Carbon Sink and Carbon Sequestration

CARBON SINK AND CARBON SEQUESTRATION

by Anton Antonio

April 29, 2015

“The study of the environment and natural resources management transcends most disciplines or branches of science.  Everything being studies on earth has something to do with the environment.  It is for this reason why environmental science is disciplinary, interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary.” (Antonio, 2015)  The use of terms such as “disciplinary”, “interdisciplinary”, “multidisciplinary” and “transdisciplinary” really adds to the already confusing environmental etymology (meaning: the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning changes over time).  As if the stream of confusing environmental terminology (meaning: a body of terms used with a particular technical application in a subject of study) never ends… so here is more:  “Carbon Sink” and “Carbon Sequestration”.

A Carbon Sink is a natural or artificial reservoir that accumulates and stores some carbon-containing chemical compound for an indefinite period of time. 

The process by which Carbon Sinks remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere is known as Carbon Sequestration.  The process of carbon sequestration captures, for long-term storage, atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2).  Carbon sequestration is important as this process either mitigate or defer global warming and avoid dangerous climate change.  Carbon sequestration, as another beneficial natural process, slows the atmospheric and marine accumulation of greenhouse gases which are released by the burning of fossil fuels to include coal.

Carbon sequestration could also be an artificial and deliberate (therefore, man-made) process.  Large-scale capture and sequestration of industrial CO2 can be made with the use of subsurface saline aquifers and similarly constructed carbon sinks.  It is a long-drawn process but effective nonetheless.

This short literature will give us a good idea what these terms are all about:  Carbon Sink and Carbon Sequestration.

Just my little thoughts…

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REFERENCE: 

Antonio, A. C. (2015). “Disciplinary, Interdisciplinary, Multidisciplinary and Transdisciplinary”.  Retrieved on April 29, 2015 from http://antonantonio.blogspot.com/)