Contribution des écosystèmes continentaux à la séquestration du carbone

This article focuses on the contribution of natural ecosystems (forests, grasslands) and agrosystems to carbon sequestration either in biomass or in soil. Carbon stocks are important (650 Gt in biomass, 1500 to 2000 Gt in soils as compared with 750 for atmospheric CO₂), and also fluxes that led to CO₂ emissions in the past (due to deforestation or cultivation) and which now turn to carbon sequestration (2 Gt_C/year). This article shows great spatial variations in stocks and fluxes and great measurement difficulties, especially for stock variations. Anthropic actions such as reforestation (mainly in the North), changes in land use or in crop management, can increase carbon sequestration in biomass or soil, with a residence time of several decades, which is not insignificant with respect to the Kyoto protocol and which also has other environmental benefits. To cite this article: M. Robert, B. Saugier, C. R. Geoscience 335 (2003).     

The Fe–C–O–H–N system at 6.3–7.8 GPa and 1200–1400 °C: implications for deep carbon and nitrogen cycles

Interactions in a Fe–C–O–H–N system that controls the mobility of siderophile nitrogen and carbon in the Fe⁰-saturated upper mantle are investigated in experiments at 6.3–7.8 GPa and 1200–1400 °C. The results show that the γ-Fe and metal melt phases equilibrated with the fluid in a system unsaturated with carbon and nitrogen are stable at 1300 °C. The interactions of Fe₃C with an N-rich fluid in a graphite-saturated system produce the ε-Fe₃N phase (space group P6₃/mmc or P6₃22) at subsolidus conditions of 1200–1300 °C, while N-rich melts form at 1400 °C. At IW- and MMO-buffered hydrogen fugacity (fH₂), fluids vary from NH₃- to H₂O-rich compositions (NH₃/N₂?>?1 in all cases) with relatively high contents of alkanes. The fluid derived from N-poor samples contains less H₂O and more carbon which mainly reside in oxygenated hydrocarbons, i.e., alcohols and esters at MMO-buffered fH₂ and carboxylic acids at unbuffered fH₂ conditions. In unbuffered conditions, N₂ is the principal nitrogen host (NH₃/N₂?≤?0.1) in the fluid equilibrated with the metal phase. Relatively C- and N-rich fluids in equilibrium with the metal phase (γ-Fe, melt, or Fe₃N) are stable at the upper mantle pressures and temperatures. According to our estimates, the metal/fluid partition coefficient of nitrogen is higher than that of carbon. Thus, nitrogen has a greater affinity for iron than carbon. The general inference is that reduced fluids can successfully transport volatiles from the metal-saturated mantle to metal-free shallow mantle domains. However, nitrogen has a higher affinity for iron and selectively accumulates in the metal phase, while highly mobile carbon resides in the fluid phase. This may be a controlling mechanism of the deep carbon and nitrogen cycles.     

2.0 Ga orogenic graphite deposits and associated 13C-enriched meta-carbonate rocks from South China Craton: Implications for global Lomagundi event

The Lomagundi (-Jatuli) event, characterized by extremely high positive global inorganic carbon isotope excursion at about 2.2 billion years ago, is pivotal in investigating the causes and consequences of great oxygenation event, inventory and sequestration of carbon on the Earth’s surface, evolution of life, and more profoundly tectonic control on Earth’s environment. However, the reasons that caused the isotopic excursion are not resolved yet. Herein, we report the discovery of meta-carbonate rocks with distinct positive carbon isotopic excursion from the Paleoproterozoic continental collision zone of the Kongling Complex, South China Craton. The δ¹³C_V-PDB values for meta-carbonate rocks show positive values in the range from +5.5‰ to +11.6‰, whereas the δ¹³C_V-PDB values of associated graphite deposits range from ?25.8‰ to ?9.5‰. Zircon U-Pb-Hf isotopes from zircon-bearing meta-carbonate sample yielded weighted average ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb age of 2001.3 ± 9.5 Ma, with corresponding ε_Hf(t) range from ?7.05 to ?3.16, comparable to the values of local 2.9–2.6 Ga basement rocks. Geochemical characteristics of meta-carbonate rocks, such as their rare earth element patterns and the trace element parameters of La, Ce, Eu, and Gd anomalies and Y/Ho ratio, suggest that the carbonate deposition took place in passive continental margin in association with large volumes of organic carbon. The extensive graphite deposits from Kongling Complex in South China Craton, their equivalents in the North China Craton and elsewhere across the globe prove that the burial of ¹²C-enriched organic carbon has eventually resulted in the global enrichment of ¹³C in the atmospheric CO₂, which is recorded in the marine carbonate rocks. Isotopic mass balance estimates indicate that more than half of the organic carbon was buried during the oceanic closure. Hence, the observed global shift could be directly related to the continent collision event in greater China, thus resolving the long-standing paradox of the Lomagundi global positive carbon isotope excursion. Moreover, the present results suggest that orogenesis play a significant role in sequestration of carbon into the continental crust.     

Industrial sources of CO2 emissions in Poland in the light of underground storage possibilities

Industrial sectors responsible for large part of CO₂ emissions in Poland are characterized from the point of view of possibilities of sequestration of this gas by underground storage. On the basis of official statistics and data obtained from local administration and individual plants, attempt was made to evaluate the magnitude of emissions from selected categories, sub-categories and sectors of the industry (in accordance with methodology of IPCC), concentration of CO₂ in combustion gases and those emitted by industry, and to identify major point sources of emission of this gas in Poland. A special attention was paid to those sectors of industry that may be the first to act as a source of carbon dioxide for sequestration by underground storage in the nearest future. To cite this article: R. Tarkowski, C. R. Geoscience 337 (2005).     

Concentrations and isotope ratios of carbon,nitrogen and sulfur in ocean-floor basalts

Fresh submarine basalt glasses from Galapagos Ridge, FAMOUS area, Cayman Trough and Kilauea east rift contain 22 to 160 ppm carbon and 0.3 to 2.8 ppm nitrogen, respectively, as the sums of dissolved species and vesicle-filling gases (CO₂ and N₂). The large range of variation in carbon content is due to combined effect of depth-dependency of the solubility of carbon in basalt melt and varying extents of vapour loss during magma emplacement as well as in sample crushing. The isotopic ratios of indigenous carbon and nitrogen are in very narrow ranges,?6.2 ± 0.2% relative to PDB and +0.2 ± 0.6 %. relative to atmospheric nitrogen, respectively. In basalt samples from Juan de Fuca Ridge, however, isotopically light carbon (δ¹³C = around ?24%.) predominates over the indigenous carbon; no indigenous heavy carbon was found. Except for Galapagos Ridge samples, these ocean-floor basalts contain 670 to 1100 ppm sulfur, averaging 810 ppm, in the form of both sulfide and sulfate, whereas basalts from Galapagos Ridge are higher in both sulfur (1490 and 1570 ppm) and iron (11.08% total iron as FeO). The δ³⁴S values average +0.3 ± 0.5%. with average fractionation factor between sulfate and sulfide of +7.4 ± 1.6%.. The sulfate/sulfide ratios tend to increase with increasing water content of basalt, probably because the oxygen fugacity increases with increasing water content in basalt melt.     

Numerical simulation and optimization of CO2 sequestration in saline aquifers for vertical and horizontal well injection

With heightened concerns on CO₂ emissions from pulverized-coal (PC) power plants, there has been major emphasis in recent years on the development of safe and economical geological carbon sequestration (GCS) technology. Saline aquifers are considered very attractive for GCS because of their large storage capacity in U.S. and other parts of the world for long-term sequestration. However, uncertainties about storage efficiency as well as leakage risks remain major areas of concern that need to be addressed before the saline aquifers can be fully exploited for carbon sequestration. A genetic algorithm-based optimizer has been developed and coupled with the well-known multiphase numerical solver TOUGH2 to optimally examine various injection strategies for increasing the CO₂ storage efficiency as well as for reducing its plume migration. The optimal injection strategies for CO₂ injection employing a vertical injection well and a horizontal injection well are considered. To ensure the accuracy of the results, the combined hybrid numerical solver/optimizer code was validated by conducting simulations of three widely used benchmark problems employed by carbon sequestration researchers worldwide. The validated code is then employed to optimize the proposed water-alternating-gas injection scheme for CO₂ sequestration using both the vertical and the horizontal injection wells. The results suggest the potential benefits of CO₂ migration control and dissolution. The optimization capability of the hybrid code holds a great promise in studying a host of other problems in GCS, namely how to optimally enhance capillary trapping, accelerate the dissolution of CO₂ in water or brine, and immobilize the CO₂ plume.     

全球变化条件下的土壤呼吸效应

土壤呼吸是陆地植物固定CO₂尔后又释放CO₂返回大气的主要途径，是与全球变化有关的一个重要过程。综述了全球变化下CO₂浓度上升、全球增温、耕作方式的改变及氮沉降增加的土壤呼吸效应。大气CO₂浓度的上升将增加土壤中CO₂的释放通量，同时将促进土壤的碳吸存；在全球增温的情形下，土壤可能向大气中释放更多的CO₂，传统的土地利用方式可能是引发温室气体CO₂产生的重要原因，所有这些全球变化对土壤呼吸的作用具有不确定性。认为土壤碳库的碳储量增加并不能减缓21世纪大气CO₂浓度的上升。据此讨论了该问题的对策并提出了今后土壤呼吸的一些研究方向。其中强调，尽管森林土壤碳固定能力有限，但植树造林、森林保护是一项缓解大气CO₂上升的可行性对策；基于现有田间尺度CO₂通量测定在不确定性方面的进展，今后应继续朝大尺度田间和模拟程序方面努力；着重回答全球变化条件下的土壤呼吸过程机理；区分土壤呼吸的不同来源以及弄清土壤呼吸黑箱系统中土壤微生物及土壤动物的功能。当然，土壤呼吸的测定方法尚有待改善。     

Environmental changes and carbon cycle perturbations at the Triassic–Jurassic boundary in northern Switzerland

The Triassic–Jurassic boundary is characterized by strong perturbations of the global carbon cycle, triggered by massive volcanic eruptions related to the onset of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province. These perturbations are recorded by negative carbon isotope excursions (CIEs) which have been reported worldwide. In this study, Triassic–Jurassic boundary sections from the southern margin of the Central European Basin (CEB) located in northern Switzerland are analyzed for organic carbon and nitrogen isotopes in combination with particulate organic matter (POM) analyses. We reconstruct the evolution of the depositional environment from Late Triassic to Early Jurassic in northern Switzerland and show that observed negative shifts in δ¹³C of the total organic carbon (δ¹³C_TOC) in the sediment are only subordinately influenced by varying organic matter (OM) composition and primarily reflect global changes in the carbon cycle. Based on palynology and the stratigraphic positions of isotopic shifts, the δ¹³C_TOC record of the studied sections is correlated with the GSSP section at Kuhjoch (Tethyan realm) in Austria and with the St. Audrie’s Bay section (CEB realm) in southwest England. We also show that in contrast to POM analyses the applicability of organic carbon/total nitrogen (OC/TN) atomic ratios and stable isotopes of total nitrogen (δ¹⁵N_TN) for detecting changes in source of OM is limited in marginal depositional environments with frequent changes in lithology and OM contents.     

Assessing the synergistic reduction effects of different energy environmental taxes: the case of China

Imposing any tax among carbon tax, sulfur tax and nitrogen tax on fossil fuels will also reduce the other two air pollutants. Neglecting the synergistic effect of each energy environmental tax and levying carbon tax, sulfur tax and nitrogen tax at the same time will overestimate the abatement cost of air emissions. This study adopts a partial equilibrium model which uses linear demand and supply curves to illustrate the emission reductions in carbon tax, sulfur tax and nitrogen tax. The synergistic reduction effects of CO₂, SO₂ and NO _x are firstly evaluated under the implicit tax scenario of resource tax and consumption tax on fossil fuels. Then it is compared with the synergistic reduction effects of CO₂, SO₂ and NO _x under different explicit tax scenarios of increasing tax rate on carbon tax, sulfur tax and nitrogen tax. If the synergistic reduction effect of explicit environmental taxes is better, this research aims to find one kind of environmental tax among carbon tax, sulfur tax and nitrogen tax with the best synergistic reduction effect and to provide a decision support for the policy makers of energy environmental taxes. The results indicate that explicit environmental taxes have better synergistic reduction effects compared with the current implicit environmental taxes. And explicit sulfur tax can lead to the largest synergistic reduction effects of CO₂, SO₂ and NO _x . Therefore, the policy makers of energy environmental taxes could consider adopting the explicit sulfur tax to reduce various environmental air emissions at the largest amount.     

Assessing the fate and transformation of plant residues in the terrestrial environment using HR-MAS NMR spectroscopy

Plant litter decomposition plays a fundamental role in carbon and nitrogen cycles, provides key nutrients to the soil environment and represents a potentially large positive feedback to atmospheric CO₂. However, the full details of decomposition pathways and products are unknown. Here we present the first application of HR-MAS NMR spectroscopy on ¹³C and ¹⁵N labeled plant materials, and apply this approach in a preliminary study to monitor the environmental degradation of the pine and wheatgrass residues over time. In HR-MAS, is it possible to acquire very high resolution NMR data of plant biomass, and apply the vast array of multidimensional experiments available in conventional solution-state NMR. High levels of isotopic enrichment combined with HR-MAS significantly enhance the detection limits, and provide a wealth of information that is unattainable by any other method. Diffusion edited HR-MAS NMR data reveal the rapid loss of carbohydrate structures, while two-dimensional (2-D) HR-MAS NMR spectra demonstrate the relatively fast loss of both hydrolysable and condensed tannin structures from all plant tissues studied. Aromatic (partially lignin) and aliphatic components (waxes, cuticles) tend to persist, along with a small fraction of carbohydrate, and become highly functionalized over time. While one-dimensional (1-D)¹³C HR-MAS NMR spectra of fresh plant tissue reflect compositional differences between pine and grass, these differences become negligible after decomposition suggesting that recalcitrant carbon may be similar despite the plant source. Two-dimensional ¹H-¹⁵N HR-MAS NMR analysis of the pine residue suggests that nitrogen from specific peptides is either selectively preserved or used for the synthesis of what appears to be novel structures. The amount of relevant data generated from plant components in situ using HR-MAS NMR is highly encouraging, and demonstrates that complete assignment will yield unprecedented structural knowledge of plant cell components, and provide a powerful tool with which to assess carbon sequestration and transformation in the environment.     

Composition of marsh gases in the central and eastern United States

Summer samples of marsh gases in Minnesota (fresh-water), Louisiana, and Delaware (fresh-water and brackish-water) yielded 50–85% methane, 3–52% “excess nitrogen”, 4–15% carbon dioxide, and small amounts of traces of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, propane, hydrogen sulfide, and C₄–C₇ hydrocarbons. These types of gas flows were found to decrease drastically in winter periods of sampling, and large amounts of “air” accumulate in some marsh and lake sediments. Carbon dioxide decreases in the winter samples, but carbon monoxide and hydrogen sulfide showed relative increases. Ethane is present in several, and butane in one, sample from Minnesota in the fall. There is a drop in “excess nitrogen” (non-air N₂) in the winter as compared to summer samples.Specimens of marsh plants were placed in culture flasks with mud from each collecting locality and allowed to culture for several months. In composition, the cultured gases are predominantly methane, carbon dioxide, and “excess nitrogen”. Hydrogen, ethane, propane, and hydrogen sulfide are minor components. Carbon monoxide was not detected, in contrast to marsh gases. Phragmites from industrially polluted Delaware Bay evolved many additional hydrocarbons in culture, pH and Eh were monitored for Typha in culture; pH remained near 7 and Eh near − 100 mV after stabilization.Carbohydrate analyses of marsh plants indicate xylans exceed cellulose as a major source of methane in these samples; mannose, galactose, and arabinose are also important potential contributors.Delta carbon-13 values of methane from marsh gases sampled are more negative than those from laboratory-cultured source plants, whereas delta deuterium values from methane from marsh gases are less negative than those of cultured source plants.     

Does bicarbonate affect the nitrate utilization and photosynthesis of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Orychophragmus violaceus</Emphasis>?

The effect of bicarbonate (HCO₃^?) on the growth and development of plants varies by species. To better understand inorganic carbon and nitrogen assimilation changes of karst-adaptable plants under different HCO₃^? treatments, we conducted experiments on seedlings and in vitro plantlets of Orychophragmus violaceus (Ov). We found that the vital photosynthesis potential (as measured by net photosynthetic rate, actual photochemical efficiency of photosystem-II, photochemical quenching coefficient, and the instantaneous carbon isotope ratio of 3-phosphoglycerate) was consistent under different HCO₃^? treatments of Ov. Bicarbonate’s lack of effect on carbon assimilation of Ov may be related to carbonic anhydrase in Ov converting HCO₃^? to H₂O and CO₂. In this way, Ov could prevent HCO₃^? ion toxicity and high pH from harming its growth and development under HCO₃^? stress. This study also found that high HCO₃^? concentrations could promote nitrogen assimilation and utilization of Ov through changes in related indexes (foliar nitrogen isotope fractionation ratio, stable nitrogen isotope assimilation ratio, foliar stable nitrogen isotope fractionation, nitrate nitrogen utilization efficiency, and nitrate utilization share) under different HCO₃^? treatments. Bicarbonate has different effects on photosynthesis and on inorganic nitrogen assimilation of Ov, which may be connected to photosynthesis providing electrons for nitrate/nitrite reduction through the photosynthetic chain.     

Effect of organic carbon on the production of biofuel nitrous oxide during the denitrification process

The carbon source plays an important role in denitrification for nitrogen removal from wastewater. In this study, the denitrification performance and nitrous oxide (N₂O) generation in four sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) fed with methanol, ethanol, sodium acetate and glucose were investigated. The maximum N₂O generation was achieved when glucose was used as the carbon source, with a N₂O conversion ratio of 56%. The high conversion ratio was contributed from the organic carbon of glucose and the glucose-acclimated denitrifiers. The nitrite accumulation and N₂O generation during denitrification with glucose as the carbon source increased with increasing chemical oxygen demand to nitrogen ratios in the range of 2–8. The microbial community and their relative abundances varied greatly in the four reactors, and a low abundance of Thauera was found in the glucose-fed SBR, which might contribute to the greater N₂O production. Practical strategies for N₂O generation from the denitrification process using glucose as the carbon source were proposed so as to achieve energy recovery from nitrogen in wastewater.     

The contribution of agricultural and urban activities to inorganic carbon fluxes within temperate watersheds

The lateral transport of bicarbonate as dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) to the oceans is an integral component of the global carbon budget and can represent the sequestration of CO₂ from the atmosphere. Recently studies have implicated land use change, in particular agricultural development, as an accelerator of bicarbonate export. However, due to the co-variation of land use, bedrock and surficial geologies, and the relationship between bicarbonate export and climate, the impact of anthropogenic activities on DIC export remains an important research question. In order to examine the land use controls on DIC export from small temperate watersheds we sampled 19 streams draining catchments of varying land uses with similar bedrock and surficial geologies. In addition to an agricultural effect, there was a strong correlation between the percent of watershed in urban development and DIC concentrations and DIC yields. Urban watersheds exported 7.8 times more DIC than their nearby forested counterparts and 2.0 times more DIC than nearby agricultural catchments. Isotopic data suggest that excess DIC export from altered systems results from increased chemical weathering, enhanced CO₂ production within urban green spaces, and as a result of organic matter loading from septic systems and leaky sewer lines. Furthermore, we found that nitrogen additions (e.g. fertilizers and manure) are aiding in the dissolution of lime, increasing the total export of DIC from agricultural watersheds. Calculated anthropogenic loading rates ranged from 0.43 to 0.86 mol C m^− 2 yr^− 1. These loading rates suggest that a significant portion of global DIC export might be attributable to human activities, although the impacts on CO₂ sequestration are difficult to determine.     

A model of the diagenetic evolution of coaly sedimentary organic matter

Elemental composition was used to calculate the amounts of compounds produced during the diagenetic evolution of a coal series from the Mahakam delta (Kalimantan, Indonesia). These calculations were based on the following hypotheses: organic nitrogen does not take part in reactions and remains unchanged in the residual organic matter, the only compounds produced are water, carbon dioxide and hydrocarbons.This approach shows that carbon loss during diagenesis is mainly as CO₂, and hydrogen loss is mainly as H₂O. Hydrocarbon production is negligible, in accordance with absence of bacterial methane accumulations in the Mahakam delta.The δ¹³C of coals in the sequence becomes about 2 per mil more positive over the diagenetic depth range of coal evolution. Accounting for the coal δ¹³C change in terms of CO₂ loss requires that the CO₂ given off have δ¹³C of about ?40%.. Such negative CO₂ has not been observed in natural systems, except when CH₄ is undergoing oxidation. Several plausible causes for this effect are discussed.     

Carbon isotope fractionation by the marine ammonia-oxidizing archaeon Nitrosopumilus maritimus

Ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) are abundant and widely distributed microorganisms in aquatic and terrestrial habitats. By catalyzing the first and rate limiting step in nitrification, these chemolithoautotrophs play a significant role in the global nitrogen cycle and contribute to primary production. Here, the carbon isotopic fractionation relative to inorganic carbon source was determined for bulk biomass, biphytanes and polar lipid bound sugars of a marine AOA pure culture. Bulk biomass and biphytanes from Nitrosopumilus maritimus showed identical carbon isotope fractionation (ε_DIC/bulk and ε_{DIC/byphytanes}) of ca. −20‰. The glycoside head groups were mainly glucose, mannose and inositol, and exhibited different carbon isotopic composition. In general, these monosaccharides were enriched in ¹³C (ε −6.1‰ to −13.8‰) relative to bulk biomass and biphytanes. The fact that the carbon isotope composition of the biphytanes reflected that of the bulk biomass of N. maritimus suggests that the depletion of ¹³C in both biomass and biphytanes resulted mainly from the carbon isotope discrimination by the bicarbonate-fixing enzyme in the autotrophic hydroxypropionate/hydroxybutyrate cycle. Our results further revealed that lipid compounds represent suitable biomarkers for determining δ¹³C values of archaeal ammonia oxidizers without biosynthetic correction.     

Carbon,hydrogen and nitrogen isotopes in solvent-extractable organic matter from carbonaceous chondrites

Solvent extractions were done on the carbonaceous chondrites Murray, Murchison, Orgueil and Renazzo, using CCl₄ and CH₃OH. Between 2 and 10% of the total carbon in these meteorites is extractable by ordinary techniques, most of it in CH₃OH. After demineralization with HF, perhaps as much as 30% of the total carbon in Murray may be extractable with CH₃OH. The extracts from Renazzo have isotopic ratios which suggest that they are mainly terrestrial organic matter, with lesser contributions from indigenous organics. The CH₃OH-soluble organic matter from Murchison and both untreated and HF-treated Murray has δ¹³C values of about +5 to + 10%. and δ¹⁵N values of about +90 to +100%., both of which are significantly higher than the bulk meteorite values. The Orgueil CH₃OH-extract also has a δ¹⁵N value well above the value in residual organic matter. Values for δD of +300 to +500%. are found for the CH₃OH-soluble organic matter. The combined data for C, H and N isotopes makes it highly unlikely that the CH₃OH-soluble components are derivable from, or simply related to, the insoluble organic polymer found in the same meteorites. A relationship is suggested between the event that formed hydrous minerals in CI1 and CM2 meteorites and the introduction of water-soluble (methanol-soluble) organic compounds. Organic matter soluble in CCl₄ has essentially no nitrogen, and δ³C and δD values are lower than for CH₃OH-soluble phases. Either there are large isotopic fractionations for carbon and hydrogen between different soluble organic phases, or the less polar components are partially of terrestrial origin.     

中国岩溶碳汇过程与效应研究成果及展望

我国是世界能源消费和CO₂总排放量第一大国,碳减排任务艰巨,责任重大。据调查,我国岩溶碳汇与森林、土壤碳汇在同一数量级,但其要在国家层面发挥重大作用,其影响因素及机理需要进一步调查和阐释,估算精度还有待提高。系统总结了流域尺度岩溶碳循环过程,并重点揭示了生物作用对岩溶碳循环的影响;研究了水圈二氧化碳的再循环规律;评估了外源水对岩溶作用的影响程度和促进强度;利用数学回归模型估算区域岩溶碳汇通量,提高了由点到面岩溶碳汇通量估算精度,并提出增加岩溶碳汇潜力技术途径,为我国岩溶碳汇通量科学估算提供支撑。     

Subsurface sequestration of carbon dioxide — an overview from an Alberta (Canada) perspective

To stabilize the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases (GHG), a huge reduction of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions is required. Although some people believe that this necessitates a considerable reduction in the use of fossil fuels or fuel switching, other options are available that allow the use of fossil fuels and reduce atmospheric emissions of CO₂. Sequestration of CO₂ from fossil fuel combustion in the subsurface could prevent the CO₂ from reaching the surface for millions of years. Geological sequestration of CO₂ in deep aquifers or in depleted oil and gas reservoirs is a mature technology. Despite the huge quantities of CO₂ that can be sequestered in this way, this approach does not provide any economic benefit. This paper discusses a third option, which consists of injecting CO₂ in deep coal seams to sequester the carbon and enhance the recovery of coalbed methane (CBM). Waste CO₂ from CBM-fueled power plants could be injected into CBM reservoirs to produce more methane (CH₄) for the power plant. The 2:1 coal-sorption selectivity for CO₂ over CH₄ supports the feasibility of operating fossil-fueled power plants without atmospheric CO₂ emissions. Other CO₂ sequestration technologies, such as ocean disposal and biofixation, are briefly discussed and the suitability of these approaches is evaluated for use in Alberta, Canada.     

Analysis of the spectral energy distributions of four cool R CrB stars near the brightness maximum

The effective temperatures T _eff and carbon and nitrogen abundances in the atmospheres of the cool R CrB stars ES Aql, SV Sge, Z UMi, and NSV 11154 have been determined by modeling their spectral energy distributions in the optical and near-infrared. The hydrogen-deficient model atmospheres were computed using the SAM12 code in the classical approximation, taking into account sources of opacity characteristic of the atmospheres of R CrB stars. The influence of the hydrogen deficiency on theoretical stellar spectra is analyzed. The resulting effective-temperature estimates for ES Aql, SV Sge, Z UMi, and NSV 11154 are in the range T _eff = 4600–5200 K. The carbon abundances log n(C) in the atmospheres of ES Aql, SV Sge, and Z UMi are 8.9–10.1, corresponding to [C/Fe] values typical of the atmospheres of R CrB stars. The nitrogen abundances are lower than those determined in other studies, and differ considerably from star to star. The mean [N/Fe] value for these three stars is ≈1.5 dex lowthan the mean [N/Fe] for known warm R CrB stars. Abnormally high estimates were obtained for the atmosphere of NSV 11154: log n(C) = 10.8 and log n(N) = 10.0. The approximate log g estimates agree with the conclusion from photometric observations that cool R CrB stars have lower luminosities than hotter R CrB stars.