The threat posed by climate warming, driven by the increasing concentration of atmospheric CO₂ resulting from the combustion of fossil fuels for civil, industrial, and transport energy use, has prompted research efforts toward innovative technological solutions.La minaccia del riscaldamento climatico, alimentata dall’aumento di CO2 in atmosfera a causa della combustione di combustibili fossili per usi energetici civili, industriali e di trasporto, ha spinto la ricerca verso soluzioni tecnologiche innovative. Among these, geological CO₂ storage (CCS) has emerged as a promising strategy to mitigate the global effects of climate change. In Italy, ENI has launched a CCS pilot project in the Ravenna area, exploiting offshore geological formations that previously hosted methane gas. The National Research Council of Italy (CNR) has been tasked by ENI with carefully monitoring the environmental impact of this activity, both in the marine environment and within the geological formations overlying the storage site.
The Gastone project, conceived and carried out by CNR, aims to assess the potential consequences of geological CO₂ storage on the marine ecosystem. The project is structured into three phases:
a preliminary pre‑storage phase, designed to characterize oceanographic, biological, biogeochemical, and geological properties and processes of the marine environment prior to the start of injection operations (Gastone Phase 1a, completed);
a subsequent phase of continuous monitoring during CO₂ injections, to detect any potential leakages and possible environmental alterations;
a final phase of post‑injection monitoring, carried out once reinjection operations have concluded. The monitoring activities conducted within the Gastone project are essential to ensuring the safety and sustainability of geological CO₂ storage. The data collected will contribute to a deeper understanding of the potential impacts of this technology on the marine environment and will support the optimization of storage procedures to minimize risks and maximize benefits. The project is highly complex and involves multiple CNR institutes.
PARTNERS
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Duration: October 31, 2024 - October 31, 2026
Budget: 9.000.000,00 €
Budget IRBIM: 4.000.000,00 €
Areas of Research:
Technical Collaborator
Messina
Technologist
Ancona
Researcher
Ancona
Technical Collaborator
Ancona
Researcher
Ancona
Technical Collaborator
Ancona
Technologist
Ancona
Researcher
Ancona
Technical Collaborator
Ancona
Technical Collaborator
Ancona
Researcher
Messina
Technical Collaborator
Ancona
Senior Researcher
Ancona
Researcher
Ancona
Senior Researcher
Ancona
Senior Researcher
Ancona
Technical Collaborator
Ancona
Researcher
Ancona
Technical Collaborator
Ancona
Researcher
Ancona
Technical Operator
Messina
Researcher
Ancona
Technical Collaborator
Ancona
Researcher
Ancona
Researcher
Ancona
Senior Researcher
Ancona
Researcher
Ancona
Referent:
Iole Leonori
To study the distribution of the two krill species in the Ross Sea (Antarctica) through acoustic methodologies.
Referent:
Lucrezia Cilenti
To introduce new knowledge and effective catching techniques aimed at reducing fisheries discard by reducing the impact of fishing activities on the lagoon environment.
Referent:
Michela Martinelli
NAUTILOS was created with the goal of complementing and expanding existing observational instruments and services in the EU, and enabling the collection of marine data with greater spatial resolution, temporal regularity, and length than currently available.
Referent:
Ernesto Azzurro
Filling the gaps in invasive species detection in the Mediterranean Sea.
Referent:
Gian Marco Luna
To assess the consequences of ice melting on biodiversity and functioning of the microbial food web in the pelagic ecosystem of the Terranova Bay coastal area (Ross Sea).