Ocean CO2 sequestration efficiency from
3-D ocean models
Orr, J. C., O. Aumont, A. Yool, G.-K. Plattner, F. Joos,
E. Maier-Reimer, M.-F. Weirig, R. Schlitzer, K. Caldeira,
M. E. Wickett, and R. J. Matear. In Greenhouse Gas Control
Technologies, Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on
Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies, edited by D. Williams,
R. Durie, P. McMullan, C. Paulson, and A. Smith, CSIRO, Collingwood,
Australia, pp. 469-474, 2001.
James C. Orr and Olivier Aumont, Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et
de l'Environnement, CEA-CNRS and IPSL, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
Andrew Yool, Southampton Oceanography Centre (SOC), Southampton, England, UK
Gian-Kasper Plattner and Fortunat Joos, Climate and Environmental
Physics, Physics Institute, University of Bern (PIUB), Bern,
Switzerland
Ernst Maier-Reimer, Max Planck Institut für Meteorologie (MPIM),
Hamburg, Germany
Marie-France Weirig and Reiner Schlitzer, Alfred Wegener Institute for
Polar and Marine Research (AWI), Bremerhaven, Germany
Ken Caldeira and Michael Wickett Lawrence Livermore National
Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, California, USA
Richard Matear, Commonwealth Science and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Hobart, Australia
The efficiency of sequestering CO2
artificially in the deep ocean is not well known. To estimate
uncertainties, we made standard simulations in a diverse group of
seven ocean general circulation models (OGCMs). Each model
discretizes the ocean into a 3-D array of grid cells, and each
includes a standard description of carbonate chemistry, without
biology, and without calcite sediments. Injection simulations with
seven injection sites per run were made separately for three different
depths. At 3000 m, all models retained at least 97% of the injected
CO2 at the end of the 100-year
injection period; after 500 years retention efficiency was lower and
ranged widely (48-82%). At 1500 m, retention efficiency was less
(82-96% after 100 years; 28-57% after 500 years). At 800 m, it was
less still (73-83% after 100 years; 15-38% after 500 years). For the
1500-m injection, San Francisco is generally the most efficient site,
New York is the least efficient. For the 3000-m injection,
differences between sites are smaller. Western boundary sites (New
York and Tokyo) increased in efficiency more than other sites. In the
1500-m and 3000-m simulations, injected
CO2 is lost mostly from the Southern
Ocean, except for CO2 injected at 1500
m at New York, which is lost mostly from the North Atlantic.
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