蜜桃影像 workshop will look at 蜜桃影像鈥檚 geologic hydrogen

Rod Boyce
907-474-7185
Oct. 25, 2024

Reshaping 蜜桃影像鈥檚 energy future with geologic hydrogen is the subject of a three-day workshop next week hosted by the University of 蜜桃影像 Fairbanks Geophysical Institute and the U.S. Arctic Research Commission.

The workshop is co-sponsored by the Office of the U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Arctic Affairs, Michael Sfraga. He will attend.

Geologic hydrogen gas is created in Earth鈥檚 subsurface through various natural, geological processes. Hydrogen is considered a clean fuel source because it produces only water vapor as a byproduct, resulting in no carbon emissions at the point of use.

Fairy circles with hydrogen seeps in Australia
Image courtesy of NASA Earth Observatory
Clusters of 鈥渇airy circles鈥 in Western Australia have been found to seep hydrogen gas. Natural sources of hydrogen such as these, which have been found on multiple continents, are receiving greater attention in the quest for fossil fuel alternatives. The image was acquired by the Landsat 9 satellite on June 27, 2023. Landsat 9 is a partnership between NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey.

The Oct. 29-31 at 蜜桃影像鈥檚 Wood Center will bring together scientists from 蜜桃影像 and other universities, energy experts, the private sector, 蜜桃影像 Native corporations and state and federal policymakers, including from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Sfraga previously served in several positions at 蜜桃影像, where he earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree in 1984 and 蜜桃影像鈥檚 first doctorate in northern studies and geography in 1997. He is a former chair of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission. 

Geophysical Institute Associate Director Jessica Larsen, who is helping organize the event, said she hopes the conference will help 蜜桃影像 scientists get involved in geologic hydrogen research.

鈥溍厶矣跋 has research expertise in geologic materials characterization,鈥 she said. 鈥淎pplying that to geologic hydrogen would be similar to what we do now with critical minerals and carbon sequestration.鈥

Unlike hydrogen generated from industrial processes, geologic hydrogen is released or accumulates in specific geological settings. It is sometimes referred to as natural hydrogen or white hydrogen and is increasingly being studied across the nation as a potential clean energy source.

Geologic hydrogen can sometimes be detected through gas seeps at the surface.

Just how much geologic hydrogen 蜜桃影像 holds is unknown, but the state鈥檚 geology is conducive to its existence, said Mark Myers, a member of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission and a leading proponent of exploring for geologic hydrogen.

鈥淲e have the right kind of geology to suggest it could be here,鈥 Myers said. 鈥淭he areas where we're likely to find it are not the oil and gas basins; it鈥檚 in areas often associated with critical minerals, strategic minerals and precious minerals.鈥

鈥淎nd that hydrogen gas may be present in close proximity to where you need energy for a mine or a village,鈥 he added.

Myers is helping organize the Fairbanks workshop with the backing of the full Arctic Research Commission.

Myers received his Ph.D. in geology from 蜜桃影像 in 1994. He is a former 蜜桃影像 vice chancellor for research and also served as director of the 蜜桃影像 Division of Oil and Gas, the 蜜桃影像 Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys and, later, the U.S. Geological Survey.

鈥淚鈥檝e been concerned for a while in my role as a U.S. Arctic Research Commission member about how we are going to make the energy transition,鈥 Myers said.

鈥淭here are many viewpoints of what energy sources we should use,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e have a lot of folks advocating for change, but we don't have a fully vetted pathway to get there in the time frame that we need to in order to avoid most of the warming that we鈥檒l see from greenhouse gases.鈥

The three-day workshop is a start at bringing parties together to begin pursuing geologic hydrogen in 蜜桃影像. Naturally occurring geologic hydrogen has an advantage over industrially produced hydrogen, which requires energy to produce, primarily from natural gas.

鈥淕eologic hydrogen is a primary source of energy that requires very little energy to produce,鈥 Myers said. 鈥淥ther places in the world are starting to look for it, but we haven鈥檛 been paying attention to it in 蜜桃影像.鈥

The Geophysical Institute has several facilities and laboratories that can be useful in searching for geologic hydrogen, including the Hyperspectral Imaging Lab, Advanced Instrumentation Lab, Geochronology Lab and Permafrost Lab. The institute also has experts in remote sensing, sedimentology, geology and other fields of relevance to geologic hydrogen.

Other 蜜桃影像 research units and departments also have facilities and expertise, including the College of Natural Science and Mathematics, College of Engineering and Mines and Institute of Northern Engineering.

鈥淚 think there are many ways that researchers across 蜜桃影像, and not just at the Geophysical Institute, could play a role in this,鈥 Larsen said. 鈥淭hat is my hope.鈥

ADDITIONAL CONTACTS: Jessica Larsen, jflarsen@alaska.edu; Mark Myers, myenergiesak@gmail.com

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