Geochemistry of shallow aquifers and soil gas surveys in a feasibility study at the Rivara natural gas storage site (Po Plain, Northern Italy)

Sciarra, Alessandra; Cinti, D.; Pizzino, L.; Procesi, M.; Voltattorni, N.; Mecozzi, S.; Quattrocchi, F.

doi:10.1016/j.apgeochem.2012.11.008

Cited by 16 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 84 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…He and 222 Rn contents show values comparable to data gathered by Sciarra et al (2013), and lower than those measured in other Italian sites. In particular, helium values are lower than the atmospheric reference, suggesting a shallow origin of this gas (e.g.…”

Section: Agricultural Areasupporting

confidence: 80%

“…Main statistic parameters of soil gas concentrations (CO 2 , CH 4 , He, 222 Rn) are reported in Table 183.1 and compared both to previous soil gas measurements in Modena Province (Sciarra et al 2013) and in Italy (Annunziatellis et al 2008;Ciotoli et al 2007).…”

Section: Agricultural Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The main part of liquefaction, observed from Sant'Agostino to Mirabello, are located on the enlarged section of the Reno, where sandy sediments and silty clay are intercalated, creating small hanging aquifers. This semi-confined aquifers favoured Sciarra et al (2013) b Soil gas statistics are taken from Annunziatellis et al (2008) c Radon data measured in foredeep basins from Ciotoli et al (2007) surface ruptures where liquefied sands upraised during the 2012 seismic sequence. On the contrary, in the restricted section of the river, the low thickness of the sands allowed fractures but not liquefaction phenomena.…”

Section: Industrial Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Geochemical and Geomorphological Analyses on Liquefaction Occurred During the 2012 Emilia Seismic Sequence

Sciarra

Cantucci

Zeid

et al. 2014

Engineering Geology for Society and Territory - Volume 5

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

On May 20th and 29th, 2012 two earthquakes (ML 5.9 with hypocenter depth at 6.3 km and ML 5.8 with hypocenter depth at 10.2 km, respectively; ISIDe Database) struck the Emilia area. The epicentre was located in the vicinity of Finale Emilia and Medolla (Modena). Co-seismic effects exemplified by liquefactions and surface ruptures occurred in the surrounding area (Provinces of Bologna, Ferrara, Modena, Reggio Emilia, Mantova and Rovigo). The maximum effects where concentrated along the towns located 15-25 km from the epicentre (SW portion of Ferrara Province). Soon after the main events, several geochemical and geophysical surveys were carried out in different sites at Modena and Ferrara Provinces, where surface rupture and liquefaction effects were most evident. Results gained from soil and dissolved gases and geoelectrical-geophysical surveys evidenced that the main liquefied layer is related to a medium coarse-grained sand saturated aquifer located at 8-12 m b.g.l. On the other hand, superficial unsaturated sediments underwent liquefaction represented by densification and lateral spreading. As a consequence, liquefied soil caused ground failures and damages to the built environment. The extent of the liquefaction phenomena, its concentration along the Reno paleo-river ridge and the building damage, has highlighted the need to further characterized the possible rule of lithology and natural gas content on the outset of liquefaction.

show abstract

Section: Agricultural Areasupporting

confidence: 80%

Section: Agricultural Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Industrial Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Geochemical and Geomorphological Analyses on Liquefaction Occurred During the 2012 Emilia Seismic Sequence

Sciarra

Cantucci

Zeid

et al. 2014

Engineering Geology for Society and Territory - Volume 5

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The main problems inherent in the storage of natural gas (mainly methane, CH4) analyzed to be included in the new "Unified European Directive for the use of subsurface and lands to produce energy/heat/resources" are: capacity (volumes), gas containment as main fair of the citizens also in prairies, where gas storage (CO2, CH4) or geothermal prone areas are located [8][9], mostly if associated to strong earthquakes [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] and shallow fluid preservation (safety), geomechanical-induced/triggered seismicity or weak caprock [18][19][20][21] safety and public awareness/public acceptance, by a correct and transparent communication. Induced hazards could be produced as CO2 degassing, radon indoor and enhanced radioactivity in aquifers, being 222 Rn a natural gas released from the rock matrix during stress-related episodes or activated faults over the CO2/CH4/radon natural background [22,23,24] We refer to the papers [2][3] mainly, which are also published to calculate the "energetic density" [MWh/hectars/year], normalized to the minimum GHGs emissions, for all technologies, among which is exploited / stored natural gas, located in the single-out studied regions.…”

Section: Natural Gas Storage Examplementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The "over-pressurization" of the pre-existing natural gas storage, when being not available new sites (not accepted by public typically [4][5][6]10], is the recent solution exploited in Italy or elsewhere. Some initiatives as the "Collegato Ambientale-Vaccari-PD" 2015", which render mandatory over the entire country the exclusion of "saline aquifers" for gas storage sites, should be discharged, as "populistic" political initiative (see the article on Il Sole 24Ore, May, 24, 2015, signed by Fedora Quattrocchi).…”

Section: Natural Gas Storage Examplementioning

confidence: 99%

From Separated Laws and Directives to a Unique Regulatory Issue in Europe about the Synergic and Conflicting Use of Subsurface to Produce Low Carbon Energy

Quattrocchi¹

2019

IJES

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

At the European Parliament is urgent need to merge a "Unified European Directive for the use of subsurface and lands to produce energy/heat/resources", especially creating an "unified permit exploration", because energy-heat technologies for the subsurface are multiplied and increasingly interconnected: i) the same crustal block can now be used both at several layers and in several geologic strata, for example combining geothermal energy with CO2 storage: ii) gas production with subsequent or simultaneous natural gas storage (CH4) both conventional and unconventional (CBM = Coal Bed Methane, as well as shale/oil gas); iii) injection of fluids during the production geothermal energy; iv) energy storage in the upper layers and maybebelow-a reservoir of Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS) to reinject fluids: the CO2 can be stored in coal beds at shallower levels or by deeper Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR-CO2); v) shale gas can be extracted with aqueous fluids, from other layers, as scrap unconventional production in more desert areas (i.e. where induced/triggered seismicity has less risk). Water waste management is to be included too, as well as regulatory framework for abandoned-orphan wells. The vision of the paperhere only partially discussed due to the few pages available, moves and is driven by the multi-faced Italian regulatory framework, which is very complete/complex, despite divided in-at least-5 different laws, not jointed in any manner up to date each-other. In particular, a dozen Italian laws would be merged in a single law/directive, "Unified European Directive for the use of subsurface and lands to produce energy/heat/resources", that makes faster the authorization process for a "unified permit exploration" both at Ministry of Economic Development and at Environmental Impact Assessment (VIA-VAS) procedures. As an example, the pre-existing laws, including geothermal energy legislation opening the market to little enterprises too-that only recently (2010) has been renewed, is already obsolete, both in the light of public acceptance issues (very useful should be the use of 3D printer scaled underground vision!), and in the light of new technologies using the underground 3D space to produce energy-heat, coming from overseas, to be customized for each country in the Strategic Energy Planning (SEN).

show abstract

Ground heating and methane oxidation processes at shallow depth in Terre Calde di Medolla (Italy): Observations and conceptual model

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The toponym "Terre Calde di Medolla" (literally, "Warm Earths of Medolla") refers to a farming area, located near the town of Modena (Emilia-Romagna region, northern Italy), which has always been known by the local population for the relatively high temperatures of the soil. This phenomenon is particularly evident in wintertime when the snow cover over this area rapidly melts. A detailed investigation, carried out after the devastating 2012 Emilia earthquake that affected this area, showed soil temperatures up to 44°C, i.e., 20-25°C above the local background value, together with diffuse soil fluxes of CH 4 (0-2432 g × m, especially from subcircular (a few meters in diameter) zones. Ground heating and gas seepage appear spatially correlated, thus suggesting a close relationship between the two phenomena. The anomalous high ground temperature is not associated with an anomalous geothermal gradient or with the uprising of deep-seated hot fluids. According to the lateral and vertical distributions of the temperatures as well as the chemical and isotopic compositions of the soil gases, the most reliable explanation is the exothermic oxidation of diffusely uprising biogenic methane at very shallow levels (<1 m). Such a process occurs in the presence of free oxygen and methanotrophic bacteria and can then explain (i) the observed ground heating up, (ii) the diffuse emission from the soil of CO 2 characterized by an extremely negative isotopic ( 13 C/ 12 C) signature, and (iii) the lack of diffuse and low CH 4 fluxes. According to these hypotheses, the heating phenomena affecting the shallow groundwater and the ground surface, as described by several witnesses in the area of the May-June 2012 Emilia earthquake, could be related to either a coseismic or postseismic onset of new areas affected by CH 4 seepage or an increase in preexisting CH 4 fluxes.

show abstract

Geochemistry of shallow aquifers and soil gas surveys in a feasibility study at the Rivara natural gas storage site (Po Plain, Northern Italy)

Cited by 16 publications

References 84 publications

Geochemical and Geomorphological Analyses on Liquefaction Occurred During the 2012 Emilia Seismic Sequence

Geochemical and Geomorphological Analyses on Liquefaction Occurred During the 2012 Emilia Seismic Sequence

From Separated Laws and Directives to a Unique Regulatory Issue in Europe about the Synergic and Conflicting Use of Subsurface to Produce Low Carbon Energy

Ground heating and methane oxidation processes at shallow depth in Terre Calde di Medolla (Italy): Observations and conceptual model

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About