Preface

Carbon sequestration has emerged as an important option in policies to mitigate the increasing atmospheric concentrations of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO₂). Significant quantities of anthropogenic CO₂ are sequestered by natural carbon uptake in plants, soils, and the oceans. These uptake processes are objects of intense study by biogeochemists, ecologists, and other researchers who seek to understand the processes that determine the mass balance (“budget”) among global carbon fluxes. At the same time, many scientists and engineers are examining methods for deliberate carbon sequestration through storage in plants, soils, the oceans, and geological formations.