Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English en
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS
Content archived on 2024-04-16

Rare gas isotope tracers of fluid movement related to deep geological processes

Objective

To characterize the inert gases associated with and emanating from deep crustal fluids, as an aid to evaluation and identification of geological structures.

The main elements of the proposed research plan are as follows :

1) Use He, Ne, Ar and Xe isotopic compositions of natural gas samples from known hydrocarbon reservoirs existing at different depths within the crust. Where possible samples will be obtained as a function of depth within particular regions.

The contributions of atmosphere, crustal radiogenic and mantle components will be resolved using the procedures outlined above, and their relative contributions with depth quantified. Limits will be placed on the transport mechanisms governing migration of deep source inert gases. Initially sampling will be concentrated on well-characterized fields in the North Sea, Po Basin, Vienna Basin and Aquitaine Basin.

2) Evaluate the nature and mechanism of rare gas retention and release from crustal rocks with differing thermal histories.

3) Attempt to quantify He-flux through selected regions of the crust where deep geothermal or hydrocarbon potential may exist at depth. The degassing history of the crust will be studied at two sites in the Po Valley. Both very shallow biogenic gases and very deep thermogenic gases in the Vienna Basin and the gas fields west of Debrecen will extensively be studied.

4) By combining results of (1), (2) and (3) above, attempt a full characterization of inert gas characteristics associated with emanation from deep crustal fluids.

5) Develop (as required) field sampling techniques appropriate to unforeseen opportunities to obtain deep source gases.

6) Publish a map with the isotope abundances in Europe.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.

You need to log in or register to use this function

Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Data not available

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

Data not available

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

CSC - Cost-sharing contracts

Coordinator

University of Cambridge
EU contribution
No data
Address
Downing Street
CB2 3EQ Cambridge
United Kingdom

See on map

Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

No data

Participants (1)

My booklet 0 0