REGIONAL STRATIGRAPHIC CHARTS KEYED TO CARBON STORAGE POTENTIAL FOR THE MIDWEST AND NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES

Regional stratigraphic charts have been compiled for the Midwest Regional Carbon Initiative (MRCI). MRCI is a U.S. Department of Energy-sponsored project to accelerate the deployment of carbon capture, utilization, and storage in the Midwest and Northeast United States. Forty-eight stratigraphic columns representing all or parts of 12 states were constructed for the basin and arches part of the region. Chart areas are defined by (1) areas with Paleozoic bedrock more than 2,600 ft deep, which is the depth at which CO₂ can be stored in its supercritical state, (2) basin boundaries, (3) deep-seated structures, and (4) state boundaries, since state nomenclatures may differ from each other. Charts are constructed for the Forest City Basin and western arches part of the project area, Illinois Basin, Michigan Basin, west-central Appalachian Basin, central Appalachian Basin, northern Appalachian Basin, central arches region, and part of the Mississippi Embayment. Each chart has six time-stratigraphic columns depicting Paleozoic bedrock. Units on the columns are color coded to show which should occur at depths of more than 2,600 ft. Units are color coded relative to carbon storage as (1) regional saline reservoir targets, (2) local saline reservoir targets (including oil and gas reservoirs for enhanced oil and gas recovery with carbon storage), (3) general confining units, (4) confining units with evaporite beds, (5) confining units with shales, and (5) organic-rich shales. Precambrian strata are color coded as sedimentary or igneous and metamorphic rocks. These charts should help geologists and non-geologists quickly assess the units of importance for carbon storage and can be used for general correlation across the area.