What is MIDCARB?

The Midcontinent Interactive Digital Carbon Atlas and Relational dataBase (MIDCARB) is a research consortium composed of the State Geological Surveys of Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, and Ohio, with funding from the US Department of Energy through the National Energy Technology Laboratory. The main objective of MIDCARB is to evaluate the potential capacity for geologic sequestration of Carbon Dioxide in the member states. Geologic Sequestration of carbon is viewed as one of the top technologies for reducing the amount of this greenhouse gas (GHG) into the atmosphere. Obtaining realistic estimates of the potential amounts of carbon that can be stored in geologic reservoirs, and the locations of these reservoirs, is of vital importance to establishing this technology.

To share the results of this research with decision-makers and the general public the consortium has constructed an online distributed Relational Database Management System and Geographic Information System for analyzing the spatial relationships and technical characteristics of large point sources of CO₂ and geologic sequestration options. MIDCARB provides advanced distributed computing solutions that dynamically link database servers across each state allowing data to be maintained at the local level but accessed through a single web portal. When completed, the digital spatial database will allow users to estimate the amount of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emitted by source supplies (such as power plants, refineries and other fossil fuel consuming industries) in relation to geologic reservoirs that can provide safe and secure sequestration over geologic periods of time.

To gain the most knowledge from this system, the user will require a basic understanding of geologic sequestration options, the general geology of the MIDCARB area, and some familiarity with using the map-based web tools available on this site. We hope you find this web site useful. We welcome feedback. Please send comments and suggestions to the MIDCARB team by clicking here.

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