10 1002@ghg 1911

Original Research Article
Continuous gravity observation with

a superconducting gravimeter at the
Tomakomai CCS demonstration site,
Japan: applicability to ground-based
monitoring of offshore CO2 geological
storage
Hiroki Goto and Mituhiko Sugihara, Geological Carbon Dioxide Storage Technology Research
Association, Central 7, 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305–8567, Japan and Geological Survey of
Japan, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Central 7, 1-1-1 Higashi,
Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305–8567, Japan
Hiroshi Ikeda, Research Facility Center for Science and Technology, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1
Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305–8577, Japan
Yuji Nishi, Tsuneo Ishido and Masao Sorai, Geological Carbon Dioxide Storage Technology Research
Association, Central 7, 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305–8567, Japan and Geological Survey of
Japan, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Central 7, 1-1-1 Higashi,
Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305–8567, Japan
Abstract: Gravimetric techniques are used for monitoring the distribution and migration of CO2 stored
in geological formations. Superconducting gravimeters (SGs), because of their high sensitivity, can
enable continuous ground-based monitoring of offshore CO2 storage. For offshore monitoring
purposes, gravity stations should be located near the seashore to maximize the signal of interest. We
observed gravity continuously with an SG near the seashore at the Tomakomai carbon dioxide capture
and storage demonstration site in Japan to assess variation of the observed gravity and to evaluate the
applicability of this technique for monitoring of large-scale offshore storage. Strong noise caused by
strong winds and ocean waves was removed by low-pass filtering. The noise did not fundamentally
affect long-term gravity changes. The observed gravity was affected strongly by shallow groundwater
level changes but the effects were sufficiently corrected by expressing their effects as a summation of
linear functions of groundwater level changes. Considering all possible effects on gravity, the standard
Correspondence to: Hiroki Goto, Geological Carbon Dioxide Storage Technology Research Association, Central 7, 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba,
Ibaraki 305–8567, Japan.
E-mail: h.goto@aist.go.jp
Received February 20, 2019; revised June 21, 2019; accepted July 16, 2019
Published online at Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI: 10.1002/ghg.1911

C 2019 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Greenhouse Gas Sci Technol. 0:1–14 (2019); DOI: 10.1002/ghg 1
H Goto et al. Original Research Article: Continuous gravity observation at the Tomakomai CCS demonstration site
deviation of the gravity residuals during 85 days of observation was minimized to 7.5–8.2 nm s–2 .
Based on the model setting of the Tomakomai site, the estimated annual gravity changes caused by
industrial-scale injection (1 MtCO2 year–1 ) into a hypothetical offshore formation (1 km depth) were –2.8
to –3.3 nm s–2 under different saturation conditions. The estimated changes exceed the observed
standard deviation in 2.3–2.9 years. These results suggest that injection-induced gravity changes can
be detected using SG within a few years. Therefore, the present ground-based gravimetric technique
can contribute to long-term monitoring of offshore storage. C 2019 Society of Chemical Industry and
John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Additional supporting information may be found online in the Supporting Information section at the end
of the article.
Keywords: gravity data correction; gravity monitoring; groundwater; offshore CO2 geological storage;
superconducting gravimeter; Tomakomai CCS demonstration project
Introduction benchmarks at the ocean bottom to minimize

measurement uncertainty. However, such benchmarks
onitoring CO2 distribution and migration can disturb coastal fishing activities and can be lost
M in the subsurface is necessary for managing

the geological storage of CO2 . Monitoring
activities should be undertaken not only during CO2
because of them.4 High costs of performing offshore
surveys are another shortcoming. Drilling boreholes
offshore for borehole measurements is also expensive.
injection but also for long periods after the cessation of Ground-based techniques are reasonable for use in
injection. Therefore, cost-effective techniques are monitoring offshore storage in Japan.
preferred.1 Active seismic techniques play an Gravity changes caused by offshore CO2 injection are
important role in demonstrating that CO2 remains in smaller at onshore ground-based stations than those
the intended storage formation and in detecting above the offshore CO2 plume. However,
possible leakage.2 Nevertheless, repeating seismic superconducting gravimeters (SGs), because of their
surveys frequently over long periods of time is high sensitivity, can enable ground-based monitoring
generally regarded as expensive. of offshore storage. Prothero and Goodkind developed
Gravimetric techniques represent a potential the SG, a relative gravimeter;18 the conventional
cost-effective alternative and complementary method mass–spring system is replaced by a superconducting
to seismics,3 but they have been used at only a few CO2 niobium sphere floating in a magnetic field created by
storage sites.4–7 Time-lapse ocean bottom currents induced in superconducting coils. The
measurements with portable relative gravimeters were nominal SG measurement accuracy in the time domain
conducted at the Sleipner site in the North Sea.4–6 is 1 nm s–2 (0.1 µGal), which is higher than those of
Their repeated measurements at a grid of benchmarks other gravimeters by 1–2 orders of magnitude.19 Their
provided useful information on the in situ density of capability of recording gravity continuously over
CO2 , the lateral extent of a CO2 plume, and the rate of periods of years to decades is another unique benefit
CO2 dissolution in formation water.4–6 After they can provide.19 A shortcoming of SG is its
time-lapse borehole measurements were proposed,3 instrumental drift, which can result from the aging of
their feasibility was assessed at the Cranfield site in the different SG parts, manifested as a leak inside the SG
United States.7 Several simulation studies have assessed sensing unit, poor temperature control inside the
the availability of gravimetric techniques for gravimeter, magnetic field instability, a damaged
monitoring CO2 storage.3,8–15 capacitance bridge surrounding the sphere to detect its
In Japan, where offshore geological storage within a motion, or gas adsorption or desorption on the
moderate distance from the coastline is recognized as sphere.20 Nevertheless, combining continuous
having the greatest potential,16,17 it is not always easy to observations using SGs and repeated absolute gravity
use the gravimetric techniques described above. Ocean measurements can provide results that are expected to
bottom measurements require permanently deployed be more precise than those obtained using absolute
2
C 2019 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Greenhouse Gas Sci Technol. 0:1–14 (2019); DOI: 10.1002/ghg
Original Research Article: Continuous gravity observation at the Tomakomai CCS demonstration site H Goto et al.
gravimeters alone.21 Actually, drift is usually below the seafloor. It is ca. 2000 m to 3058 m from the
ascertained from repeated co-located measurements wellhead, measured by horizontal distance
taken with absolute gravimeters.19 It is represented as a (Fig. 1b).23,24 Since CO2 injection commenced in April
linear function of time for periods shorter than 10 years 2016, it has continued, but only intermittently.23,24 The
and as an exponential function for longer periods.20 injection rate has varied (7.6–25.3 tons h–1 ; 180–600
Detecting a smaller signal of interest benefited from tons day–1 ).24 The total amount of injected CO2 up to
locating gravity stations as close to the injection zone as September 1, 2018 was 207 209 tons.24
possible, e.g., near the seashore for onshore instruments, A portable SG (iGrav; by GWR Instruments, Inc., San
and requires correction of the observed data for various Diego, United States) was installed at the observation
effects on gravity. Nevertheless, gravity data obtained site in March 2015 (Fig. 1c). The SG and its peripheral
using SGs near the seashore have never been published. devices were housed in a metallic enclosure, called a
In fact, whether the observed data are sufficiently ‘field enclosure’, to protect them from damage by
corrected for various commonly occurring disturbing environmental phenomena such as precipitation,
effects has long persisted as an open question for study strong and corrosive salty wind, air temperature
in this area. Wind and ocean waves are often strong change, and corrosive sea spray.25–28 The SG and the
near the seashore, causing ground vibration that can be field enclosure were mounted separately on a 0.8-m
expected to make data recorded with SGs very noisy.22 thick reinforced concrete block constructed 0.6 m
This report is the first to describe the results below the ground surface. Below the concrete block,
of continuous gravity observation with an SG near the four 500-mm-diameter cylindrical concrete pillars
seashore at an offshore CO2 storage site. Observations were constructed at 6.5-m depth from the bottom of
were conducted at the Tomakomai carbon dioxide the block, where the ground was sufficiently hard. The
capture and storage (CCS) demonstration site, Japan. heads of the pillars were covered with gravel. The
The maximum CO2 injection rate at the site is 0.2 gravity station was located on a low hill (Figs 1c
million tons year–1 ,23 which is considerably lower than and 1d). A sandy beach extends from the low hill down
that of industrial-scale injection, e.g., 1 million tons to the sea (Figs 1c and 1d). The low hill elevation
year–1 .1 Therefore, the estimated maximum annual increases gradually to 8 m above mean sea level
gravity change caused by injection at the gravity station (Figs 1c and 1d). The SG output data, including
is –0.7 nm s–2 (Supporting Information S1), which barometric pressure data obtained using a barometer
is less than the reported accuracy of SG. This study was attached to the SG, were recorded every second.
conducted to assess variation in the observed gravity Observations were interrupted occasionally by
near the seashore after correcting for various disturbing machine trouble such as air conditioner filter corrosion
effects. In addition, this study investigated the caused by airborne salt and malfunction of the
applicability of the ground-based gravimetric technique cryogenic refrigerator. The air conditioner was
with SGs to the monitoring of offshore storage. replaced with a new one to mitigate corrosion-related
malfunctions. Continuous data were obtained from the
end of July 2017, although recording was interrupted
Methods twice by 1-day maintenance sessions for less than 24 h
Gravity observation on August 9–10, 2017 and on November 20–21, 2017.
A CO2 storage field test was conducted in an offshore More details related to the observation methods are
formation in Tomakomai, Japan (Fig. 1). The presented in Supporting Information S2.
implementation of the test was commissioned to Japan The gravity data were first low-pass filtered using a
CCS Co., Ltd. by the New Energy and Industrial least-squares filter installed in the Tsoft software (Royal
Technology Development Organization, with funding observatory of Belgium, Brussels, Belgium) with a
for operating expenses provided by the Ministry of cut-off frequency of 0.001 Hz.29 Figs 2a and 2b
Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan.23,24 The storage respectively present data obtained on December 24 and
formation, designated as the Moebetsu Formation, is a 25, 2017 before and after low-pass filtering, with wind
lower quaternary saline formation.23,24 It extends from speed measured by the Japan Meteorological Agency
ca. 1000 m depth to ca. 1200 m below the seafloor and (https://www.jma.go.jp) at 8 km distance from the
is overlain by a mudstone layer.23,24 The CO2 injection gravity station. After the increase in wind speed, the
interval extends from a depth of ca. 1000 m to 1188 m short-period noise amplitude became large, probably

Figure 1. Location map of the study site: (a) Tomakomai City, Japan; (b) CO2
injection well and gravity observation site; (c) superconducting gravimeter (SG),
absolute gravimeter (AG), groundwater level observation wells (GB1 and GB2),
rain gauge, and global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver; (d) cross-
sectional elevation along the dotted line AB in (c). Dotted and solid bold lines in
(b) represent the cased part of the CO2 injection well and the injection interval,
respectively. Broken lines in (c) show approximate boundaries separating
the sandy beach, the slope, and the low hill where the SG was installed.
Maps are based on the blank map and aerial photographs. Elevation data in
(d) are based on the 5-m grid digital elevation model, all of which are available
from the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (http://www.gsi.go.jp).
because of ground vibration caused by lapping waves After the low-pass filtered data were reduced
and by the vibrating 3.8-m tall fences surrounding the to hourly data, they were corrected for well-known
field enclosure on three sides. The power spectrum effects of tides, polar motion, and barometric
densities presented in Fig. 2c indicate short-period pressure changes, as described hereinafter. The
noise at frequencies higher than 0.001 Hz as stronger polar motion effect (Fig. 3a) was calculated using Earth
on December 25 than on December 24, but those at orientation parameters provided by the International
lower frequencies are comparable on both days. Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service
Therefore, we infer that the short-period noise did not (https://www.iers.org). The effects of long-period tides
fundamentally affect long-term gravity changes. The (Fig. 3b), which are longer than diurnal changes, were
noise makes it difficult to recognize any signal, computed theoretically based on the tidal potential
including the tidal signal. However, it was removed by reported by Tamura.30 After removing these effects
low-pass filtering sufficient to recognize at least the from the decimated data, the residuals were corrected
tidal signal. Our observational setup has remained for short-period tides (Fig. 3c) and barometric pressure
mostly unchanged since the SG installation, making it changes (Fig. 3d) using the BAYTAP-G (National
difficult to identify which setup is necessary for Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Oshu, Japan) tidal
near-seashore observations. However, protection of the analysis program.31 The analysis calculated the gravity
SG with the field enclosure and mounting them on a changes attributable to barometric pressure changes
concrete block is necessary to prevent the SG from as the product of the measured barometric pressure
being swayed by strong winds. changes and the admittance factor, estimated as
4
Figure 2. (a) Observed results before and after low-pass filtering, (b) wind speed
measured by the Japan Meteorological Agency (https://www.jma.go.jp) at 8 km
distance from the gravity station, and (c) power spectrum densities of the
observed data on December 24 and 25, 2017.
–4.77 nm s–2 hPa–1 . Input values during the two sandwiched between the two sand layers. Perched water
maintenance sessions, each less than 24 h, were treated and regional unconfined groundwater (hereinafter,
as missing data for these analyses because BAYTAP-G unconfined groundwater) were found in the upper and
allows occasional data loss and interpolates missing data lower sand layers, respectively. Groundwater level
if their positions are marked.31 No spike or offset of the changes were monitored in the two wells with different
recorded data was corrected. Residuals obtained after screen depths (Fig. 4). For monitoring the unconfined
the corrections explained above are presented in Fig. 3e. groundwater level, CTD-Diver and Baro-Diver (Van
Essen Instruments, Delft, The Netherlands) were used
to measure the absolute pressures of water in the well
Hydrological observation and in the atmosphere, respectively. For the perched
Shallow groundwater levels and precipitation were water level, a water level sensor (CWG-H10-C20;
monitored to elucidate the hydrological effects on Climatec Inc., Tokyo, Japan) was used to measure the
gravity. Two wells designated as GB1 and GB2 were water pressure in the well relative to the barometric
drilled side by side at 7-m distance from the SG pressure. Groundwater level observations started in
(Fig. 1c). Figure 4 shows the geological column from early June 2018. The unconfined groundwater level was
GB1. The top unit comprises gravelly sand. The second recorded every 5 min. The perched water level was
and fourth comprise sand. A thin clayey silt layer is recorded every hour. Using a heated rain and snow

Figure 3. Results obtained from July 23, 2017 through September 4, 2018:
estimated gravity changes caused by (a) polar motion, (b) long-period tides,
(c) short-period tides, and (d) barometric pressure changes; (e) observed
gravity data after correction for the effects described above. Additional
details are available in the text.
gauge, cumulative precipitation was measured every 10 complex nature of hydrological processes.19 Results
min at 15-m distance from the SG (Fig. 1c). demonstrated that the residual gravity after the
corrections described above was influenced
considerably by the perched water level changes. This
Results and discussion study assessed results obtained during June 11, 2018
Comparison of gravity and groundwater through September 4, 2018, when the perched water
levels level was monitored.
Although hydrological effects on gravity are generally Figure 5 presents the residual gravity, the perched
the most important of the remaining disturbing effects, water elevation, the unconfined groundwater elevation,
they are often difficult to estimate because of the and the hourly precipitation. The gravity changes
6
synchronously with the perched water level. Actually, it

is influenced strongly by the perched water level
changes – the perched water level increases after the
commencement of rainfall and reaches the local
maximum after rainfall; it decreases thereafter. These
results indicate that rainwater infiltrates into and
moves downward through the top two sand layers.
Then it reaches the perched water table; it flows away
from the aquifer thereafter.
The unconfined groundwater levels (Fig. 5c) are those
Figure 4. Geological column from GB1 and the
structures of GB1 and GB2; GB1 and GB2 were
from which tidal components estimated using the
drilled for monitoring the unconfined groundwater program BAYTAP-G were removed.31 The amplitude
level and perched water level, respectively.
Figure 5. Observed results from June 11, 2018 through September 4,

2018: (a) observed gravity data after correcting for tides, polar motion,
and barometric pressure changes; (b) perched water elevation; (c)
unconfined groundwater elevation after correcting for tidal fluctuations;
and (d) hourly precipitation.

of the tidal components was small: ca. 0.01 m. Data Table 1. Results of gravity data correction for
that were obtained but not corrected are not presented groundwater level changes: gd denotes the linear
in Fig. 5c. In contrast to the perched water level, instrumental drift of the SG, rp and ru are
the unconfined groundwater level does not respond empirical coefﬁcients, and SD is the standard
quickly to rainfall. This fact suggests that the clayey deviation of residual gravity after correction.
silt layer between the two sand layers (Fig. 4) is almost gd rp ru SD
impermeable and that it is present over a sufficiently Case (nm s–2 year–1 ) (nm s–2 m–1 ) (nm s–2 m–1 ) (nm s–2 )
wide region around the wells to prevent the perched 1 0 123 65 8.2
water from moving downward through the silt layer or 2 30 130 47 7.8
to retard percolation to a considerable degree. Gradual 3 60 132 35 7.5
variations in the unconfined groundwater level are
thought to result from regional groundwater flow, which
is affected by rain infiltration. Investigating the causes Here, three values are assumed for gd : 0, 30, and 60 nm
of gradual variations will require more information s–2 year–1 . Gravity data correction for the groundwater
such as the lateral extent of the perched aquifer. level changes is applied for each value of gd to elucidate
the effects of the drift on the variation of gravity
Gravity data correction for groundwater residuals. The values of gd are chosen based on the
level changes iGrav specifications provided by the manufacturer: less
The gravity data presented in Fig. 5a have been than 5 nm s–2 month–1 (60 nm s–2 year–1 ; GWR
corrected for both groundwater level changes. The Instruments, Inc. [http://www.gwrinstruments.com]).
gravity changes attributable to perched water level The published results for most SGs show that the drift
changes are expressed as a linear function of the water is positive.20
level changes. In earlier studies, this simple approach Assuming the observed gravity after subtracting the
was applied for data obtained using SGs.32–36 Although drift (gobs ) to be explained exclusively and equally by
the groundwater level measured at a single location is both groundwater level changes, the two empirical
not always representative at a field scale, the model coefficients are optimized to minimize the root mean
simplicity produces some practical benefits. square error (RMSE), defined as

Considering the effects of the unconfined groundwater n
1 2
level changes similarly, the gravity changes (gw ) caused RMSE = gobs,k − gw,k (2)
by groundwater level changes are expressed as n
k=1
gw = rp hp + ru hu (1) where n denotes the number of data.

Table 1 presents the correction results. Figure 6
where r is the empirical coefficient, h represents the portrays results for gd = 60 nm s–2 year–1 by which the
groundwater level change, and subscripts p and u RMSE is minimized. The residual gravity (gres ) is
denote the perched water and the unconfined calculated by subtracting gw from gobs . The observed
groundwater, respectively. gravity is reproduced well by gw (Fig. 6a). The
Here, because of the lack of data obtained during the peak-to-peak range of the gravity is reduced after
observation period, the possible effects of surface correction from ±70.0 to ±24.6 nm s–2 for gd =
elevation changes on the gravity and the instrumental 60 nm s–2 year–1 . The standard deviation (SD) of gres is
drift of the SG (gd ) have not been removed from the the smallest for gd = 60 nm s–2 year–1 : it is 7.5 nm s–2
observed gravity. Surface elevation data are necessary (Table 1 and Fig. 6b). The values of rp and ru presented
to remove the elevation change effects. We recently in Table 1 are within the range of those obtained with
started continuous global navigation satellite system SGs in earlier studies: 28 nm s–2 m–1 at Metsähovi,
(GNSS) observations near the gravity station. For Finland;32 25–93 nm s–2 m–1 at Wettzel, Germany;33
future studies, those data will be corrected for use as 42–44 nm s–2 m–1 at Bandung, Indonesia;34 218 nm s–2
observed data elucidating effects. The drift is m–1 at Brussels, Belgium;35 152 nm s–2 m–1 at
commonly determined by repeated co-located Strasbourg, France;35 and 17 nm s–2 m–1 at Mizusawa,
measurements with absolute gravimeters,19 but it was Japan.36 Not only are their respective coefficients site
not found in this study (Supporting Information S2). specific, the reported values range widely.
8
Figure 6. Results of gravity data correction for groundwater level changes

when the instrumental drift is assumed as 60 nm s–2 year–1 : (a) observed
gravity data after correcting for tides, polar motion, barometric pressure
changes, and drift (gobs ), in addition to estimated gravity changes caused
by the groundwater level changes (gw ); (b) residual gravity calculated by
subtracting gw from gobs . Arrows in (b) indicate spikes recognized after
rainfall. Additional details are available in the text.
The optimized values of rp are much larger than those perched water level decreases (Figs 7d and 7f), the
of ru (Table 1). The SDs are comparable in spite of the surface gravity decreases similarly (Fig. 7e). If one
different drift values (Table 1). Therefore, the observed subtracts the gravity changes caused by the perched
gravity is more sensitive to the perched water level water level changes (gperched ) from the surface gravity
changes than to the unconfined groundwater level changes (gsurface ), then the residual gravity has a spike
changes and the drift. The difference in the drift is between the commencement of rainfall and the time at
weakly influential on the variation in gres within the which the infiltrated water reaches the perched water
assumed range. table (Fig. 7g). However, the spike of the residual
The effect of water movement in the unsaturated zone gravity is thought to not affect long-term changes to
was not considered in the correction described above. any considerable degree. The approach described
Although inclusion of this effect is expected to enhance above removes most effects of rainwater infiltration
the effectiveness of the correction, our simplified from surface gravity. Several spikes of gres after rainfall
approach is justified because it does not markedly indicated by the arrows in Fig. 6b can be interpreted
affect long-term changes. If one considers continuous based on the explanation given above. They suggest
homogeneous media below the ground surface, then that water movement in the unsaturated zone does not
rainwater infiltrates into and moves downward through strongly affect long-term changes.
the soil, as portrayed schematically in Figs 7a and 7b.
Having the Bouguer model of gravity correction in
Implications for offshore CO2 storage
mind,37 the surface gravity increases immediately after
rainfall commences (Fig. 7e), although the perched
monitoring
water level does not increase (Fig. 7f). When the Applicability under conditions resembling
infiltrated water reaches the perched water table those of the Tomakomai site
(Fig. 7c), the perched water level increases (Fig. 7f), To investigate the applicability of this technique to the
although the surface gravity remains constant monitoring of offshore storage, we estimate the gravity
assuming the Bouguer model (Fig. 7e).37 When the changes caused by industrial-scale CO2 injection, i.e.,

where G is the gravitational constant ( = 6.67 ×

10−11 m−3 kg–1 s–2 ), M stands for the mass change in
the formation in which formation water is displaced by
CO2 , and x and z express the horizontal and vertical
distances between the gravity station and the CO2
plume, respectively. Assuming homogeneous storage
formation, constant fluid properties, constant pore
volume, and constant saturation (SCO2 ) of supercritical
CO2 in the CO2 plume, M is written as

M = ρw2 φ 1 − SCO2 + ρCO2 φSCO2 − ρw1 φ V
(4)
where ρ w1 and ρ w2 respectively signify the in situ
density of formation water before and during injection,
ρCO2 is that of CO2 , φ represents the porosity of the
storage formation, and V denotes the volume of the
formation in which formation water is displaced by
CO2 . Assuming the mass fraction of CO2 in formation
water during injection to be constant at α, V is
Figure 7. Schematic diagram showing (a)–(d) the process of MCO2
rainwater infiltration into homogeneous continuous media V = (5)
ρw2 φ 1 − SCO2 α + ρCO2 φSCO2
and (e) corresponding temporal changes in surface gravity
(gsurface ), (f) perched water level or gravity attributable to where MCO2 represents the injected CO2 mass.
perched water level change (gperched ), and (g) residual gravity In calculations, the formation depth is assumed to be
obtained by subtracting gperched from gsurface . (a) Before the 1000 m. At 1000-m depth, ρ w1 , ρ w2 , and ρCO2 are
rainfall, a steady state condition is achieved. (b) After the estimated as 1020, 1031, and 645 kg m–3 , respectively.
rainfall, the surface gravity increases immediately because
For density estimation, the fluid pressure and
of rainwater infiltration; the rainwater moves downward
temperature are assumed as 10 MPa and 39°C,
almost vertically. (c) The perched water level increases
because of the arrival of the rainwater at the perched water
respectively. Details related to the estimation are
table. (d) Surface gravity and perched water level return to presented in Supporting Information S1. The
the initial values because of the discharge of the perched formation water before injection is assumed to be a
water. simple sodium chloride (NaCl) solution. The mass
fraction of NaCl and that of CO2 (α) in formation
water are assumed to be 32 and 43 g kg–1 , respectively.
more than 1 million tons year–1 .1 It is noteworthy that The constant injection rate of CO2 is assumed to be 1
the Tomakomai CCS demonstration project is designed million tons year–1 .
to inject around 300 000 tons of CO2 ,24 and that Figure 8 shows the annual gravity changes calculated
candidate sites for industrial-scale injection are from the assumption that SCO2 is 0.5. The annual
currently being sought in Japan. We assume a gravity change is –3.2 nm s–2 year–1 at x = 2000 m,
hypothetical storage formation for which the pressure which corresponds to the nearest position from the
and temperature conditions and the formation depth gravity station within the injection interval at the
resemble those found at the Tomakomai site. Tomakomai site. The gravity change at x = 2000 m is
Representing the CO2 plume as a fixed point mass, calculated as –2.8 and –3.3 nm s–2 year–1 for SCO2 = 0.3
the gravity change attributable to injection (g) is and 0.7, respectively, indicating that the results are
calculated from Newton’s law of universal gravitation influenced only weakly by SCO2 . The linear gravity
as changes, i.e., –2.8 to –3.3 nm s–2 year–1 , exceed the
observed SD of gres presented in Table 1: 7.5–8.2 nm s–2
GMz in 2.3–2.9 years. These results suggest that the
g = (3)
(x2 + z2 )3/2 injection-induced changes can be detected by SGs
10
45–50 years after commencement of the injection are

presented as the broken and dotted lines, respectively,
in Fig. 8. The simulation results are comparable to
those obtained by assuming a fixed point mass of the
CO2 plume at x > ca. 1800 m, but are not at x < ca.
1800 m. Therefore, it is reasonable to regard the plume
as a fixed point mass for gravity change estimation at
x = 2000 m, which corresponds to our monitoring
point.
For less-permeable storage formations, increased pore
pressure can increase porosity and thereby increase
surface uplift.38,39 Therefore, these effects on gravity
must be considered.12,13,15 However, pore volume
changes are assumed to be negligible at the Tomakomai
site because the storage formation is permeable.24
Figure 8. Estimated gravity changes caused by
industrial-scale CO2 injection: annual gravity
changes obtained representing the CO2 plume as Extension to other sites
a fixed point mass (denoted as g: point mass), Injection-induced gravity changes are site specific
those obtained from numerical simulation (denoted because of different site conditions. Therefore, the
as g: simulation 0–5 years and 45–50 years]), and
applicability of the technique differs among sites. Here,
elapsed times (tSD ) required for the linear gravity
the gravity change dependence on z and the in situ
changes to exceed the observed SD of
7.8 nm s–2 . The vertical dotted line represents the
temperature (T) are investigated by assuming the
nearest position from the gravity station within the estimation settings above for SCO2 = 0.5 and x = 2000
injection interval at the Tomakomai site. Additional m as a base case, i.e., z = 1000 m and T = 39°C.
details are available in the text. Densities ρ w1 , ρ w2 , and ρCO2 are varied for each z and
T. Details of the density estimation are presented in
Supporting Information S1.
within a few years if the SD is maintained at a level Figure 9 shows the calculated annual gravity changes
similar to that obtained in the present study, and if the and tSD for different values of z and T. Clearly, z and T
drift and the surface elevation change effects on the affect the gravity changes. The distance between the
gravity are removed from the observed data. In Fig. 8, gravity station and the CO2 plume varies along with
we present the elapsed time (tSD ) necessary for the the change in z, but the effect is limited because x
linear gravity changes to exceed the median value of remains large, i.e., 2000 m, compared to z. Density ρCO2
the observed SD presented in Table 1: 7.8 nm s–2 . The does not vary greatly within the range of 1000 ࣘ z ࣘ
applicability of the present technique depends on x. It 2000 m, i.e., 645–665 kg m–3 , because both pressure
is reduced when the CO2 plume is located at more than and temperature increase at greater depths. Because
3000-m horizontal distance from the gravity station ρCO2 is 450 kg m–3 for z = 800 m, the gravity change
because tSD is longer than 7.0 years. for z = 800 m is twice as large as that for the base case.
In the estimation explained above, the CO2 plume is Also, ρCO2 decreases with the increase in T; ρCO2 is
represented as a fixed point mass. The estimated 712 kg m–3 at T = 30°C and is 384 kg m–3 at T = 50°C.
gravity changes become different if one considers CO2 Therefore, the gravity change becomes greater for
migration in the storage formation. Figure 8 shows higher T. The gravity change and tSD are, respectively,
injection-induced gravity changes obtained from a –8.7 nm s–2 year–1 and 0.9 years for T = 50°C (Fig. 9b).
numerical simulation of injection into the hypothetical These estimated results suggest that the applicability
storage formation. Details of the simulation are of the present technique is enhanced with decreased
presented in Supporting Information S3. In the z and increased T. Results show that tSD is 2.8 years for
simulation, gravity changes nonlinearly with time z = 2000 m (Fig. 9a) and 3.3 years for T = 30°C
because of spreading of the plume. The calculated (Fig. 9b). Therefore, the present technique can be
annual gravity changes averaged over 0–5 years and inferred to contribute to long-term monitoring when

Figure 9. Estimated gravity changes caused by industrial-scale CO2 injection for different
values of (a) z and (b) T: annual gravity changes and elapsed times (tSD ) required for the
linear gravity changes to exceed the observed SD of 7.8 nm s–2 . Additional details are
available in the text.
the injection zone is at deep depth and is under the variation in the residual gravity at a similar or
low-temperature conditions. The parameter higher level than that obtained in this study.
dependence of the gravity change is useful for
ascertaining the gravity station locations effectively. Conclusions
Wilkinson et al.14 used a numerical approach to show
that gravity changes caused by accumulation of CO2 at Continuous gravity observations were conducted with
shallow depth after leakage from a storage formation the SG at the Tomakomai CCS demonstration site to
can be greater than those by injection, although the assess the variation in the observed gravity near the
result depends to a considerable degree on the seashore and to investigate the applicability of the
positional relation between the gravity station and the present ground-based technique to the monitoring of
accumulated CO2 plume. Their results suggest that the offshore CO2 storage. The following conclusions were
present gravimetric technique contributes to detecting obtained from this study.
CO2 leakage if CO2 has migrated and accumulated in 1. A large amount of noise caused by strong winds and
an area between a gravity station and the injection ocean waves was removed using low-pass filtering.
zone. The noise does not strongly affect long-term gravity
To investigate the capability of the present technique measurements.
to detect injection-induced changes quantitatively, one 2. The gravity observed near the seashore is affected
must obtain long-term data and then extract long-term strongly by shallow groundwater level changes, but
trends by performing time-series analysis of the data. it is sufficiently corrected by expressing their effects
To enhance the applicability of the technique, one must as a summation of the linear functions of
ascertain the instrumental drift accurately using groundwater level changes.
co-located measurements with absolute gravimeters. 3. The obtained SD of gravity after correction is
For the absolute gravity measurements, it is most 7.5–8.2 nm s–2 . The estimated linear gravity changes
important to maintain the precision of each absolute caused by industrial-scale CO2 injection into a
gravity measurement as high as possible using more hypothetical storage formation, the physical
than one absolute gravimeter, by maintaining them conditions of which are given based on the data of
correctly, and by comparing them to other absolute the Tomakomai site, exceed the SD in 2.3–2.9 years,
gravimeters or an SG at a reference station.21 suggesting that injection-induced gravity changes
Monitoring long-term land surface elevation changes can be detected with SGs within a few years if the
by obtaining GNSS data continuously at observation SD is maintained at a level similar to that obtained
sites is also important. Moreover, one must maintain in this study and if the drift and the surface
12
elevation change effects on the gravity are removed 10. Krahenbuhl RA, Martinez C, Li Y and Flanagan G, Time-lapse
from the observed data. monitoring of CO2 sequestration: a site investigation through
integration of reservoir properties, seismic imaging, and
4. Results suggest that this ground-based gravimetric borehole and surface gravity data. Geophysics 80:WA15–WA24
technique with SGs contributes to long-term (2015).
monitoring of offshore storage, and suggest that its 11. Jacob T, Rohmer J and Manceau J-C, Using surface and
applicability is enhanced when the horizontal borehole time-lapse gravity to monitor CO2 in saline aquifers: a
numerical feasibility study. Greenhouse Gases Sci Technol
distance between the gravimeter and the injection 6:34–54 (2016).
zone is smaller. The quality of results is maintained 12. Kabirzadeh H, Kim JW and Sideris MG, Micro-gravimetric
even when the injection zone is at a greater depth monitoring of geological CO2 reservoirs. Int J Greenhouse Gas
and under low-temperature conditions. Control 56:187–193 (2017).
13. Kabirzadeh H, Sideris MG, Shin YJ and Kim JW, Gravimetric
monitoring of confined and unconfined geological CO2
Acknowledgements reservoirs. Energy Procedia 114:3961–3968 (2017).
14. Wilkinson M, Mouli-Castillo J, Morgan P and Eid R, Time-lapse
This paper is based on results obtained from a project gravity surveying as a monitoring tool for CO2 storage. Int J
commissioned by the New Energy and Industrial Greenhouse Gas Control 60:93–99 (2017).
Technology Development Organization (NEDO). This 15. Kabirzadeh H, Kim JW, Sideris MG, Vatankhah S and Kwon
work was funded by the Ministry of Economy, Trade YK, Coupled inverse modelling of tight CO2 reservoirs using
gravity and ground deformation data. Geophys J Int
and Industry (METI) of Japan. We are grateful to the 216:274–286 (2019).
Tomakomai Port Authority for their permission to use 16. Takahashi T, Ohsumi T, Nakayama K, Koide K and Miida H,
public space and Japan CCS Co., Ltd. for their support Estimation of CO2 aquifer storage potential in Japan. Energy
in this study. We also thank two anonymous reviewers Procedia 1:2631–2638 (2009)
17. Ogawa T, Nakanishi S, Shidahara T, Okumura T and Hayashi E,
for their helpful comments. Saline-aquifer CO2 sequestration in Japan – methodology of
storage capacity assessment. Int J Greenhouse Gas Control
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Hiroki Goto Yuji Nishi

Hiroki Goto is a researcher at the Dr Yuji Nishi is an invited senior
Geological Survey of Japan, National scientist at Geological Survey of Japan,
Institute of Advanced Industrial National Institute of Advanced
Science and Technology. He obtained Industrial Science and
his PhD from the University of Tokyo Technology. He studies geophysical
in 2015. His research interest monitoring and modeling of subsurface
includes studies on gravimetry fluid relevant to geothermal fields,
and poroelasticity. volcanoes and CO2 geological storage.
Mituhiko Sugihara Tsuneo Ishido

Mituhiko Sugihara is a technical Dr Tsuneo Ishido has been involved
staff at the Geological Survey of mainly in geothermal exploration
Japan, National Institute of Advanced and reservoir engineering studies at
Industrial Science and Technology. He the Geological Survey of Japan. After
obtained his MSc from the University of retiring as a principal research scientist
Tokyo. He has been engaged in studies in 2009, he is currently a technical
on geothermal exploration and CO2 stuff at the CO2 Geological Storage
geological storage by means of micro Research Group, AIST. He obtained his
earthquake analysis and gravimetric techniques. PhD from the University of Tokyo in 1978.
Hiroshi Ikeda Masao Sorai

Hiroshi Ikeda is a former Masao Sorai is a leader
associate professor at the Faculty of of CO2 Geological Storage Research
Pure and Applied Sciences, University Group in Geological Survey of
of Tsukuba. He obtained his PhD Japan, National Institute of Advanced
from University of Tsukuba. He has Industrial Science and Technology. He
been engaged in studies on cryogenic obtained his PhD from Tokyo Institute
properties of high temperature of Technology in 2005. His research
superconductors, development of interest includes geochemistry
oxide magnetic materials, and improvement of and hydrology.
superconducting gravimeters.
14

10 1002@ghg 1911

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10 1002@ghg 1911

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Original Research Article

Continuous gravity observation with

John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Introduction benchmarks at the ocean bottom to minimize

M in the subsurface is necessary for managing

synchronously with the perched water level. Actually, it

Figure 5. Observed results from June 11, 2018 through September 4,

gw = rp hp + ru hu (1) where n denotes the number of data.

Figure 6. Results of gravity data correction for groundwater level changes

where G is the gravitational constant ( = 6.67 ×

45–50 years after commencement of the injection are

Hiroki Goto Yuji Nishi

Mituhiko Sugihara Tsuneo Ishido

Hiroshi Ikeda Masao Sorai

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