Central Catalonia Geopark in the spotlight of research into climate change solutions

Geology is proving to be a key ally in the fight against climate change. With that in mind, a research team from the University of Barcelona and the University of Granada is currently working at the Central Catalonia Geopark. They are assessing the quality of certain geological formations in the area as potential analogues for underground CO₂ and green hydrogen reservoirs. 

The aim, as the Geopark's scientific director Ferran Climent explains, is not to turn these rocks into actual storage facilities but rather "understand how they work." Principal co-investigator Patricia Cabello adds: "Here we learn and gather as much information as possible in order to later apply it to real-life subsurface scenarios." 

Over 36 million years ago, central Catalonia was covered by a sea that disappeared as mountain ranges such as the Pyrenees rose. This geological history left behind rock formations and natural resources that define the current landscape and make it "an ideal environment" for study. 

As Climent points out, "here you can see this history in such detail and quality that it makes us unique on a global scale," adding that "it’s been so well preserved, and the outcrops are so good, close and accessible, that it makes it an ideal place for this type of research." 

The rock units found in the Geopark, especially those from the former Sant Llorenç del Munt delta, serve as useful examples of buried storage rocks, since they share similar characteristics to those being explored for gas storage. 

Eider Rua, a PhD researcher from the University of Barcelona, notes that the area offers "a lot of detail and data from the rocks." These studies help researchers create "a stratigraphic base of the area," which is later complemented with drilling data. "Normally, we can only get either subsurface data or data from the outcrops, and here we can get both," she highlights. 

Although these selected sites will never serve as actual storage rocks, precisely because they are on the surface, they provide a "very valuable" source of information to better understand subsurface formations. 

Gas storage as part of the climate solution 

According to Patricia Cabello, gas storage isn't the only solution, but it is one tool in the fight against climate change. "There are certain types of industries that are hard to decarbonise, like cement or energy production. As long as there are no alternatives to that problem, one option is to capture the carbon dioxide (CO₂) and inject it into these reservoirs as an alternative to releasing it into the atmosphere," she explains. "What we’re doing is advancing research to find the best reservoirs." 

In this way, the Central Catalonia Geopark is becoming a crucial ally in addressing the major environmental and social challenges of the 21st century. 

The Central Catalonia Geopark 

The Central Catalonia Geopark is a UNESCO Global Geopark that promotes the geological, natural, and cultural heritage of the region. First recognized in 2012, it encompasses 36 municipalities across the counties of Bages, Moianès, and Baix Llobregat.