Research, Technology, and Education for the Geological Storage of Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
Industrial processes such as the production of cement, iron and steel, and petrochemicals, as well as burning fossil fuels (e.g., gas, oil, and coal) has measurably increased CO2 in Earth’s atmosphere. The long-term consequences of increased concentrations of CO2 gas in Earth’s atmosphere will have negative impacts to oceans and climate.
One possible response is to capture CO2 in industrial settings and reinject it into deep geological reservoirs where it will be retained for long periods of time. This process is called geological sequestration, or carbon capture and storage (CCS).
The Gulf Coast Carbon Center (GCCC) seeks to impact global levels of atmospheric CO2 by
- Conducting studies, often focusing on the Gulf of Mexico, in regard to geological storage, retention and monitoring of CO2 in the deep subsurface;
- Educating the public about the process of geological CO2 storage; and
- Enabling the private sector to develop an economically viable industry to store CO2 in the Gulf of Mexico, across the U.S., and globally
Since 1999, the GCCC has been a global leader in research that facilitates a proactive response by energy-related businesses to reduce atmospheric release of CO2. The GCCC has led or is in the process of conducting several major field research projects onshore and offshore to develop effective technologies to monitor retention of CO2 in the subsurface. In addition, the GCCC has led a number of diverse projects including estimation of storage capacity, enhanced oil recovery (EOR) screening and economic assessments, risk and monitoring of leakage to water and surface resources, assessment of pressure, and whole-system integration.
The GCCC is a multidisciplinary group that includes experts in geology, hydrology, petroleum engineering, chemistry, economics, and computer modeling. For more information about the researchers, post-docs, and students who comprise the Carbon Center, please see our staff page.
Recent News
January 14, 2026: The GCCC’s Principal Investigator, Susan Hovorka, participated as a speaker at a forum hosted by United States Energy Association (USEA)…click to read
January 7, 2026: The GCCC’s Sue Hovorka and Tip Meckel contributed to a "roadmap" for carbon management in Texas, prepared by the Great Plains Institute, which is officially released today: View the Texas Carbon Management Roadmap and Factsheet…click to read
December 15, 2025: Congratulations to Hongsheng Wang and Seyyed Hosseini for publishing the paper: Advancing deep learning-based dimension reduction for complex three-dimensional saturation data in large-scale geological carbon storage…click to read
December 12, 2025: The GCCC was happy to attend the Bureau of Economic Geology’s holiday party…click to read
December 8–11, 2025: The GCCC’s Research Associate Professor, Alex Bump, presented an invited talk, entitled "De-risking large-scale injection on the Gulf Coast” at the 31st Annual Midland CO2 Conference…click to read
December 4, 2025: A Research Scientist Associate from the GCCC, Angela Luciano, participated in Crippen Elementary School’s Science Discovery Night in Porter, Texas to engage with ~200 4th and 5th grade students about science…click to read
November 21, 2025: We celebrate with the Jackson School of Geosciences, Dean Claudia Mora, and Bureau’s Director Lorena Moscardelli for the outstanding recognition of Hailun Ni and Alex Bump who received prestigious fellowships…click to read
November 14th, 2025: Two high-school teachers trained over the summer of 2025 at the GCCC teamed up with GCCC Researchers at the 2025 Conference for the Advancement of Science Teachers to teach a workshop for ~20 STEM teachers...click to read
November 13–15, 2025: GCCC Representatives attended the 2025 Conference for the Advancement of Science Teachers (CAST) in Dallas, Texas to hand out resources to STEM teachers across Texas....click to read
November 10–21, 2025: The GCCC’s Research Professor, Katherine Romanak, will attend the UNFCCC COP 30 in Belém, Brazil.…click to read
November 1, 2025: Dolores van der Kolk was nominated, and won, the Bureau of Economic Geology’s coveted football game tickets for the UT vs. Vanderbilt game for her service to the GCCC team.…click to read
Click here to view 2026 news and events.
En español: la información de almacenamiento geológico de carbono
The University of Texas at Austin is proud to be associated with BP’s sponsorship of the GCCC, an activity accredited by BP’s Advancing Low Carbon program.
