Geological storage of CO2 within the oceanic crust by gravitational trapping
Geological storage of CO2 within the oceanic crust by gravitational trapping
The rise of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) principally due to the burning of fossil fuels is a key driver of anthropogenic climate change. Mitigation strategies include improved efficiency, using renewable energy, and capture and long-term sequestration of CO2. Most sequestration research considers CO2 injection into deep saline aquifers or depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs. Unconventional suggestions include CO2 storage in the porous volcanic lavas of uppermost oceanic crust. Here we test the feasibility of injecting CO2 into deep-sea basalts and identify sites where CO2 should be both physically and gravitationally trapped. We use global databases to estimate pressure and temperature, hence density of CO2 and seawater at the sediment-basement interface. At previously suggested sites on the Juan de Fuca Plate and in the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, CO2 is gravitationally unstable. However, we identify five sediment-covered regions where CO2 is denser than seawater, each sufficient for several centuries of anthropogenic CO2 emissions.
climate change, carbon capture and sequestration, ocean crust, physical and gravitational trapping
6219-6224
Marieni, Chiara
3b6d4e99-c548-46c1-80a6-e849050f55f0
Henstock, Timothy J.
27c450a4-3e6b-41f8-97f9-4e0e181400bb
Teagle, Damon A.H.
396539c5-acbe-4dfa-bb9b-94af878fe286
16 December 2013
Marieni, Chiara
3b6d4e99-c548-46c1-80a6-e849050f55f0
Henstock, Timothy J.
27c450a4-3e6b-41f8-97f9-4e0e181400bb
Teagle, Damon A.H.
396539c5-acbe-4dfa-bb9b-94af878fe286
Marieni, Chiara, Henstock, Timothy J. and Teagle, Damon A.H.
(2013)
Geological storage of CO2 within the oceanic crust by gravitational trapping.
Geophysical Research Letters, 40 (23), .
(doi:10.1002/2013GL058220).
Abstract
The rise of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) principally due to the burning of fossil fuels is a key driver of anthropogenic climate change. Mitigation strategies include improved efficiency, using renewable energy, and capture and long-term sequestration of CO2. Most sequestration research considers CO2 injection into deep saline aquifers or depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs. Unconventional suggestions include CO2 storage in the porous volcanic lavas of uppermost oceanic crust. Here we test the feasibility of injecting CO2 into deep-sea basalts and identify sites where CO2 should be both physically and gravitationally trapped. We use global databases to estimate pressure and temperature, hence density of CO2 and seawater at the sediment-basement interface. At previously suggested sites on the Juan de Fuca Plate and in the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, CO2 is gravitationally unstable. However, we identify five sediment-covered regions where CO2 is denser than seawater, each sufficient for several centuries of anthropogenic CO2 emissions.
Text
grl51124.pdf
- Version of Record
Available under License Other.
More information
e-pub ahead of print date: 3 December 2013
Published date: 16 December 2013
Keywords:
climate change, carbon capture and sequestration, ocean crust, physical and gravitational trapping
Organisations:
Geology & Geophysics, Geochemistry
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 360501
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/360501
ISSN: 0094-8276
PURE UUID: e1e60903-20f9-47a0-a3e8-31ac7960143b
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 11 Dec 2013 13:14
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:05
Export record
Altmetrics
Contributors
Author:
Chiara Marieni
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.
View more statistics
