title: Small-scale modelling of the physiochemical impacts of CO2 leaked from sub-seabed reservoirs or pipelines within the North Sea and surrounding waters.
abstract: A two-fluid, small scale numerical ocean model was developed to simulate plume dynamics and increases in water acidity due to leakages of CO2 from potential sub-seabed reservoirs erupting, or pipeline breaching into the North Sea. The location of a leak of such magnitude is unpredictable; therefore, multiple scenarios are modelled with the physiochemical impact measured in terms of the movement and dissolution of the leaked CO2. A correlation for the drag coefficient of bubbles/droplets free rising in seawater is presented and a sub-model to predict the initial bubble/droplet size forming on the seafloor is proposed. With the case studies investigated, the leaked bubbles/droplets fully dissolve before reaching the water surface, where the solution will be dispersed into the larger scale ocean waters. The tools developed can be extended to various locations to model the sudden eruption, which is vital in determining the fate of the CO2 within the local waters.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Heriot-Watt University, Riccarton, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, Scotland, United Kingdom. Electronic address: md61@hw.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Marius
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dewar
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: McNeil
authors.forename: Baixin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000032:analysis*; D057965:Carbon Sequestration; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D052918:Environmental Restoration and Remediation; D008956:Models, Chemical; D009659:North Sea; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D014877:Water Pollution, Chemical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D002245:Carbon Dioxide
keywords: Bubbles; Carbon dioxide; Droplets; Leakage; Modelling