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Likely no earthquake risk from storing CO2 under ocean off B.C. coast

Project looks to pump massive amounts of captured emissions into ocean crust
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This 2011 photo of the underwater basalt field located in the Endeavour area of the Cascadia Basin, located about 200 kilometres off the west coast of Vancouver Island, could soon be the site where carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is stored. (Courtesy of Ocean Networks Canada/CSSF-ROPOS)

Authors of a new study are readying to move ahead with a plan to pump planet-warming emissions below the ocean floor after finding theresa国际传媒檚 likely no risk of the process causing earthquakes.

The Solid Carbon project is looking to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and pump it into the sediment at the bottom of the ocean where it will be permanently stored off Vancouver Island.

Researchers involved in the project, which is led by the University of Victoriasa国际传媒檚 Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) and funded by the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions, have released a study finding the risk of causing seismic activity is below 0.01 per cent.

Geophysicist Eneanwan Ekpo Johnson used advanced computer modelling to see if injecting 2.5 megatons of CO2 annually at the study site would induce fault slip, where slabs of earth slide past one another and cause earthquakes.

sa国际传媒淭he amount of CO2 being stored there wouldnsa国际传媒檛 cause that movement,sa国际传媒 said Johnson, who led the study through her ONC and UVic science postdoctoral work. sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 really a way forward in terms of the overall contribution to the reduction of CO2 in the atmosphere, so itsa国际传媒檚 really reassuring.sa国际传媒

Solid Carbonsa国际传媒檚 plan is to inject the CO2 into porous, permeable basalt lying beneath the Cascadia Basin, which is 200 kilometres off the west coast of Vancouver Island, where it would react with other minerals and eventually solidify into carbonate rock.

While people may be nervous about pushing gasses into a tectonically active area thatsa国际传媒檚 prone to earthquakes, the researchers say their study shows the risk is practically non-existent. The Cascadia Basin location was chosen because of its large capacity for sequestering CO2.

sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 definitely the largest reservoir for putting CO2 in that we know of and itsa国际传媒檚 certainly the safest and the most durable,sa国际传媒 said Martin Scherwath, the studysa国际传媒檚 co-author and an Ocean Networks Canada senior scientist. sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 going to be there, safe, for essentially ever.sa国际传媒

Solid Carbon聮s proposed CO2 injection site off Vancouver Island. (Courtesy of Ocean Networks Canada)
Solid Carbonsa国际传媒檚 proposed CO2 injection site off Vancouver Island. (Courtesy of Ocean Networks Canada)

Kate Moran, ONC president and Solid Carbonsa国际传媒檚 principal investigator, said the project offers the opportunity to safely remove decades of anthropogenic emissions and help avert the climate crisis.

The Earth has the potential to sequester 10 gigatons of CO2 emissions per year by 2050 in the basalt, which Solid Carbon said equates to about half of the reductions needed to keep the planet habitable for people.

With the feasibility study successful, the next step will be to secure funding for field testing the process and then to hopefully take the negative emission technology to multiple injection sites.

sa国际传媒淚f we have 1,000 holes spread over the globe, we then have a gigaton scale which is really whatsa国际传媒檚 necessary,sa国际传媒 Scherwath said.

The end goal is to have self-sufficient floating platforms out in the sea that would use wind and solar power to draw in the gasses and pump them into the depths below.

sa国际传媒淭he final solution is to get completely away from land and not even have to worry about the transport of the CO2, but right now direct air capture is only happening on land at relatively small scales,sa国际传媒 Scherwath said.

sa国际传媒淭he long-term hope is that it is a real climate solution.sa国际传媒

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About the Author: Jake Romphf

In early 2021, I made the move from the Great Lakes to Greater Victoria with the aim of experiencing more of the country I report on.
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