The potential for mitigating climate change through intense geothermal development of the shallow subsurface so far remains widely unexploited. Concerns about negative effects on the groundwater chemistry are often stated as an obstacle, although for high-temperature (HT) range systems (<= 90 degrees C) this is largely based on relatively simple laboratory experiments. The compilation of (un)published laboratory and field data for Pleistocene and upper Tertiary unconsolidated sediments provides an initial empirical database for this discussion. Therein, concentration ranges of the main dissolved components at natural (10 degrees C) and elevated (25, 40, 70 degrees C) temperatures each show greater natural variability than temperature-induced changes, except for K, Si and OC. As expected from accompanying batch tests, Si-diss. and DOC exceeded baseline concentrations in a cyclic HT aquifer thermal energy storage field test (<= 80 degrees C). However, the hydrochemically modified plume remained limited to < 30 m downstream from the 'warm' well throughout the whole (post)operational monitoring period. Regarding groundwater quality, in future this empirical data basis must be expanded to trace components and other aquifer types such as sediments richer in C-org.

Zusammenfassung Das Klimaschutzpotenzial einer verstärkten thermischen Nutzung des oberflächennahen Untergrundes als saisonaler Speicher bleibt bisher weitestgehend ungenutzt. Als Hindernis wird häufig die Besorgnis vor negativen Veränderungen der Grundwasserchemie angeführt, welche für den Hochtemperatur-Bereich (HT-Bereich) (≤ 90 °C) jedoch größtenteils auf relativ einfachen Laboruntersuchungen beruht. Mit der Zusammenstellung (un)publizierter Labor- und Felddaten für Corg-arme, teilentkalkte pleistozäne bzw. jungtertiäre Lockersedimente wird dieser Diskussion hier eine erste empirische Datengrundlage gegeben. Darin zeigen Konzentrationsspannbreiten der gelösten Hauptkomponenten bei natürlichen (10 °C) und erhöhten (25, 40, 70 °C) Temperaturen, außer bei K, Si und OC, jeweils eine größere natürliche Variabilität als temperaturinduzierte Änderungen. Wie auf Basis begleitender Batchversuche erwartbar, überschritten Sigel. und DOC in einem zyklischen HT-Aquifer-Wärmespeicher-Feldversuch (≤ 80 °C) die Konzentrationsspannbreiten des Baseline-Monitorings. Die hydrochemisch modifizierte Abstromfahne blieb jedoch während des gesamten (Post)Betriebs-Monitorings auf < 30 m Entfernung zum ‚warmen‘ Brunnen begrenzt. Mit Blick auf die Grundwasserqualität muss diese empirische Datengrundlage zukünftig auf Spurenkomponenten und weitere Aquifertypen wie bspw. Corg-reichere Sedimente erweitert werden.

We report on the potential of elevated groundwater temperatures and zero-valent iron permeable reactive barriers (ZVI PRBs), for example, through a combination with underground thermal energy storage (UTES), to achieve enhanced remediation of chlorinated hydrocarbon (CHC) contaminated groundwater. Building on earlier findings concerning deionized solutions, we created a database for mineralized groundwater based on temperature dependence of tetrachloroethylene (PCE) degradation using two popular ZVIs (i.e., Gotthart-Maier cast iron [GM] and ISPAT sponge iron [IS]) in column experiments at 25 degrees C-70 degrees C to establish a temperature-dependent ZVI PRB dimensioning approach. Scenario analysis revealed that a heated ZVI PRB system in a moderate temperature range up to 40 degrees C showed the greatest efficiency, with potential material savings of 55% to 75%, compared to 10 degrees C, considering manageability and longevity. With a 25 degrees C-70 degrees C temperature increase, rate coefficients of PCE degradation increased from 0.4 +/- 0.0 h(-1) to 2.9 +/- 2.2 h(-1) (GM) and 0.1 +/- 0.1 h(-1) to 1.8 +/- 0.0 h(-1) (IS), while TCE rate coefficients increased from 0.6 +/- 0.1 h(-1) to 5.1 +/- 3.9 h(-1) at GM. Activation energies for PCE degradation yielded 32 kJ mol(-1) (GM) and 56 kJ mol(-1) (IS). Temperature-dependent anaerobic iron corrosion was key in regulating mineral precipitation and passivation of the iron surface as well as porosity reduction due to gas production.

The envisaged future dihydrogen (H2) economy requires a H2 gas grid as well as large deep underground stores. However, the consequences of an unintended spread of H2 through leaky pipes, wells, or subterranean gas migrations on groundwater resources and their ecosystems are poorly understood. Therefore, we emulated a short-term leakage incident by injecting gaseous H2 into a shallow aquifer at the TestUM test site and monitored the subsequent biogeochemical processes in the groundwater system. At elevated H2 concentrations, an increase in acetate concentrations and a decrease in microbial α-diversity with a concomitant change in microbial β-diversity were observed. Additionally, microbial H2 oxidation was indicated by temporally higher abundances of taxa known for aerobic or anaerobic H2 oxidation. After H2 concentrations diminished below the detection limit, α- and β-diversity approached baseline values. In summary, the emulated H2 leakage resulted in a temporally limited change of the groundwater microbiome and associated geochemical conditions due to the intermediate growth of H2 consumers. The results confirm the general assumption that H2, being an excellent energy and electron source for many microorganisms, is quickly microbiologically consumed in the environment after a leakage.

The effects of rising groundwater temperatures on zerovalent iron (ZVI)-based remediation techniques will be critical in accelerating chlorinated hydrocarbon (CHC) degradation and side reactions. Therefore, tetrachloroethylene (PCE) degradation with three ZVIs widely used in permeable reactive barriers (Gotthart-Maier cast iron [GM], Peerless cast iron [PL], and ISPAT sponge iron [IS]) was evaluated at 10-70 °C in deionized water. From 10 to 70 °C, PCE degradation half-lives decreased from 25 ± 2 to 0.9 ± 0.1 h (PL), 24 ± 3 to 0.7 ± 0.1 h (GM), and 2.5 ± 0.01 to 0.3 ± 0.005 h (IS). Trichloroethylene (TCE) degradation half-lives at PL and GM decreased from 14.3 ± 3 to 0.2 ± 0.1 h (PL) and 7.6 ± 2 to 0.4 ± 0.1 h (GM). This acceleration of CHC degradation and the stronger shift toward reductive β-elimination reduced the concentration of potentially harmful metabolites with increasing temperatures. PCE and TCE degradation yields an activation energy of 28 (IS), 58 and 40 kJ mol-1 (GM), and 62 and 53 kJ mol-1 (PL). Hydrogen gas production by ZVI corrosion increased by 3 orders of magnitude from 10 to 70 °C, and an increased chance of gas clogging was observed at high temperatures.

Increasing groundwater temperatures caused by global warming, subsurface infrastructure, or heat storage projects may interfere with groundwater remediation techniques using zero-valent iron (ZVI) technology by accelerating anaerobic corrosion. The corrosion behavior of three ZVIs widely used in permeable reactive barriers (PRBs), Peerless cast iron (PL), Gotthart-Maier cast iron (GM), and an ISPAT iron sponge (IS), was investigated at temperatures between 25 and 70 °C in half-open batch reactors by measuring the volume of hydrogen gas generated. Initially, the corrosion rates of all tested ZVIs increased with temperature; at temperatures ≤40 °C, a material-specific steady state is reached, and at temperatures >40 °C, passivation causes a decrease in long-term corrosion rates. The observed corrosion behavior was therefore assumed to be superimposed by accelerating and inhibiting effects, caused by surface precipitates where the fitting of measured corrosion rates by a modeling approach, using the corroded amount of Fe0 to account for passivating minerals, yields intrinsic activation energies (Ea, ZVI) of 81, 90, and 107 kJ mol-1 for IS, GM, and PL, respectively. An increase in H2 production might not be directly transferable to an increase in general ZVI reactivity; however, the results suggest that an increase in chlorinated hydrocarbon degradation rates can be expected for ZVI-PRBs in the immediate vicinity of low-temperature underground thermal energy storages (UTESs) or in the impact areas of high-temperature UTES with temperatures of ≤40 °C.

Hydrogen storage in geological formations is one of the most promising technologies for balancing major fluctuations between energy supply from renewable energy plants and energy demand of customers. If hydrogen gas is stored in a porous medium or if it leaks into a shallow aquifer, redox reactions can oxidize hydrogen and reduce electron acceptors such as nitrate, FeIII and MnIV (hydro)oxides, sulfate, and carbonate. These reactions are of key significance, because they can cause unintentional losses in hydrogen stored in porous media and they also can cause unwanted changes in the composition of protected potable groundwater. To represent an aquifer environment enclosing a hydrogen plume, laboratory experiments using sediment-filled columns were constructed and percolated by groundwater in equilibrium with high (2-15 bar) hydrogen partial pressures. Here, we show that hydrogen is consumed rapidly in these experiments via sulfate reduction (18 ± 5 μM h-1) and acetate production (0.030 ± 0.006 h-1), while no methanogenesis took place. The observed reaction rates were independent from the partial pressure of hydrogen and hydrogen consumption only stopped in supplemental microcosm experiments where salinity was increased above 35 g L-1. The outcomes presented here are implemented for planning the sustainable use of the subsurface space within the ANGUS+ project.

Gases stored in the subsurface for balancing power fluctuations potentially escape from their reservoirs and affect protected groundwater resources. Here we presented an integrated experimental and modeling approach examining the site-scale effects of a compressed air leakage into a shallow aquifer. A main consequence may be pyrite oxidation, which can be strongly inhibited by surface passivation in carbonate-buffered aquifers. Based on laboratory results, predictions for changes in groundwater composition at site-scale and suggestions for a leakage monitoring were presented. Our study found this workflow consisting of experiments and numerical simulations to be valuable for predicting geochemical consequences of gas leakages.

Numerical codes are applied to calculate chemical reactions following geologic carbon sequestration in deep formations and CO2 leakage in shallow formations. However, using different thermodynamic databases generates variations in the simulation results, which are referred to as the model uncertainty. The PHREEQC and The Geochemist's Workbench codes were used to simulate anorthite dissolution for storage, retention, transfer, and near-surface formation waters in the respective geological units. For each of the formation waters, a simple one-dimensional scenario was simulated using eight different thermodynamic databases. Groundwaters in shallow aquifers commonly exhibit low ionic strengths (<0.5 mol/kgw) and low temperatures, whereas storage formation waters are characterized by high ionic strength (>1.0 mol/kgw) and high temperatures. In storage formations, mineral trapping is the most efficient process for long-term CO2 storage. However, with respect to the geological formations and the time needed for anorthite dissolution, the model uncertainties associated with using different combinations of numerical codes and thermodynamic databases were largest (similar to 90%) for the storage formation waters at 58 degrees C and I = 6.5 mol/l. Conversely, in near-surface formation waters, the model uncertainty was less than 1%. Due to CO2 dissolution, the calculated pH of the formation waters decreased to a range between pH 4.0 and 5.5. In this pH range, the dissolution mechanism of anorthite switches from the slow neutral mechanism to the faster acid mechanism, causing dissolution time length variations. The calculated pH variation further increased with rising ionic strength. A detailed examination of the reasons revealed the activity coefficient calculation method of the main aquatic species to have the largest impact on the simulated model results. The calculation method of the CO2 activity coefficient had the second largest impact. Via calibration with the experimental data, a specific thermodynamic database can be chosen to represent these experimental results. However, the calibration of thermodynamic databases is not possible for all potential reactions in more complex geological systems at large ranges of temperature, ionic strength and pressure conditions. The uncertainties associated with using thermodynamic databases quantified in this study for CO2 storage systems will therefore persist independently from previously conducted calibrations of thermodynamic databases with experimental or field data. In view of these model uncertainties, the modeller is encouraged to include a routine in the simulations for quantification of the model uncertainty depending on the specific scenario or to assess the simulation results as a range of values that represent a soft outcome. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

New techniques and methods for energy storage are required for the transition to a renewable power supply, termed “Energiewende” in Germany. Energy storage in the geological subsurface provides large potential capacities to bridge temporal gaps between periods of production of solar or wind power and consumer demand and may also help to relieve the power grids. Storage options include storage of synthetic methane, hydrogen or compressed air in salt caverns or porous formations as well as heat storage in porous formations. In the ANGUS+ project, heat and gas storage in porous media and salt caverns and aspects of their use on subsurface spatial planning concepts are investigated. The optimal dimensioning of storage sites, the achievable charging and discharging rates and the effective storage capacity as well as the induced thermal, hydraulic, mechanical, geochemical and microbial effects are studied. The geological structures, the surface energy infrastructure and the governing processes are parameterized, using either literature data or own experimental studies. Numerical modeling tools are developed for the simulation of realistically defined synthetic storage scenarios. The feasible dimensioning of storage applications is assessed in site-specific numerical scenario analyses, and the related spatial extents and time scales of induced effects connected with the respective storage application are quantified. Additionally, geophysical monitoring methods, which allow for a better spatial resolution of the storage operation, induced effects or leakages, are evaluated based on these scenario simulations. Methods for the assessment of such subsurface geological storage sites are thus developed, which account for the spatial extension of the subsurface operation itself as well as its induced effects and the spatial requirements of adequate monitoring methods.

Despite decades of research in numerous experimental and field studies, the reaction kinetics of pyrite oxidation is still not characterized for high partial pressures of oxygen and near-neutral pH-levels. These conditions potentially exist in aquifers where oxidative site remediation, temporary water storage, or a leakage from a compressed air energy storage facility is present. For planning and monitoring of such field operations, their potential side effects on protected natural resources like groundwater have to be characterized. Thereby, site-scale assessments of such side effects of subsurface use by numerically modeling geochemical changes caused by the presence of oxygen need parametrization. Also, a function transferring results from simple, low pressure experiments to high pressure environments requires experimental bases. Pyrite oxidation can be the main consequence of oxygen intruding reduced aquifers. In this study, pyrite oxidation kinetics was examined at oxygen partial pressures from 0 to 11 bars, corresponding to an air intrusion in up to 500 m depth, at neutral pH-levels in high and low pressure flow-through column experiments representing aquifer conditions. A reaction rate equation was developed and evaluated with 1D PHREEQC numerical reactive transport models using experimental data as transfer function between high pressure and low pressure experiments. This model development included an improvement of established rate laws with a passivation term, which is, in contrast to previously published functions, dependent on the partial pressure of oxygen. The resulting model on passivated oxidation kinetics of pyrite at high oxygen partial pressures was able to reproduce independent experimental results acquired using different experimental set-ups. This assessment found the passivation to overcome the theoretical increase in pyrite oxidation kinetics caused by elevating oxygen partial pressure. These findings contribute to future experimental and modeling efforts for risk assessment and monitoring of oxygen-rich plumes in the subsurface.

Heating of groundwater by thermal energy storage (TES) poses a potential for the formation of a separate gas phase. Necessary boundary conditions, potential effects and monitoring feasibility of this process were not focused within previous studies. Since the formation of a gas phase could change groundwater flow conditions, hydrochemistry, porous media properties and thus efficiency of TES applications, improved understanding of the process is needed. The temperature of percolated sediment column tests was adjusted to 10, 25, 40 and 70 °C to quantify temperature-induced physical gas-phase formation and its effect on electrical resistance. Gas-phase formation, its accumulation and effects on hydraulic conductivity, heat conductivity and heat capacity were investigated using scenario calculations based on a closed-loop borehole TES system at 60 °C for different geochemical conditions. Experimentally quantified degassing ratios were within the expected range of thermodynamic calculations. The laboratory time-lapse electrical resistivity measurements proofed as a suitable tool to identify the onset and location of the gas-phase formation. Depending on the geochemical conditions, hydraulic conductivity in the area of the simulated heat storage site decreased between 60% and up to one order of magnitude in consequence of degassing within the scenario calculations. Heat conductivity and heat capacity decreased by maximally 3 and 16%, respectively. The results indicate that gas-phase formation as a result of aquifer heating can have pronounced effects especially on groundwater flow conditions and therefore should be considered particularly for nearly or fully gas-saturated groundwater and aquifers containing gas sources.

The need for subsurface energy stor¬age to balance the fluctuations in power production using renewable sources already exists, and based on the current deployment rate of wind and solar power stations, scenarios with a renewable share of up to 80% of the German energy production were developed for the next decades (UBA, 2010). Owing to the fluctuat¬ing character of renewable energy production, storage of gases, including compressed air, methane, and hydro¬gen may play a deciding role in the geological energy storage mix (Bauer et al., 2013). In case of a methane storage concept, the gas is generated from surplus renewable electricity via the Sabatier process, stored under¬ground in deep porous reservoirs or salt caverns, and retrieved and used in the existing energy system when needed. Any geological gas storage may result in leakages of the stored gas into shallow geological compart¬ments due to various reasons such as well failure (Evans, 2009). Evaluating hydrogeochemical reactions following such a potential accidental methane leakage into shallow aquifers are of particular importance for ensuring good groundwater quality, especially if the overlying shallow aquifers are used for drinking water production.

Underground land use can play a significant role in future concepts of energy and gas storage and requires an improved understanding of the parameters of potential storage formations (saline aquifers), for instance of porosity and permeability, and also of mineralogical and gas compositions. This study aims at providing data examples and calculating vertical spatial variations through variogram analyses of important North German geological reservoirs from Dogger, Rhaetian, Middle Buntsandstein, and Rotliegend (Sub)Groups and Formations, focusing on the western part of the North German Basin. Vertical correlation lengths of porosity and permeability data range between 0 and 30 m, while most results are calculated at approximately 2–4 m and do not show relevant differences among the evaluated formations. In the majority of the regarded formations, the Kozeny–Carman relationship between porosity and permeability is supported as long as low porosity and permeability values are excluded from the evaluation. Mineral percentages varied significantly among the evaluated sediments. Besides quartz, ankerite is the main compound in the Dogger Group, while feldspars and clay minerals were more frequent in the Rhaetian, Middle Buntsandstein, and Rotliegend sediments. Methane was the main gas compound in the reservoirs, followed by nitrogen, ethane, and carbon dioxide. This study serves as preparatory work to allow for the parameterization of geological models and a subsequent simulation of fluid transport to evaluate (long-term) safety and impacts of geothermal and gas storage projects.

Among the risks of CO2 storage is the potential of CO2 leakage into overlaying formations and near-surface potable aquifers. Through a leakage, the CO2 can intrude into protected groundwater resources, which can lead to groundwater acidification followed by potential mobilisation of heavy metals and other trace metals through mineral dissolution or ion exchange processes. The prediction of pH buffer reactions in the formations overlaying a CO2 storage site is essential for assessing the impact of CO2 leakages in terms of trace metal mobilisation. For buffering the pH-value, calcite dissolution is one of the most important mechanisms. Although calcite dissolution has been studied for decades, experiments conducted under elevated CO2 partial pressures are rare. Here, the first study for column experiments is presented applying CO2 partial pressures from 6 to 43 bars and realising a near-natural flow regime. Geochemical calculations of calcite dissolution kinetics were conducted using PHREEQC together with different thermodynamic databases. Applying calcite surface areas, which were previously acquired by N2-BET or calculated based on grain diameters, respectively, to the rate laws according to Plummer et al. (Am J Sci 278:179–216, doi: 10.2475/ajs.278.2.179, 1978) or Palandri and Kharaka (US Geol Surv Open file Rep 2004–1068:71, 2004) in the numerical simulations led to an overestimation of the calcite dissolution rate by up to three orders of magnitude compared to the results of the column experiments. Only reduction of the calcite surface area in the simulations as a fitting procedure allowed reproducing the experimental results. A reason may be that the diffusion boundary layer (DBL), which depends on the groundwater flow velocity and develops at the calcite grain surface separating it from the bulk of the solution, has to be regarded: The DBL leads to a decrease in the calcite dissolution rate under natural laminar flow conditions compared to turbulent mixing in traditional batch experiments. However, varying the rate constants by three orders of magnitudes in a field scale PHREEQC model simulating a CO2 leakage produced minor variations in the pH buffering through calcite dissolution. This justifies the use of equilibrium models when calculating the calcite dissolution in CO2 leakage scenarios for porous aquifers and slow or moderate groundwater flow velocities. However, the selection of the thermodynamic database has an impact on the dissolved calcium concentration, leading to an uncertainty in the simulation results. The resulting uncertainty, which applies also to the calculated propagation of an aquifer zone depleted in calcite through dissolution, seems negligible for shallow aquifers of approximately 60 m depth, but amounts to 35 % of the calcium concentration for aquifers at a depth of approximately 400 m.

New methods and technologies for energy storage are required to make a transition to renewable energy sources; in Germany this transition is termed "Energiewende''. Subsurface georeservoirs, such as salt caverns for hydrogen, compressed air, and methane storage or porous formations for heat and gas storage, offer the possibility of hosting large amounts of energy. When employing these geological storage facilities, an adequate system and process understanding is essential in order to characterize and to predict the complex and interacting effects on other types of subsurface use and on protected entities. In order to make optimal use of georeservoirs, a comprehensive use planning of the subsurface is required that allocates specific uses to appropriate subsurface locations. This paper presents a generic methodology on how subsurface use planning can be conducted and how its scientific basis can be developed. Although synthetic, realistic scenarios for the use of the geological underground for energy storage are parameterized and numerically simulated, accounting for other kinds of subsurface use already in place. From these scenario analyses, the imposed coupled hydraulic, thermal, mechanical and chemical processes, as well as mutual effects and influences on protected entities are assessed and generalized. Based on these, a first methodology for large-scale planning of the geological subsurface considering different surface and subsurface usage scenarios may also be derived.

The ambition to apply carbon capture and storage (CCS) requires the provision of effective monitoring approaches that can be applied to detect and to characterize a potential migration or leakage of CO2 and saline formation water into geological compartments between the storage formation and the protected groundwater resource. The sensitivity of monitoring techniques to detect such leakages into near-surface groundwater is therefore discussed in this study. The most significant geochemical processes following a CO2 leakage are the lowering of the pH due to the formation of carbonic acid and a rising of the electric conductivity (EC) due to mineral (especially carbonate) dissolution in the groundwater. It is shown that the variation in the EC is in principle detectable by geoelectric measurements. The detectability is reduced in non-calcareous aquifers, because the variation in the EC as a consequence of carbonate dissolution is at a lower level. Since the carbonate contents in such aquifers are barely known, a regionalization of carbonate contents in North German aquifers was only possible based on groundwater analyses. Although the geoelectric measurements can be in principle capable of detecting the effects of a CO2 leakage, their results can only cover a comparatively small area. The area-wide survey method of airborne-electromagnetics was tested for a base- line monitoring and may be suitable to detect CO2 leakages, but evaluating the sensitivity of this method with respect to variations in the geological parameters and boundary conditions of the CO2 leakage needs to be part of future works.

A prognosis of the geochemical effects of CO2 storage induced by the injection of CO2 into geologic reservoirs or by CO2 leakage into the overlaying formations can be performed by numerical modelling (non-invasive) and field experiments. Until now the research has been focused on the geochemical processes of the CO2 reacting with the minerals of the storage formation, which mostly consists of quartzitic sand-stones. Regarding the safety assessment the reactions between the CO2 and the overlaying formations in the case of a CO2 leakage are of equal importance as the reactions in the storage formation. In particular, limestone formations can react very sensitively to CO2 intrusion. The thermodynamic parameters necessary to model these reactions are not determined explicitly through experiments at the total range of temperature and pressure conditions and are thus extrapolated by the simulation code. The differences in the calculated results lead to different calcite and CO2 solubilities and can influence the safety issues.This uncertainty study is performed by comparing the computed results, applying the geochemical modelling software codes The Geochemist's Workbench, EQ3/6, PHREEQC and FactSage/ChemApp and their thermodynamic databases. The input parameters (1) total concentration of the solution, (2) temperature and (3) fugacity are varied within typical values for CO2 reservoirs, overlaying formations and close-to-surface aquifers. The most sensitive input parameter in the system H2O-CO2-NaCl-CaCO3 for the calculated range of dissolved calcite and CO2 is the fugacity of CO2. Hence, the largest range of dissolved calcite is calculated at high fugacities and is 210 mmol/kgw. The average deviation of the results using the databases phreeqc.dat and wateq4f.dat in combination with the code PHREEQC is lowest in comparison to the results of the specific model of Duan and Li, which represents the experimental values at best. Still, the solubility of CO2 is overestimated in the formation water using these two databases. Therefore, the model results calculate a larger retention capacity, defined as the quantity of CO2 dissolved in the formation water, than the Duan and Li model would do. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Capture and geological sequestration of CO2 from large industrial sources is considered a measure for reducing anthropogenic emissions of CO2 and thus mitigating climate change. One of the main storage options proposed are deep saline formations, as they provide the largest potential storage capacities among the geologic options. A thorough assessment of this type of storage site therefore is required. The CO2-MoPa project aims at contributing to the dimensioning of CO2 storage projects and to evaluating monitoring methods for CO2 injection by an integrated approach. For this, virtual, but realistic test sites are designed geometrically and fully parameterized. Numerical process models are developed and then used to simulate the effects of a CO2 injection into the virtual test sites. Because the parameterization of the virtual sites is known completely, investigation as well as monitoring methods can be closely examined and evaluated by comparing the virtual monitoring result with the simulation. To this end, the monitoring or investigation method is also simulated, and the (virtual) measurements are recorded and evaluated like real data. Application to a synthetic site typical for the north German basin showed that pressure response has to be evaluated taking into account the layered structure of the storage system. Microgravimetric measurements are found to be promising for detecting the CO2 phase distribution. A combination of seismic and geoelectric measurements can be used to constrain the CO2 phase distribution for the anticline system used in the synthetic site.