About the project
As we move to a low-carbon economy understanding and quantifying marine sources of methane and carbon dioxide emissions becomes more important. Such gases can be emitted from both man-made and natural sources. This project will develop acoustic methodologies that can detect and quantify these emissions.
Acoustic methods provide a powerful tool for monitoring gaseous emissions. The joint team based at the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research, the School of Ocean and Earth Science, and the National Oceanography Centre has been at the forefront of the development of the acoustic monitoring for the last decade. This research project is to be sponsored by, and will work with, the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) Teddington.
Methane and Carbon Dioxide can be emitted from natural sources, but may also be emitted from submarine infrastructure associated with natural gas pipelines, and carbon capture and storage (CCS) complexes. Although leaks are likely to be rare, it is important that we have technologies that are able to detect and quantify any emissions. This is vital for policy makers for assurance related to monitoring of CCS complexes, as well as leakages of methane from infrastructure.
As part of this project, you will conduct of a sequence of experiments aimed at improving our understanding of the sounds made by bubbles as they are emitted from the seabed into the water. This will include studying the influence of various factors, but primarily depth and sediment type.
These experiments will employ specialist facilities available at the University and at NPL. In addition to experimental work data collected in these experiments, data from sea trials will be analysed. The experimental work and analysis will be supported by numerical modelling of the physical processes involved.
