The European Commission's long-standing strategy to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 has rekindled enthusiasm for hydrogen as a key vector that could reduce emissions. The stakeholders in the European energy system have their full attention focused on this vector. Vätgas Sweden, as a market player together with other organizations, seeks through this research to understand the current outlook for the low-carbon hydrogen market in the countries of the Baltic Sea region and Ukraine, which would help to penetrate and strengthen economic and political ties within the European Union. I present insights based on information from 2022 and estimates of future hydrogen production and demand through 2035 within the geographic scope along with interview results from follow-up sessions with project member organizations. This enabled the identification of barriers and drivers for viable business development. The comprehensive global review of hydrogen projects up to May 2024 considered data on project phasing, hydrogen production technology, demand and installed production capacity through harmonized modelling and statistical inference. The analysis explores the main evidence on production technologies and methods of handling blue and green hydrogen to meet the Baltic Sea region's decarbonization targets, examining the potential for trade. I highlight the overlapping barriers and drivers in the hydrogen market of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Sweden and Ukraine. The considered analysis adds a more realistic estimation of hydrogen forecasts by showing a better picture of the context in the Baltic Sea region. Vätgas Sweden plans a series of projects and studies analysing European trends in low-carbon hydrogen production to provide stakeholders, specialists and scientists around the world with the current level of knowledge on the essential barriers and drivers in the period of its industrial emergence. / Europeiska kommissionens mångåriga strategi för att uppnå klimatneutralitet till 2050 har återuppväckt entusiasmen för väte som en nyckelvektor som kan minska utsläppen. Intressenterna i det europeiska energisystemet har sin fulla uppmärksamhet fokuserad på denna vektor. Vätgas Sverige, som marknadsaktör tillsammans med andra organisationer, söker genom denna forskning förstå de nuvarande utsikterna för vätgasmarknaden med låga koldioxidutsläpp i länderna i Östersjöregionen och Ukraina, vilket skulle bidra till att penetrera och stärka ekonomiska och politiska band inom Europeiska unionen. Jag presenterar insikter baserade på information från 2022 och uppskattningar av framtida väteproduktion och efterfrågan fram till 2035 inom det geografiska området tillsammans med intervjuresultat från uppföljningssessioner med projektmedlemsorganisationer. Detta gjorde det möjligt att identifiera hinder och drivkrafter för livskraftig affärsutveckling. Den omfattande globala översynen av väteprojekt fram till maj 2024 tog hänsyn till data om projektfas, väteproduktionsteknik, efterfrågan och installerad produktionskapacitet genom harmoniserad modellering och statistisk slutledning. Analysen undersöker de viktigaste bevisen på produktionsteknologier och metoder för att hantera blått och grönt väte för att uppfylla Östersjöregionens avkolningsmål, och undersöker potentialen för handel. Jag lyfter fram de överlappande barriärerna och drivkrafterna på vätgasmarknaden i Danmark, Estland, Finland, Tyskland, Litauen, Lettland, Polen, Sverige och Ukraina. Den övervägda analysen lägger till en mer realistisk uppskattning av väteprognoser genom att visa en bättre bild av sammanhanget i Östersjöregionen. Vätgas Sverige planerar en serie projekt och studier som analyserar europeiska trender inom vätgasproduktion med låga koldioxidutsläpp för att förse intressenter, specialister och forskare runt om i världen med den nuvarande kunskapsnivån om de väsentliga barriärerna och drivkrafterna under den industriella framväxtperioden. / La estrategia de larga data de la Comisión Europea para lograr la neutralidad climática para 2050 ha reavivado el entusiasmo por el hidrógeno como un vector clave que podría reducir las emisiones. Los actores del sistema energético europeo tienen toda su atención centrada en este vector. Vätgas Suecia, como actor del mercado junto con otras organizaciones, busca a través de esta investigación comprender las perspectivas actuales del mercado del hidrógeno bajo en carbono en los países de la región del Mar Báltico y Ucrania, lo que ayudaría a penetrar y fortalecer los lazos económicos y políticos dentro de la Unión Europea. Presento ideas basadas en información de 2022 y estimaciones de la producción y demanda futura de hidrógeno hasta 2035 dentro del alcance geográfico junto con los resultados de entrevistas de sesiones de seguimiento con organizaciones miembros del proyecto. Esto permitió identificar barreras e impulsores para el desarrollo empresarial viable. La revisión global integral de los proyectos de hidrógeno hasta mayo de 2024 consideró datos sobre las fases de los proyectos, la tecnología de producción de hidrógeno, la demanda y la capacidad de producción instalada a través de modelos armonizados e inferencia estadística. El análisis explora la evidencia principal sobre las tecnologías de producción y los métodos de manejo del hidrógeno azul y verde para cumplir los objetivos de descarbonización de la región del Mar Báltico, examinando el potencial para el comercio. Destaco las barreras y los impulsores superpuestos en el mercado del hidrógeno de Dinamarca, Estonia, Finlandia, Alemania, Lituania, Letonia, Polonia, Suecia y Ucrania. El análisis considerado añade una estimación más realista de las previsiones de hidrógeno al mostrar una mejor imagen del contexto en la región del Mar Báltico. Vätgas Suecia planea una serie de proyectos y estudios que analizan las tendencias europeas en la producción de hidrógeno con bajas emisiones de carbono para proporcionar a las partes interesadas, especialistas y científicos de todo el mundo el nivel actual de conocimiento sobre las barreras e impulsores esenciales en el período de su surgimiento industrial. / BaSeH2, Baltic Sea Region Hydrogen Network

The primary focus of this thesis is to examine the detailed seismic structure of the northern Cascadia margin, including the Cascadia basin, the deformation front and the continental shelf. The results of this study are contributing towards understanding sediment deformation and tectonics on this margin. They also have important implications for exploration of hydrocarbons (oil and gas) and natural hazards (submarine landslides, earthquakes, tsunamis, and climate change). The first part of this thesis focuses on the role of gas hydrate in slope failure observed from multibeam bathymetry data on a frontal ridge near the deformation front off Vancouver Island margin using active-source ocean bottom seismometer (OBS) data collected in 2010. Volume estimates (∼ 0.33 km^3) of the slides observed on this margin indicate that these are capable of generating large (∼ 1 − 2 m) tsunamis. Velocity models from travel time inversion of wide angle reflections and refractions recorded on OBSs and vertical incidence single channel seismic (SCS) data were used to estimate gas hydrate concentrations using effective medium modeling. Results indicate a shallow high velocity hydrate layer with a velocity of 2.0 − 2.1 km/s that corresponds to a hydrate concentration of 40% at a depth of 100 m, and a bottom simulating reflector (BSR) at a depth of 265 − 275 m beneath the seafloor (mbsf). These are comparable to drilling results on an adjacent frontal ridge. Margin perpendicular normal faults that extend down to BSR depth were also observed on SCS and bathymetric data, two of which coincide with the sidewalls of the slump indicating that the lateral extent of the slump is controlled by these faults. Analysis of bathymetric data indicates, for the first time, that the glide plane occurs at the same depth as the shallow high velocity layer (100±10 mbsf). In contrast, the glide plane coincides with the depth of the BSR on an adjacent frontal ridge. In either case, our results suggest that the contrast in sediments strengthened by hydrates and overlying or underlying sediments where there is no hydrate is what causing the slope failure on this margin. The second part of this dissertation focuses on obtaining the detailed structure of the Cascadia basin and frontal ridge region using mirror imaging of few widely spaced OBS data. Using only a small airgun source (120 cu. in.), our results indicate structures that were previously not observed on the northern Cascadia margin. Specifically, OBS migration results show dual-vergence structure, which could be related to horizontal compression associated with subduction and low basal shear stress resulting from over-pressure. Understanding the physical and mechanical properties of the basal layer has important implications for understanding earthquakes on this margin. The OBS migrated image also clearly shows the continuity of reflectors which enabled the identification of thrust faults, and also shows the top of the igneous oceanic crust at 5−6 km beneath the seafloor, which were not possible to identify in single-channel and low-fold multi-channel seismic (MCS) data. The last part of this thesis focuses on obtaining detailed seismic structure of the Vancouver Island continental shelf from MCS data using frequency domain viscoacoustic full waveform inversion, which is first of its kind on this margin. Anelastic velocity and attenuation models, derived in this study to subseafloor depths of ∼ 2 km, are useful in understanding the deformation within the Tofino basin sediments, the nature of basement structures and their relationship with underlying accreted terranes such as the Crescent and the Pacific Rim terranes. Specifically, our results indicate a low-velocity zone (LVZ) with a contrast of 200 m/s within the Tofino basin sediment section at a depth 600 − 1000 mbsf over a lateral distance of 10 km. This LVZ is associated with high attenuation values (0.015 − 0.02) and could be a result of over pressured sediments or lithology changes associated with a high porosity layer in this potential hydrocarbon environment. Shallow high velocities of 4 − 5 km/s are observed in the mid-shelf region at depths > 1.5 km, which is interpreted as the shallowest occurrence of the Eocene volcanic Crescent terrane. The sediment velocities sharply increase about 10 km west of Vancouver Island, which probably corresponds to the underlying transition to the Mesozoic marine sedimentary Pacific Rim terrane. High attenuation values of 0.03 − 0.06 are observed at depths > 1 km, which probably corresponds to increased clay content and the presence of mineralized fluids. / Graduate / 0373 / 0372 / 0605 / subbarao@uvic.ca