Aerometric measurement and modeling of the mass of CO2 emissions from Crystal Geyser, Utah
Crystal Geyser in eastern Utah is a rare, non-geothermal geyser that emits carbon dioxide gas in periodic eruptions. This geyser is the largest single source of CO{sub 2} originating from a deep reservoir. For this study, the amount of CO{sub 2} emitted from Crystal Geyser is estimated through measurements of downwind CO{sub 2} air concentration applied to an analytical model for atmospheric dispersion. Five eruptions occurred during the 48-hour field study, for a total of almost 3 hours of eruption. Pre-eruption emissions were also timed and sampled. Slow wind during three of the active eruptions conveyed the plume over a grid of samplers arranged in arcs from 25 to 100 m away from the geyser. An analytical, straight-line Gaussian model matched the pattern of concentration measurements. Plume width was determined from least-squares fit of the CO{sub 2} concentrations integrated over time. The CO{sub 2} emission rate was found to be between 2.6 and 5.8 kg/s during the eruption events, and about 0.17 kg/s during the active pre-eruptive events. Our limited field study can be extrapolated to an annual CO{sub 2} emission of 12 kilotonnes from this geyser. As this is the first application of Gaussian dispersion modeling and objective timing to CO{sub 2} emissions from a geyser of any type, the present study demonstrates the feasibility of applying this method more completely in the future.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- US Department of Energy (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 15016180
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-TR-211870; TRN: US200511%%11
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PDF-FILE: 59 ; SIZE: 6.8 MBYTES; PBD: 7 Feb 2005
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Periodic changes in effluent chemistry at cold-water geyser: Crystal geyser in Utah
Timing and prediction of CO2 eruptions from Crystal Geyser, UT