Current Projects

There are several projects currently underway to investigate ocean carbon dioxide sequestration. 

DOE Center for Research on Ocean Carbon sequestration (DOCS)

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The DOCS is currently researching the feasibility, effectiveness and environmental issues concerned with ocean sequestration of CO_2. It is investigating the biological, chemical, and physical properties involved with both direct injection and fertilization.

International Field Experiment

Since December 1997, Japan, Norway, Canada, Australia, Switzerland, and the United States signed a Project Agreement for International Collaboration on CO₂ Sequestration [1] .  The objective of this agreement is to research the feasibility and environmental impacts of ocean sequestration using small-scale field tests. Research organizations involved are the Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth (Japan), the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (Norway), and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (United States). The field experiment was scheduled for March 2002, off the Kona Coast of Hawaii with the Pacific International Center for High Technology Research in Hawaii (PICHTR) as the general contractor. However, due to large protests from the Hawaii environmentalist community and nearby residents and fishermen, the project was cancelled twice.  Other sites that may be considered are a Norwegian semi-enclosed fjord and waters off the Bermuda Biological Station for Research. [2]

CO₂ Ocean Sequestration Project in Japan

In 1997, Japan launched a five-year project for research and development of ocean sequestration called the Study of Environmental Assessment on CO₂ Ocean Sequestration for Mitigation of Climate Change (SEA COSMIC).  This study was specifically designed to study the behavior of carbon dioxide injected at intermediate depth-1000-2000 m.  The Kansai Environmental Engineering Center Co. Ltd was put in charge of Western Pacific Environmental Assessment Study on COSMIC (WEST COSMIC):

Information on advection and diffusion processes, distribution and rate processes of carbonate species, and precise test of biomass through water column from the surface to the bottom were collected from the northern West Pacific. Moreover, a different kinds of field experiment are carried out, by using newly developed equipments, such as Calcium Carbonate Dissolution Experiment Device, Benthic Chamber and so on, especially, acute toxicity test of CO₂ to deep-sea plankton, which is the first trial in the world. To evaluate the sequestration capacity of dissolved carbon dioxide into the ocean, a numerical model is constructed through assessment of the behavior and the fate of sequestrated carbon dioxide for a time scale of decades and centuries in the western North Pacific [3] .

Plans for the project include studying the behavior of released CO₂ in the ocean, developing a system for CO₂ injection, evaluating environmental impacts, assessing the long-term consequences of ocean sequestration, and conducting an international field experiment [4] .

The International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme

The International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) initiated the Ocean Carbon-Cycle Model Intercomparison Project (OCMIP) in 1995 through the Global, Analysis, Interpretation, and Modeling (GAIM) task force. The first goal of OCMIP is to develop and understand 3-D global ocean carbon-cycle models. Between 1998-2000, the second goal of creating simulations for CO₂ behavior was accomplished.  For full text of both goals click here.

Monterey Bay Aquarium Institute

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Institute (MBARI) has conducted several small-scale experiments off the coast of California.  These experiments are designed to test different factors. In 2000, a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) was sent into the ocean to release small amounts of CO₂ at 800m depths. This was the first experiment to investigate the rising plume of CO₂.  MBARI has also studied the affect of CO₂ release on marine organisms with no conclusive data. However, from these small-scale experiments, researchers are working to infer large-scale data.