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CO2: Good or Bad

By cmcclain on June 18, 2008.

Guardian Online is running a couple of responses to Wallace Broecker's call for carbon storage experiments in the depths of the Pacific Ocean. Worth reading all to understand the pros and cons for yourself.

CO2 disposal in the ocean is a dangerous distraction

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Broecker's piece refers to work by Brewer at Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute but doesn't mention the experiments written up by Barry et al (2004) in the Journal of Oceanography (Effects of Direct Ocean CO2 Injection on Deep-Sea Meiofauna)

Abstract:
Purposeful deep-sea carbon dioxide sequestration by direct injection of liquid CO2 into the deep waters of the ocean has the potential to mitigate the rapid rise in atmospheric levels of greenhouse gases. One issue of concern for this carbon sequestration option is the impact of changes in seawater chemistry caused by CO2 injection on deep-sea ecosystems. The effects of deep-sea carbon dioxide injection on infaunal deep-sea organisms were evaluated during a field experiment in 3600 m depth off California, in which liquid CO2 was released on the seafloor. Exposure to the dissolution plume emanating from the liquid CO2 resulted in high rates of mortality for flagellates, amoebae, and nematodes inhabiting sediments in close proximity to sites of CO2 release. Results from this study indicate that large changes in seawater chemistry (i.e. pH reductions of ~0.5-1.0 pH units) near CO2 release sites will cause high mortality rates for nearby infaunal deep-sea communities.