Direct disposal of liquified fossil fuel carbon dioxide in the ocean

Abstract

Growing awareness of the impending effects on climate of increasing levels of CO₂ in the atmosphere has generated wide debate at an international level that is directed towards a variety of CO₂ control strategies. Of these, direct disposal of liquid CO₂ into the deep ocean offers a number of potential advantages: the oceanic reservoir is very large, and has the ability to buffer chemical changes caused by CO₂ addition. In addition, time scales of mixing in the ocean are very long. This paper reviews some of the scientific evidence associated with this emerging form of global engineering, and discusses some of the important concepts in terms of the global carbon cycle.