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Impacts of ocean CO2 disposal on marine life: I. A toxicological assessment integrating constant‐concentration laboratory assay data with variable‐concentration field exposure

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Abstract

Feasibility studies suggest that the concept of capturing CO2 from fossil fuel power plants and discharging it to the deep ocean could help reduce atmospheric CO2 concentrations. However, the local reduction in seawater pH near the point of injection is a potential environmental impact. Data from the literature reporting on toxicity of reduced pH to marine organisms potentially affected by such a plume were combined into a model expressing mortality as a function of pH and exposure time. Since organisms exposed to real plumes would experience a time‐varying pH, methods to account for a variable exposure were reviewed and a new method developed based on the concept of isomortality. In part II of this paper, the method is combined with a random‐walk model describing the transport of passive organisms through a low pH plume leading to a Monte‐Carlo‐like risk assessment which is applied to several candidate CO2 injection scenarios.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA

    David I. Auerbach

  2. Rizzo Associates, Inc., Natick, MA, 01760, USA

    Jennifer A. Caulfield

  3. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA

    E. Eric Adams

  4. Energy Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA

    Howard J. Herzog

Authors
  1. David I. Auerbach
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  2. Jennifer A. Caulfield
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  3. E. Eric Adams
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  4. Howard J. Herzog
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Auerbach, D.I., Caulfield, J.A., Adams, E.E. et al. Impacts of ocean CO2 disposal on marine life: I. A toxicological assessment integrating constant‐concentration laboratory assay data with variable‐concentration field exposure. Environmental Modeling & Assessment 2, 333–343 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1019029931755

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