- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
Quantifying Uncertainty in Subsurface Systems
About This Book
Under the Earth's surface is a rich array of geological resources, many with potential use to humankind. However, extracting and harnessing them comes with enormous uncertainties, high costs, and considerable risks. The valuation of subsurface resources involves assessing discordant factors to produce a decision model that is functional and sustainable. This volume provides real-world examples relating to oilfields, geothermal systems, contaminated sites, and aquifer recharge.
Volume highlights include:
- A multi-disciplinary treatment of uncertainty quantification
- Case studies with actual data that will appeal to methodology developers
- A Bayesian evidential learning framework that reduces computation and modeling time
Quantifying Uncertainty in Subsurface Systems is a multidisciplinary volume that brings together five major fields: information science, decision science, geosciences, data science and computer science. It will appeal to both students and practitioners, and be a valuable resource for geoscientists, engineers and applied mathematicians.
Read the Editors' Vox: eos.org/editors-vox/quantifying-uncertainty-about-earths-resources
Frequently asked questions
Information
1
The Earth Resources Challenge
1.1. WHEN CHALLENGES BRING OPPORTUNITIES
- Fossil fuels will remain an important energy source for the next several decades. Burning fossil fuels is not a sustainable practice. Hence, the focus will be on the transformation of this energy, least impacting the environment as possible. An optimal exploitation, by minimizing drilling, will require a better understanding of the risk associated with the exploration and production. Every mistake (drilling and spilling) made by an oil company has an impact on the environment, direct or indirect. Even if fossil fuels will be in the picture for a while, ideally we will develop these resources as efficient as possible, minimally impacting the environment.
- Heat can be used to generate steam, drive turbines, and produce energy (high enthalpy heat systems). However, the exploitation of geothermal systems is costly and not always successful. Injecting water into kilometer‐deep wells may end up causing earthquakes [Glanz, 2009]. Reducing this risk is essential to a successful future for geothermal energy. In a low enthalpy system, the shallow subsurface can be used as a heat exchanger, for example through groundwater, to heat buildings. The design of such systems is dependent on how efficient heat can be exchanged with groundwater that sits in a heterogeneous system, and the design is often subject to a natural gradient.
- Groundwater is likely to grow as a resource for drinking water. As supply of drinking water, this resource is however in competition with food (agriculture) and energy (e.g., from shales). Additionally, the groundwater system is subject to increased stresses such as from over‐pumping and contamination.
- Minerals resources are exploited for a large variety of reasons. For example, the use of Cu/Fe in infrastructure, Cd/Li/Co/Ni for batteries, rare earth elements for amplifiers in fiber‐optic data transmission or mobile devices, to name just a few. An increase in the demand will require the development of mining practices that have minimal effect on the environment, such as properly dealing with waste as well as avoiding groundwater contamination.
- Storage of fluids such as natural gas, CO2, or water (aquifer storage and recovery) in the subsurface is an increasing practice. The porous subsurface medium acts as a permanent or temporary storage of resources. However, risks of contamination or loss need to be properly understood.
Table of contents
- COVER
- PREFACE
- AUTHORS
- 1 The Earth Resources Challenge
- 2 Decision Making Under Uncertainty
- 3 Data Science for Uncertainty Quantification
- 4 Sensitivity Analysis
- 5 Bayesianism
- 6 Geological Priors and Inversion
- 7 Bayesian Evidential Learning
- 8 Quantifying Uncertainty in Subsurface Systems
- 9 Software and Implementation
- 10 Outlook
- INDEX
- END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT