Chemical sensing and imaging in microfluidic pore network structures relevant to natural carbon cycling and industrial carbon sequestration

Energy and climate change represent significant factors in global security. Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, while global in scope, are influenced by pore-scale phenomena in the subsurface. We are developing tools to visualize and investigate processes in pore network microfluidic structures that serve as representations of normally-opaque porous media. These structures enable, for example, visualization of water displacement from pore spaces by hydrophobic fluids, including carbon dioxide, in studies related to carbon sequestration. In situ fluorescent oxygen sensing methods and fluorescent cellulosic materials are being used to investigate processes related to terrestrial carbon cycling involving cellulolytic respiring microorganisms.