Recommended Citation
August 1, 2011.
Abstract
Understanding rock porosity, the fraction of rock volume that is in pores, is a key to modeling weathering and flow of water, petroleum and CO2 through geological structures. Weathering of rocks affects the CO2 cycle, nutrient cycle and soil formation. Rock porosity affects water flow rates and, in turn, affects weathering. Avizo software was used to explore, visualize and measure the reconstructed high-resolution X-ray micro-tomography data collected from scanned rocks. Many Avizo approaches were tried before arriving at an acceptable process to determine their porosity characteristics. Porosity dynamics are affected by weathering and lithification. At micron resolution, the image is cleaned up by Avizo and the picture emerges. This image, which shows the porosity of the rock, and the channels between the pores, may then be analyzed to reveal how easily CO2 will flow through it under pressure—and thus the capacity for CO2 sequestration at that site.
Disciplines
Geology | Graphics and Human Computer Interfaces | Mineral Physics | Other Environmental Sciences
Mentor
Dr. Dula Parkinson
Lab site
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL)
Funding Acknowledgement
This material is based upon work supported by the S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation and by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0952013. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation or the National Science Foundation.
Included in
Geology Commons, Graphics and Human Computer Interfaces Commons, Mineral Physics Commons, Other Environmental Sciences Commons
URL: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/star/59