A controlled field pilot has been developed in Bozeman, Montana, USA, to study near surface CO 2 transport and detection technologies. A slotted horizontal well divided into six zones was installed in the shallow subsurface. The scale and CO 2 release rates were chosen to be relevant to developing monitoring strategies for geological carbon storage. The field site was characterized before injection, and CO 2 transport and concentrations in saturated soil and the vadose zone were modeled. Controlled releases of CO 2 from the horizontal well were performed in the summers of 2007 and 2008, and collaborators from six national labs, three universities, and the U.S. Geological Survey investigated movement of CO 2 through the soil, water, plants, and air with a wide range of near surface detection techniques. An overview of these results will be presented.

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[1] Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is an active analytical technique that makes use of a laser pulse to analyze materials of interest at a distance by creating a plasma, which emits photons at characteristic emission line wavelengths. We validate the technique for planetary exploration under vacuum conditions. We review the capability and advantages of the LIBS technique for lunar regolith analysis at 1.5 m distance from a lunar rover, and we characterize its potential for the detection of resources for future exploration, such as the determination of regolith water content. The limits of detection determined for the major elements (typically <1 wt %) help to determine regolith parent material such as feldspathic highland rocks, rocks from the ancient magmatic high magnesian suite (Mg-suite), Fe-rich mare basalts or potassium, rare earth element, and phosphorus-rich (KREEP-rich) samples. Compositional parameters commonly used to classify lunar regoliths such as TiO 2 , Al 2 O 3 , and K 2 O abundances are readily determined by LIBS. Certain elements support regolith analysis: For example, Ba and Zr can be used to confirm KREEP-like composition, while quantifying the Ni and Co content can be used to infer the amount of meteoritic material. Finally, it is shown that the ice content of lunar soil produces strong H emissions with the LIBS techniques at the 25 wt % H 2 O level, while measurements on altered basalts give a limit of detection of about 1 wt % for H 2 O content. This demonstrates that the 5.6 wt % water content detected by the recent LCROSS experiment should be easily detectable and quantifiable by LIBS analysis.