Has the USGS made any Biologic Carbon Sequestration assessments?
The USGS is congressionally mandated (2007 Energy Independence and Security Act) to conduct a comprehensive national assessment of storage and flux (flow) of carbon and the fluxes of other greenhouse gases (including carbon dioxide) in ecosystems.
At this writing, reports have been completed for Alaska, the Eastern U.S., the Great Plains, and the Western U.S.
Learn more: LandCarbon
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How much carbon dioxide can the United States store via geologic sequestration?
What is carbon sequestration?
Baseline and projected future carbon storage and carbon fluxes in ecosystems of Hawai‘i
This assessment was conducted to fulfill the requirements of section 712 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 and to improve understanding of factors influencing carbon balance in ecosystems of Hawai‘i. Ecosystem carbon storage, carbon fluxes, and carbon balance were examined for major terrestrial ecosystems on the seven main...
Selmants, Paul C.; Giardina, Christian P.; Jacobi, James D.; Zhu, Zhiliang
Assessing wildlife benefits and carbon storage from restored and natural coastal marshes in the Nisqually River Delta: Determining marsh net ecosystem carbon balance
Working in partnership since 1996, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Nisqually Indian Tribe have restored 902 acres of tidally influenced coastal marsh in the Nisqually River Delta (NRD), making it the largest estuary-restoration project in the Pacific Northwest to date. Marsh restoration increases the capacity of the estuary to support a...
Anderson, Frank; Bergamaschi, Brian; Windham-Myers, Lisamarie; Woo, Isa; De La Cruz, Susan; Drexler, Judith Z.; Byrd, Kristin; Thorne, Karen M.
Baseline and projected future carbon storage and greenhouse-gas fluxes in ecosystems of Alaska
This assessment was conducted to fulfill the requirements of section 712 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 and to contribute to knowledge of the storage, fluxes, and balance of carbon and methane gas in ecosystems of Alaska. The carbon and methane variables were examined for major terrestrial ecosystems (uplands and wetlands) and...
Zhu, Zhiliang; McGuire, A. David
Baseline and projected future carbon storage and greenhouse-gas fluxes in ecosystems of the eastern United States
This assessment was conducted to fulfill the requirements of section 712 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 and to conduct a comprehensive national assessment of storage and flux (flow) of carbon and the fluxes of other greenhouse gases in ecosystems of the Eastern United States. These carbon and greenhouse gas variables were...
Zhu, Zhi-Liang; Reed, Bradley C.; Zhu, Zhi-Liang; Reed, Bradley C.
A long-term comparison of carbon sequestration rates in impounded and naturally tidal freshwater marshes along the lower Waccamaw River, South Carolina
Carbon storage was compared between impounded and naturally tidal freshwater marshes along the Lower Waccamaw River in South Carolina, USA. Soil cores were collected in (1) naturally tidal, (2) moist soil (impounded, seasonally drained since ~1970), and (3) deeply flooded “treatments” (impounded, flooded to ~90 cm since ~2002). Cores were analyzed...
Drexler, Judith Z.; Krauss, Ken W.; Sasser, M. Craig; Fuller, Christopher C.; Swarzenski, Christopher M.; Powell, Amber; Swanson, Kathleen M.; Orlando, James L. A new data set for estimating organic carbon storage to 3 m depth in soils of the northern circumpolar permafrost region
High-latitude terrestrial ecosystems are key components in the global carbon cycle. The Northern Circumpolar Soil Carbon Database (NCSCD) was developed to quantify stocks of soil organic carbon (SOC) in the northern circumpolar permafrost region (a total area of 18.7 × 106 km2). The NCSCD is a geographical information system (GIS) data set that...
Hugelius, G.; Bockheim, James G.; Camill, P.; Elberling, B.; Grosse, G.; Harden, J.W.; Johnson, Kevin; Jorgenson, T.; Koven, C.D.; Kuhry, P.; Michaelson, G.; Mishra, U.; Palmtag, J.; Ping, C.-L.; O'Donnell, J.; Schirrmeister, L.; Schuur, E.A.G.; Sheng, Y.; Smith, L.C.; Strauss, J.; Yu, Z.
Baseline and projected future carbon storage and greenhouse-gas fluxes in ecosystems of the Western United States
This assessment was conducted to fulfill the requirements of section 712 of the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007 and to improve understanding of carbon and greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes in ecosystems of the Western United States. The assessment examined carbon storage, carbon fluxes, and other GHG fluxes (methane and nitrous oxide...
Zhu, Zhi-Liang; Reed, Bradley C.
Baseline and projected future carbon storage and greenhouse-gas fluxes in the Great Plains region of the United States
This assessment was conducted to fulfill the requirements of section 712 of the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007 and to improve understanding of carbon and greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes in the Great Plains region in the central part of the United States. The assessment examined carbon storage, carbon fluxes, and other GHG fluxes (...
Zhu, Zhi-Liang; Bouchard, Michelle; Butman, David; Hawbaker, Todd; Li, Zhengpeng; Liu, Jinxun; Liu, Shu-Guang; McDonald, Cory; Reker, Ryan R.; Sayler, Kristi; Sleeter, Benjamin; Sohl, Terry; Stackpoole, Sarah; Wein, Anne; Zhu, Zhi-Liang A Holocene record of climate-driven shifts in coastal carbon sequestration
A sediment core collected in the mesohaline portion of Chesapeake Bay was found to contain periods of increased delivery of refractory black carbon (BC) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The BC was most likely produced by biomass combustion during four centennialscale dry periods as indicated by the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI...
Mitra, Siddhartha; Zimmerman, A.R.; Hunsinger, G.B.; Willard, D.; Dunn, J.C. Hydrologic support of carbon dioxide flux revealed by whole-lake carbon budgets
Freshwater lakes are an important component of the global carbon cycle through both organic carbon (OC) sequestration and carbon dioxide (CO 2) emission. Most lakes have a net annual loss of CO2 to the atmosphere and substantial current evidence suggests that biologic mineralization of allochthonous OC maintains this flux. Because net CO 2 flux to...
Stets, E.G.; Striegl, Robert G.; Aiken, G.R.; Rosenberry, D.O.; Winter, T.C. A first-order analysis of the potential role of CO2 fertilization to affect the global carbon budget: A comparison of four terrestrial biosphere models
We compared the simulated responses of net primary production, heterotrophic respiration, net ecosystem production and carbon storage in natural terrestrial ecosystems to historical (1765 to 1990) and projected (1990 to 2300) changes of atmospheric CO2 concentration of four terrestrial biosphere models: the Bern model, the Frankfurt Biosphere...
Kicklighter, D. W.; Bruno, M.; Donges, S.; Esser, G.; Heimann, Martin; Helfrich, J.; Ift, F.; Joos, F.; Kaduk, J.; Kohlmaier, G.H.; McGuire, A.D.; Melillo, J.M.; Meyer, R.; Moore, B.; Nadler, A.; Prentice, I.C.; Sauf, W.; Schloss, A.L.; Sitch, S.; Wittenberg, U.; Wurth, G.
Carbon storage and late Holocene chronostratigraphy of a Mississippi River deltaic marsh, St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana
Today, the causes, results, and time scale(s) of climate change, past and potential, are the focus of much research, news coverage, and pundit speculation. Many of the US government scientific agencies have some funds earmarked for research into past and (or) future climate change (National Science and Technology Council, 1997). The Mississippi...
Markewich, H.W.
Amazon Carbon Dynamics: Understanding the Photosynthesis-Climate Link
What controls the response of photosynthesis in Amazon tropical forests to seasonal variations in climate?
Carbon Sequestration: Implications for Wyoming
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) research hydrologist Dr. Yousif Kharaka will present a talk in Cheyenne, Wyo. about the feasibility and implications of capturing and storing the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide underground in depleted oil fields and deep rock formations with salty aquifers.
Marshes Using CO2 to Cope with Global Warming
Carbon Dioxide Stimulates Marsh Elevation Gain, Helping Offset Flooding from Sea Level-Rise
Elevated concentrations of carbon dioxide may help some coastal marshes keep up with rising sea level by stimulating plant production and marsh building.
Climate Change May Affect the Carbon Balance of a Rocky Mountain Wetland
BOSTON--The carbon balance of wetlands in the southern Rocky Mountains may be very sensitive to small changes in local climate, according to recent research conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey.
How Does Carbon Get Into the Atmosphere?
A short video on how carbon can get into the atmosphere.
A valley with smog pollution from Carbon Sequestration.
Uncovering the Ecosystem Service Value of Carbon Sequestration in National Parks. Photo by Robert Crootof, NPS.
Measuring soil CO2 efflux
Measuring soil CO2 efflux at the Bemidji Crude Oil Spill research site
PubTalk 1/2011 — Capture and Geologic Sequestration of Carbon Dioxide
Is Sequestration Necessary? Can We Do It at an Acceptable Total Cost?
By Yousif Kharaka, USGS National Research Program
- Combustion of fossil fuels currently releases approximately 30 billion tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) to the atmosphere annually
- Increased anthropogenic emissions have dramatically raised
Potential Effects of Elevated CO2 and Climate Change on Coastal Wetlands
This video provides an overview of direct and indirect effects of increases in atmospheric CO2 on coastal wetlands using a salt marsh-mangrove community as an example. A short background is given summarizing past, present, and future predicted changes in CO2 concentrations based on ice core data and direct measurements conducted at monitoring
