Researchers have found areas of the ocean containing igneous rock that could safely store climate change-contributing carbon dioxide.
The human practice of burning fossil fuels such as coal and oil have greatly increased the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere; this has led to changes in climate and ocean acidification, a University of Southampton news release reported.
Scientists are working to find man-made ways of storing CO2, but a new study suggests there may be a more natural option. The CO2 could remain "locked" in the rock for centuries to come.
Carbon dioxide is denser than sea water when it is under high pressure and in a cool environment; this perfectly describes the bottom of the ocean.
PhD student Chiara Marieni, of the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, believes these factors suggest a large amount of CO2 could be stored in the underwater basalts.
The volcanic rock is fractured, which would allow for ample storage space. The researcher and her team tested temperatures in various regions of the crust in the ocean floor, and identified spots that would allow for this type of CO2 storage. The team also narrowed it down to even more efficient locations that have a "blanket" of thick sediment that would further prevent the CO2 from escaping.
The areas they deemed appropriate for CO2 storage include regions off the coasts of "Australia, Japan, Siberia, South Africa and Bermuda." The areas range in size from half a million square kilometers to four million.
There is a chance that over time the CO2 that would be stored in the solid calcium carbonate would react with the rock and "disappear" completely.
"We have found regions that have the potential to store decades to hundreds of years of industrial carbon dioxide emissions although the largest regions are far off shore. However, further work is needed in these regions to accurately measure local sediment conditions and sample the basalt beneath before this potential can be confirmed," Chiara said in the news release.
