Ocean Sequestration of CO2

Eugene S. Takle
© October 1998

Howard J. Herzog of MIT has proposed to use the deep ocean as a place to deposit CO2 resulting from burning fossil fuels (Herzog, 1998). The ocean contains about 40,000 Gt of carbon, compared to the global annual anthropogenic emission of about 6 Gt carbon. Three issues need to be resolved for consideration of this method:

  1. environmental impacts on sensitive organisms due to pH changes
  2. sequestration efficiency (how long will it remain where it is put)
  3. the cost and environmental impact of the transport and injection process.

The author indicates that items 1 and 2 have readily available solutions and item 3 is under investigation. A field experiment to test the concept is planned for the summer of 2000 off the Kona Coast of Hawaii.


References

Herzog, H. J., 1998: Ocean Sequestration of CO2. Abstracts, Global Climate Change: Science, Policy, and Mitigation/Adaptation Strategies. Air & Waste Management Association Second International Specialty Conference. 13-15 October. Washington, DC.