Sinks

A carbon dioxide (CO₂) sink is a location or process that will store CO₂ from the atmosphere for hundreds to thousands of years. Terrestrial sinks include CO₂ uptake by plants and soils. Geologic sinks include formations with layers of porous rock deep underground that are "capped" by a layer of non-porous rock above them. Research efforts for geologic sinks are concentrated on depleted oil and gas formations, deep unmineable coal basins, and deep saline formations.

Terrestrial sequestration uses agricultural methods to increase the amout of carbon stored. By creating greenbelts, increased tree plantings, or altering agricultural production practices, increasing mounts of carbon can be removed, at least temporarily, from the atmosphere. || More... || View Map.

Oil and Gas Reservoirs are great locations for storing CO₂ Once the oil and gas has been removed from a field, the space created can be used for the long-term storage of CO₂. In addition, in some fields the CO₂ can help to mobilize remaining oil, thus increasing production. || More... || Interactive Map || Static Map.

Unmineable Coal Seams, located in many parts of North America, are great possibilities for long-term geological sequestration of CO₂. In addition to simply providing a porous mineral to hold the carbon dioxide, the gas may increase methane production from the basins. || More... || Interactive Map || Static Map.

Deep Saline Formations are layers of porous rock that are saturated with brine. They are much more commonplace than coal seams or oil and gas bearing rock, and represent an enormous potential for CO₂ storage capacity. However, much less is known about saline formations than is known about crude oil reservoirs and coal seams and there is a greater amount of uncertainty associated with their amenability to CO₂ storage. || More... || Interactive Map || Static Map.

Future Geologic Sequestration Options

Other possible geologic sequestration options include basalts and shale formations.

Basalt Formations--Basalt formations are geologic formations of solidified lava. Basalt formations have a unique chemical makeup that could potentially convert all of the injected CO₂ to a solid mineral form, thus isolating it from the atmosphere permanently. Research is focused on enhancing and utilizing the mineralization reactions and increasing CO₂ flow within a basalt formation. || Static Map.

Organic Rich Shales--Shale, the most common type of sedimentary rock, is characterized by thin horizontal layers of rock with very low permeability in the vertical direction. Many shales contain 1-2 percent organic material in the form of hydrocarbons, which provides an adsorption substrate for CO₂ storage similar to CO₂ storage in coal seams. Research is focused on achieving economically viable CO₂ injection rates,