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
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
October 28, 2025: Congratulations to Hailun Ni for winning the “Best Poster in Site Simulation, Design, and Engineering” at the 2025 CCUS Conference that was held between March 3–5, 2025 in Houston, TX…click to read
October 20–22, 2025: The GCCC’s Postdoctoral Fellow Hongsheng Wang attended the SPE ATCE Conference and Exhibit in Houston, TX…click to read
October 20, 2025: The Gulf Coast Carbon Center’s LinkedIn group reaches 2,500 followers…click to read
October 17–22, 2025: GCCC Representatives had several significant presentations at the Annual Geological Society of America conference, known as Connects 2025, in San Antonio, TX…click to read
October 17, 2025: The GCCC invited, Penn State’s Postdoctoral Fellow, Seyi Ajayi who provided our research group with a presentation entitled, “The Impact of Bivalves on Carbon Cycling in the Chesapeake Bay” …click to read
October 16–17, 2025: Sue Hovorka and Tip Meckel participated in CO2NNECT 2025 held by the Carbon Action Alliance in Austin, TX…click to read
October 1, 2025: Congratulations to Sahar Bakhshian, Hassan Dashtian, Arya Chavoshi, Mahdi Haddad, Sue Hovorka, Michael Young, Katherine Romanak, and Mohsen Ahmadian for publishing, “Near-Surface Monitoring of Plugged and Abandoned Wells for Real-Time Leakage Detection in Geologic Carbon Storage” …click to read
October 1, 2025: Congratulations to our previous GCCC Postdoctoral Fellow, Zhicheng Wang, and GCCC Researchers Seyyed Hosseini and Alex Bump for publishing “Hub scale subsurface fluid injection of GCS and saltwater disposal (SWD) wells: Implications on interproject interferences and regional pressure buildup”…click to read
September 23, 2025: Congratulations to our former M.S. Student’s Chinemerem Okezie and his advisor, Alex Bump, for publishing a manuscript entitled, “Calibrating large-scale injection: Using saltwater disposal experience to predict CCS performance on the Texas Gulf Coast”…click to read
September 16, 2025: Sue Hovorka, Katherine Romanak, and Seyyed Hosseini were instructors for a 1-day workshop at the Groundwater Protection Council (GWPC) Annual Forum in New Orleans, Louisiana…click to read
September 15–16, 2025: Congratulations to Eddie Talen for presenting a poster about his M.S. at the Houston Geological Society's Student Expo…click to read
September 5, 2025: The GCCC held their first group weekly meeting of the semester and officially welcomed our new students, Nargiz Akmurzayeva and Farzana Rahman, in person…click to read
September 1, 2025: Congratulations to the GCCC’s Seyyed Hosseini who is now the Associate Director of the Bureau of Economic Geology’s Environmental Division...click to read
September 1–4, 2025: Dr. Tip Meckel attended the inaugural World CCUS Conference in Bergen, Norway with 300 attendees....click to read
Click here to view 2025 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.
