Our Porous World
Almost everything around us contain pores; the stone under your feet, the furniture upon which you sit, and even your brain is porous. In our exhibition A Porous World, researchers with the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences demonstrate how we can make use of pores to solve some of the greatest challenges before us – such as the global climate crisis.
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A Porous World
Even though we are surrounded by porous media, few are familiar with the term itself. Where and how porous media appear and behave, not to mention the physics behind, are both useful and relevant questions that involves a number of fields. As both man-made and natural materials contain pores, pores are utilised naturally, industrially and medically.
Through our growing comprehension of how pores work, we constantly find new ways to utilise the properties of porous materials. The Storting has decided that storage of CO2 in porous media is to be one of Norway’s national measures against the global climate crisis. But how will we be able to responsibly store climate gases?
Carbon Storage
Researchers with the University of Bergen are now working to solve how to safely and responsibly store CO2. Through the exhibition A Porous World the public will be able to familiarise themselves with the scientific research project Fluid Flower, a research rig that emulates how carbon will behave when stored in porous rocks below the seabed. The rig has been installed on the lower floor of the museum, and is in active use in the research into carbon capture and storage.
This research will in turn be put into practice through the Northern Lights project. The intention is to store CO2 in the energy park outside Øygarden as soon as 2024.
Klimaredningen
Professor Jan Martin Nordbotten forklarer strømningsriggen Fluid Flower som nå kan ses på Universitetsmuseet, Naturhistorie.
Geology, physics, mathematics - and brain research
A Porous World builds upon the interdisciplinary porous media-research with the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. Here, the researchers work with foundational understandings of the geological processes through which porous rocks are formed, conduct physical readings and experiments, and solve mathematical equations that describe flow and transport within porous media. This research is also used to expand our understanding of the brain as a porous medium, which contributes to develop new knowledge in the research on brain diseases.
Researchers and contributors
There are several ongoing research projects on porous media at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. This exhibition is an interdisciplinary collaboration and showcases some of the ongoing research projects. The exhibition is the result of a collaboration between the University Museum of Bergen and the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences.
Exhibition team
The exhibition is produced by Department of Research and Science Communication, University Museum of Bergen.
- Curator: Åshild Sunde Feyling Thorsen
- Seniortechnician IT/AV Mattias Arvastsson and Lars Ove Toft
- Exhibition technician: Reece Whitehead
- Conservator: Christina Holmefjord
- Project leader: Marit Kjeksrud Amundsen
Researchers and contributors:
- Jan Martin Nordbotten, Professor, Department of Mathematics and the VISTA Center for Subsurface Dynamics
- Martin Fernø, Professor, Department of Physics and Technology
- Atle Rotevatn, Professor and Head of Department, Department of Earth Science
Also contributing:
- Bergit Brattekås, Researcher, Department of Physics and Technology
- Kristoffer Eikehaug, Staff Engineer, Department of Physics and Technology
- Olav Folkvord, Doctoral Research Fellow, Department of Physics and Technology
- Malin Haugen, Doctoral Research Fellow, Department of Physics and Technology
- Irene Heggstad, Staff Engineer for ELMIlab, Department of Earth Science
- Erlend Hodneland, Senior Researcher, Mohn Medical Imaging and Visualization Centre
- Vilde Dimmen, Doctoral Research Fellow, Department of Earth Science
- Hakan Heggernes, Doctoral Research Fellow, Department of Earth Science
- Matteo Demurtas, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Earth Science
- Haakon Fossen, Professor, Department of Earth Science, University Museum
