration research in the Moxa Arch, Wyoming. The design was based on a needs assessment conducted to identify information technology practices and requirements for each science team, resulting in a prototype carbon capture and storage knowledgebase workflow model. Major components of the workflow model include social networking functionality and geographic information system-based data management and visualization. The long-term goal of the effort is to build a cyberinfrastructure that fosters and enhances collaboration across research involved with geologic characterization, reservoir modeling, and long-term monitoring of geologic sequestration activities in Wyoming and throughout the Rocky Mountain Region.

Geologic carbon sequestration in Wyoming: prospects and progress

“…This issue includes papers describing two of the major potential reservoirs, the Bighorn and Madison Formations (lynds et al, 2010b;Thyne et al, 2010), the geochemistry of the groundwaters contained within the target formations in the Greater Green River Basin (Smith et al, 2010), and the development of a multiscale parallel simulator for porous media fluid flow that can provide accurate predictions of migration and trapping of injected carbon dioxide (Douglas et al, 2010). The cyberinfrastructure to support collaborative geologic sequestration research is explored by Hamerlinck et al (2010), and the economics of fossil fuel and wind energy production under various carbon taxation scenarios are discussed by Geiger et al (2010). Other publications forthcoming from these and other members of the Moxa Arch research group will complete the site characterization of that geological structure.…”