Advancing Environmental CO₂ Monitoring Capabilities for CCS Projects in Offshore Environments: Field Studies at Natural CO₂ Venting Site in Panarea, Italy with application to Ravenna CCS

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is one of the key levers in global decarbonization strategies to limit the global temperature rise. With increasing public and private support, the number of new CCS projects announced and under development has grown rapidly. Many of the CO₂ storage sites under development are located in offshore areas and, as part of the measures needed to ensure the safe permanent storage of captured CO₂, a robust monitoring program of the storage sites must be established. In the marine domain, environmental surveys are needed that are capable of detecting the extremely unlikely occurrence of subsea releases of geologically stored CO₂. Monitoring marine environment is a major challenge due to the vast area that needs to be covered and the significant natural background variability. These surveys as part of a CCS project must be operationally integrated, cost-effective, and able to fulfil the regulatory requirements.