Numerical Analysis of Carbon Dioxide Injection in the Ocean

Abstract

Global warming caused by the increase of the greenhouse effect gases including carbon dioxide is one of the serious problems for our planet. For preventing further increase in the atmospheric carbon dioxide, a greater attention has been given to the technique to ocean sequestration of carbon dioxide (CO_2), in which CO_2 is directly introduced into the middle or deeper layers of the ocean. Total CO_2 emission in Japan in 1990 was one billion tons. This amount exceeds by about 0.046Gt, the target cut of emission stated in COP3. We examined the behavior of this excess CO_2 that might be continually introduced in the sea off Hawaii of 50 years by 3D-numerical simulation. Injected CO_2 was confined into seawater that was the primary criteria. But biological CO_2 effect of benthos living on the sea bottom was also taken into consideration. It was suggested that CO_2 must be introduced into the layers deeper than 1000m of the Ocean.