FUTUREGEN

New Geophysical Data Confirms FutureGen Site "Excellent" for Underground Storage of Greenhouse Gases

Contacts:
Rob Finley, Director, ISGS Center for Energy and Earth Resources 217-649-1744
Sallie Greenberg, ISGS Sequestration Communications Coordinator 217-766-7174

December 12, 2008
(Mattoon, IL) – The Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS) completed an evaluation of new geophysical data that confirms previous research indicating that the proposed FutureGen site in Mattoon, Illinois, is well suited for large-scale, long-term underground storage of carbon dioxide (CO₂), a major greenhouse gas. Researchers from the ISGS, a division of the Institute of Natural Resource Sustainability at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, provided much of the technical information that helped win the FutureGen competition for Illinois one year ago this week. With support from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and Coles Together, a regional economic development group, geologists and geophysicists used seismic instruments to provide a three-dimensional perspective of the subsurface extending in a 15-mile radius around the FutureGen site ...more on FutureGen

PRODUCTS - EVENTS

Shop Online:
Photographic History and
More!

Enjoy the convenience of shopping online for ISGS publications and maps. It's easy! Visit our secure Shop ISGS site, select the items you want, and order using your Visa or MasterCard. We'll confirm your order right away and send it out to you as quickly as possible, usually within 5 business days or less. Of course, if you prefer, you may continue to place orders by mail, telephone, or in person (ordering information).

The Illinois coal mining industry has been a vital part of the state's economy since the 1860s, and three 2008 coal-related publications top the list of new ISGS releases.

ISGS Circular 572, Photographic History of Coal Mining Practices in Illinois, is an attempt to gather, publish, and preserve a large collection of historic photographs documenting the processes, equipment, and people integral to the coal mining industry in Illinois. Many of these photographs... more about ISGS products

HIGHLIGHTS

Mahomet Aquifer Mapping Reveals Surprises and Gains International Collaboration

Bill Dey of the Illinois State Geological Survey and George Roadcap of the Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS) met with staff from Illinois American Water (IAW) in early November 2008 to select a drilling location by the company's water tower in north Champaign. The ISGS mobile drill rig was used to drill the hole November 18-20, 2008. Continuous core was collected during drilling, and core recovery was over 80%. A downhole gamma log was collected following drilling. Within the 305 feet of Quaternary sediments overlying the bedrock, only two sand units were encountered that were thick enough to permit installation of an observation well. Neither unit was the Mahomet Sand. A ten-foot-thick sand unit was found 105 to 115 feet below the land surface, which most likely is late Illinois Age material in the upper Glasford Formation. Although water is present in the observation well, which was constructed with 10 feet of 2-inch well casing below the screen, attempts to pump the well have thus far been unsuccessful. A second sand unit was encountered from 175 to 180 feet below the land surface. This sand is most likely in the lower Glasford Formation and could be part of a lower Glasford aquifer. Drillers' logs for water wells in the area report sand at or near this depth. The water level in the well was measured at 143 feet below the land surface on ...more highlights