Progress in Direct Experiments on the Ocean Disposal of Fossil

1,29

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Fuel CO2

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stron

2362

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Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute

2001

rok

Introduction.

My laboratory has now been engaged in carrying out small scale controlled field experiments on the

ocean sequestration of fossil fuel CO2 for about five years, and the field has changed enormously

in that time. We have gone from theoretical assessments to experimental results, and from

cartoon sketches of imagined outcomes to high-resolution video images of experiments on the

ocean floor shared around the world.

It seems appropriate therefore to give a brief review, albeit one very much from a personal

perspective. Although I made my first measurement of the CO2 content of oceanic waters in 1965,

it was not until 1996 that I seriously considered the issue of ocean CO2 disposal as a possible

means of countering the growing problem of climate change, and of meeting the needs of emerging

greenhouse gas policies. Two factors combined to create this change in research direction.