What is carbon sequestration?
Carbon dioxide is the most commonly produced greenhouse gas. Carbon sequestration is the process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide. It is one method of reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere with the goal of reducing global climate change. The USGS is conducting assessments on two major types of carbon sequestration: geologic and biologic.
Related Content
How does carbon get into the atmosphere?
How much carbon dioxide does the United States and the World emit each year from energy sources?
Has the USGS made any Biologic Carbon Sequestration assessments?
Which area is the best for geologic carbon sequestration?
What’s the difference between geologic and biologic carbon sequestration?
How much carbon dioxide can the United States store via geologic sequestration?
Carbon dioxide mineralization feasibility in the United States
Geologic carbon dioxide (CO2) storage is one of many methods for stabilizing the increasing concentration of CO2 in the Earth’s atmosphere. The injection of CO2 in deep subsurface sedimentary reservoirs is the most commonly discussed method; however, the potential for CO2 leakage can create long-term stability concerns. This report discusses the...
Blondes, Madalyn S.; Merrill, M.D.; Anderson, Steven T.; DeVera, Christina A.
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. Aggregation of carbon dioxide sequestration storage assessment units
The U.S. Geological Survey is currently conducting a national assessment of carbon dioxide (CO2) storage resources, mandated by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. Pre-emission capture and storage of CO2 in subsurface saline formations is one potential method to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the negative impact of global...
Blondes, Madalyn S.; Schuenemeyer, John H.; Olea, Ricardo A.; Drew, Lawrence J.
Biochar for soil fertility and natural carbon sequestration
Biochar is charcoal (similar to chars generated by forest fires) that is made for incorporation into soils to increase soil fertility while providing natural carbon sequestration. The incorporation of biochar into soils can preserve and enrich soils and also slow the rate at which climate change is affecting our planet. Studies on biochar, such as...
Rostad, C.E.; Rutherford, D.W. A feasibility study of geological CO2 sequestration in the Ordos Basin, China
The Shaanxi Province/Wyoming CCS Partnership (supported by DOE NETL) aims to store commercial quantities of CO2 safely and permanently in the Ordovician Majiagou Formation in the northern Ordos Basin, Shaanxi Province, China. This objective is imperative because at present, six coal-to-liquid facilities in Shaanxi Province are capturing and...
Jiao, Z.; Surdam, R.C.; Zhou, L.; Stauffer, P.H.; Luo, T.
A method for assessing carbon stocks, carbon sequestration, and greenhouse-gas fluxes in ecosystems of the United States under present conditions and future scenarios
he Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA), Section 712, mandates the U.S. Department of the Interior to develop a methodology and conduct an assessment of the Nation’s ecosystems, focusing on carbon stocks, carbon sequestration, and emissions of three greenhouse gases (GHGs): carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. The major...
Zhu, Zhi-Liang; Bergamaschi, Brian A.; Bernknopf, Richard; Clow, David; Dye, Dennis; Faulkner, Stephen; Forney, William; Gleason, Robert; Hawbaker, Todd; Liu, Jinxun; Liu, Shu-Guang; Prisley, Stephen; Reed, Bradley; Reeves, Matthew; Rollins, Matthew; Sleeter, Benjamin; Sohl, Terry; Stackpoole, Sarah; Stehman, Stephen; Striegl, Robert G.; Wein, Anne; Zhu, Zhi-Liang Carbon sequestration and its role in the global carbon cycle
For carbon sequestration the issues of monitoring, risk assessment, and verification of carbon content and storage efficacy are perhaps the most uncertain. Yet these issues are also the most critical challenges facing the broader context of carbon sequestration as a means for addressing climate change. In response to these challenges, Carbon...
McPherson, Brian J.; Sundquist, Eric T. A national look at carbon capture and storage-National carbon sequestration database and geographical information system (NatCarb)
The US Department of Energy's Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships (RCSPs) are responsible for generating geospatial data for the maps displayed in the Carbon Sequestration Atlas of the United States and Canada. Key geospatial data (carbon sources, potential storage sites, transportation, land use, etc.) are required for the Atlas, and for...
Carr, T.R.; Iqbal, A.; Callaghan, N.; Look, K.; Saving, S.; Nelson, K. Assessing spatial uncertainty in reservoir characterization for carbon sequestration planning using public well-log data: A case study
Mapping and characterization of potential geologic reservoirs are key components in planning carbon dioxide (CO2) injection projects. The geometry of target and confining layers is vital to ensure that the injected CO2 remains in a supercritical state and is confined to the target layer. Also, maps of injection volume (porosity) are necessary to...
Venteris, E.R.; Carter, K.M.
A geochemical investigation into the effect of coal rank on the potential environmental effects of CO2 sequestration in deep coal beds
Coal samples of different rank were extracted in the laboratory with supercritical CO2 to evaluate the potential for mobilizing hydrocarbons during CO2 sequestration or enhanced coal bed methane recovery from deep coal beds. The concentrations of aliphatic hydrocarbons mobilized from the subbituminous C, high-volatile C bituminous, and anthracite...
Kolak, Jonathan J.; Burruss, Robert A. A guide to potential soil carbon sequestration; land-use management for mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions
Terrestrial carbon sequestration has a potential role in reducing the recent increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) that is, in part, contributing to global warming. Because the most stable long-term surface reservoir for carbon is the soil, changes in agriculture and forestry can potentially reduce atmospheric CO2 through increased soil-...
Markewich, H.W.; Buell, G.R.
Making Minerals-How Growing Rocks Can Help Reduce Carbon Emissions
Following an assessment of geologic carbon storage potential in sedimentary rocks, the USGS has published a comprehensive review of potential carbon storage in igneous and metamorphic rocks through a process known as carbon mineralization.
Groundwater Sampling Method Key to Monitoring Success of Carbon Sequestration
TECHNICAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Monitoring, verification and accounting are key parts to demonstrating the feasibility or success of integrated carbon capture and storage technologies.
Methane from Some Wetlands May Lower Benefits of Carbon Sequestration
Methane emissions from restored wetlands may offset the benefits of carbon sequestration a new study from the U.S. Geological Survey suggests.
USGS Receives International Endorsement for Geologic Carbon Sequestration Methodology
The USGS methodology for assessing carbon dioxide (CO2) storage potential for geologic carbon sequestration was endorsed as a best practice for a country-wide storage potential assessment by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
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.
New Science Gauges Potential to Store CO2
A new method to assess the nation's potential for storing carbon dioxide could lead to techniques for lessening the impacts of climate change, according to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, who praised a U.S. Geological Survey report in an energy teleconference today.
"Carbon farm" project will study ways to capture atmospheric CO2
Imagine a new kind of farming in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta - "carbon-capture" farming, which traps atmospheric carbon dioxide and rebuilds lost soils.
USGS Scientist Discusses Feasibility of CO2 Burial...
Depleted gas reservoirs can provide enough storage to limit carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels for at least 20 years, to levels set for the U.S. under the 1997 Kyoto Treaty on Global Warming, according to Dr. Robert Burruss of 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.
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
Can We Move Carbon from the Atmosphere and into Rocks?
A new method to assess the Nation's potential for storing carbon dioxide in rocks below the earth's surface could help lessen climate change impacts. The injection and storage of liquid carbon dioxide into subsurface rocks is known as geologic carbon sequestration.
USGS scientist Robert Burruss discusses this new methodology and how it can help mitigate climate
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Carbon emissions associated with land change for the Sierra Nevadas
For the A1B-LUD scenario, cumulative emissions associated with land use, land use change, and disturbance (left) and projected land use, land cover, and disturbance area (right).
