Science NewsSCi-Fi to Sci-FACT: CO2 Ocean Storage Is Considered
Source: Monsters & Critics Science News
Submitted by: Kyle Nin (SoSF Staff Reporter)
Harvard University researchers say an innovative solution for carbon dioxide pollution might be found far beneath the surface of the ocean.
The scientists report finding deep-sea sediments that could provide a virtually unlimited and permanent reservoir for the gas that has been a primary driver of global climate change in recent decades. The scientists estimate seafloor sediments within U.S. territory are vast enough to store the nation’s carbon dioxide emissions for thousands of years to come.
Harvard’s Kurt Zenz House and Daniel Schrag, along with colleagues at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Columbia University, detail the advantages of sequestering excess carbon dioxide thousands of feet beneath the ocean’s surface in this week’s issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
*****
This may be a Sci-Fi to Sci-Fact related story, but can anyone see any real long-term good coming out of this? Or, am I wrong in thinking we have just found another way to pollute our oceans? Tell us what you think. - Sam
August 8th, 2006 at 7:25 pm
Two words for you:
LIMNIC ERUPTION
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limnic_eruption
Doing this will create an enormous risk of a hideous natural (or in this case, artificial) hazard.
August 9th, 2006 at 3:32 pm
Besides what SteveChisnall said (excellent point!), it seems like a (proverbial) ostrich method to me. If applied it shouldn’t be the only method used; fighting the causes need to be part of the other methods applied.
And if separating Carbon Dioxide from other gases is so easy, perhaps moving it to photosynthesizing plants is a beter solution.
August 9th, 2006 at 5:08 pm
who cares, we will be moving to the moon in about 20 years anyway! Ha!
August 21st, 2006 at 7:36 am
A Lake Nyos on a massive scale would be catastrophic. No thanks!
August 21st, 2006 at 7:50 am
Many geologist and archeologist are convinced that is also what killed the first born of Egypt in 1500 BCE - the rise in CO2 from the waters of the Nile after the huge Santorini Volcanic eruption at the center of the pre-Grecian Minoan Empire.
Since the first male born was given the place of honor every night to sleep at the lowest part of the home, while everyone else slept on the roof or on beds higher off the ground,, they were most suseptible to the low lying gases as the air currents moved them through the region.
That is what happened to the 87 who died near Lake Nyos in 1987, including the death of hundreds of cattle and smaller animals near the lake. The only villagers who survived that night were those who were sleeping at least 4 or 5 feet off the ground.