REGIONAL PRECAMBRIAN SURFACE AND MOUNT SIMON-LAMOTTE SANDSTONE MAPS

Regional subsurface data and maps are being compiled into databases for the Midwest Regional Carbon Initiative (MRCI) project. MRCI is a U.S. Department of Energy-sponsored collaborative regional initiative to accelerate the deployment of carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) in the Midwest and northeast United States. Two units are particularly crucial for understanding CCUS in the region; the Precambrian basement, and Mount Simon-Lamotte Sandstone. New regional Precambrian structure and Mount Simon-Lamotte Sandstone structure and isopach maps have been compiled from previous U.S. Department of Energy-sponsored carbon storage projects, as well as additional data and maps from Iowa, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and western Kentucky.

Structure on the regional Precambrian surface depicts the depth to the base of Paleozoic bedrock and shows the basins, arches, and faults across the region. Understanding the Precambrian surface is critical for (1) determining areas which have overlying Paleozoic bedrock more than 2,600 ft deep, which is the depth at which efficient carbon storage would occur in the region, and for (2) understanding potential risks associated with induced seismicity from future large-scale injection projects.

The Mount Simon Sandstone has the largest carbon storage potential in the region. Numerous Mount Simon thickness and structure maps have been generated, but most do not extend past state, basin or project-area borders. This new map compiles existing data into a seamless map across an eight-state area from western Iowa and Missouri to the Grenville Front. Thinner, equivalent sandstones east of the Grenville Front are depicted separately.