Geochemistry of silicate-rich rocks can curtail spreading of carbon dioxide in subsurface aquifers
Open accessAbstract
Pools of carbon dioxide are found in natural geological accumulations and in engineered storage in saline aquifers. It has been thought that once this CO2 dissolves in the formation water, making it denser, convection streams will transport it efficiently to depth, but this may not be so. Here, we assess theoretically and experimentally the impact of natural chemical reactions between the dissolved CO2 and the rock formation on the convection streams in the subsurface. We show that, while in carbonate rocks the streaming of dissolved carbon dioxide persists, the chemical interactions in silicate-rich rocks may curb this transport drastically and even inhibit it altogether. These results challenge our view of carbon sequestration and dissolution rates in the subsurface, suggesting that pooled carbon dioxide may remain in the shallower regions of the formation for hundreds to thousands of years. The deeper regions of the reservoir can remain virtually carbon free.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Stabilization wedges: solving the climate problem for the next 50 years with current technologies
Pacala, S., & Socolow, R. (2004) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1100103 · Cited by 3,114 · see citing works
The Global Carbon Cycle: A Test of Our Knowledge of Earth as a System
Falkowski, P., Scholes, R. J., Boyle, E., Canadell, J., Canfield, D., Elser, J., Gruber, N., Hibbard, K., Högberg, P., Linder, S., et al. (2000) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.290.5490.291 · Cited by 2,177 · see citing works
Viscous Fingering in Porous Media
Homsy, G. M. (1987) · Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics · doi:10.1146/annurev.fl.19.010187.001415 · Cited by 1,716 · see citing works
Advanced Technology Paths to Global Climate Stability: Energy for a Greenhouse Planet
Hoffert, M. I., Caldeira, K., Benford, G., Criswell, D. R., Green, C., Herzog, H. J., Jain, A. K., Kheshgi, H. S., Lackner, K. S., Lewis, J. S., et al. (2002) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1072357 · Cited by 1,550 · see citing works
A Guide to CO <sub>2</sub> Sequestration
Lackner, K. S. (2003) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1079033 · Cited by 1,290 · see citing works
Viscous Fingering In Porous Media
Homsy, G. M. (1987) · Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics · doi:10.1146/annurev.fluid.19.1.271 · Cited by 1,119 · see citing works
Aquifer disposal of CO2: Hydrodynamic and mineral trapping
Bachu, S., Gunter, W. D., & Perkins, E. H. (1994) · Energy Conversion and Management · doi:10.1016/0196-8904(94)90060-4 · Cited by 848 · see citing works
Onset of convection in a gravitationally unstable diffusive boundary layer in porous media
Riaz, A., Hesse, M. A., Tchelepi, H. A., & Orr, F. M. (2006) · Journal of Fluid Mechanics · doi:10.1017/s0022112005007494 · Cited by 756 · see citing works
Lifetime of carbon capture and storage as a climate-change mitigation technology
Szulczewski, M., MacMinn, C. W., Herzog, H. J., & Juanes, R. (2012) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1115347109 · Cited by 532 · see citing works
Core–mantle boundary heat flow
Lay, T., Hernlund, J. W., & Buffett, B. A. (2007) · Nature Geoscience · doi:10.1038/ngeo.2007.44 · Cited by 510 · see citing works
Onshore Geologic Storage of CO 2
Orr, F. M. (2009) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1175677 · Cited by 394 · see citing works
Convective dissolution of carbon dioxide in saline aquifers
Neufeld, J. A., Hesse, M. A., Riaz, A., et al. (2010) · Geophysical Research Letters · doi:10.1029/2010gl044728 · Cited by 379 · see citing works
Pau, G. S. H., Bell, J. B., Pruess, K., et al. (2010) · Advances in Water Resources · doi:10.1016/j.advwatres.2010.01.009 · Cited by 355 · see citing works
Modeling Density-Driven Flow in Porous Media
Holzbecher, E. O. (1998) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-642-58767-2 · Cited by 323 · see citing works
Onset of convection in anisotropic porous media subject to a rapid change in boundary conditions
Ennis‐King, J., Preston, I., & Paterson, L. (2005) · Physics of Fluids · doi:10.1063/1.2033911 · Cited by 286 · see citing works
Laboratory Flow Experiments for Visualizing Carbon Dioxide-Induced, Density-Driven Brine Convection
Kneafsey, T. J., & Pruess, K. (2009) · Transport in Porous Media · doi:10.1007/s11242-009-9482-2 · Cited by 279 · see citing works
Growth of fingers at an unstable diffusing interface in a porous medium or Hele-Shaw cell
Wooding, R. A. (1969) · Journal of Fluid Mechanics · doi:10.1017/s002211206900228x · Cited by 259 · see citing works
Scaling behavior of convective mixing, with application to geological storage of CO2
Hassanzadeh, H., Pooladi‐Darvish, M., & Keith, D. W. (2007) · AIChE Journal · doi:10.1002/aic.11157 · Cited by 242 · see citing works
Convective Instability and Mass Transport of Diffusion Layers in a Hele-Shaw Geometry
Backhaus, S., Turitsyn, K. S., & Ecke, R. E. (2011) · Physical Review Letters · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.106.104501 · Cited by 210 · see citing works
Ennis‐King, J., & Paterson, L. (2007) · International journal of greenhouse gas control · doi:10.1016/s1750-5836(07)00034-5 · Cited by 176 · see citing works
Effect of dispersion on the onset of convection during CO2 sequestration
Hidalgo, J. J., & Carrera, J. (2009) · Journal of Fluid Mechanics · doi:10.1017/s0022112009991480 · Cited by 163 · see citing works
Chemically Driven Hydrodynamic Instabilities
Almarcha, C., Trevelyan, P. M. J., Grosfils, P., et al. (2010) · Physical Review Letters · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.104.044501 · Cited by 157 · see citing works
The Long-Term Fate of CO2 Injected into an Aquifer
LINDEBERG, E., & Bergmo, P. E. S. (2003) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-008044276-1/50078-7 · Cited by 153 · see citing works
Ghesmat, K., Hassanzadeh, H., & Abedi, J. (2011) · Journal of Fluid Mechanics · doi:10.1017/s0022112010006282 · Cited by 116 · see citing works
Spreading and convective dissolution of carbon dioxide in vertically confined, horizontal aquifers
MacMinn, C. W., Neufeld, J. A., Hesse, M. A., & Huppert, H. E. (2012) · Water Resources Research · doi:10.1029/2012wr012286 · Cited by 104 · see citing works
Prasad, A., & Simmons, C. T. (2003) · Water Resources Research · doi:10.1029/2002wr001290 · Cited by 98 · see citing works
Plume and Finger Regimes Driven by an Exothermic Interfacial Reaction
Eckert, K., & Grahn, A. (1999) · Physical Review Letters · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.82.4436 · Cited by 95 · see citing works
Chemical pattern formation driven by a neutralization reaction. I. Mechanism and basic features
Eckert, K., Acker, M., & Shi, Y. (2003) · Physics of Fluids · doi:10.1063/1.1636160 · Cited by 90 · see citing works
Onset of convection in a porous medium in the presence of chemical reaction
Andres, J. T. H., & Cardoso, S. S. S. (2011) · Physical Review E · doi:10.1103/physreve.83.046312 · Cited by 85 · see citing works
Self-citationOnset of convection over a transient base-state in anisotropic and layered porous media
Rapaka, S., Pawar, R. J., Stauffer, P. H., Zhang, D., & Chen, S. (2009) · Journal of Fluid Mechanics · doi:10.1017/s0022112009991479 · Cited by 74 · see citing works
Active Role of a Color Indicator in Buoyancy-Driven Instabilities of Chemical Fronts
Almarcha, C., Trevelyan, P. M. J., Riolfo, L. A., et al. (2010) · The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters · doi:10.1021/jz900418d · Cited by 68 · see citing works
Kim, M. C., & Choi, C. K. (2012) · Physics of Fluids · doi:10.1063/1.3703330 · Cited by 66 · see citing works
Convection and reaction in a diffusive boundary layer in a porous medium: Nonlinear dynamics
Andres, J. T. H., & Cardoso, S. S. S. (2012) · Chaos An Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science · doi:10.1063/1.4748866 · Cited by 50 · see citing works
Self-citationKuster, S., Riolfo, L. A., Zalts, A., et al. (2011) · Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics · doi:10.1039/c1cp21185d · Cited by 49 · see citing works
The Instability of Unsteady Boundary Layers in Porous Media
Rees, D. A. S., Selim, A., & Ennis‐King, J. (2008) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-8178-1_4 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Reactions of phenolphthalein at various pH values
Wittke, G. (1983) · Journal of Chemical Education · doi:10.1021/ed060p239 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
Theoretical analysis of convective instability of a growing horizontal thermal boundary layer
Robinson, J. L. (1976) · The Physics of Fluids · doi:10.1063/1.861570 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Controls on the dissolution of CO2 plumes in structural traps in deep saline aquifers
Woods, A. W., & Espie, T. (2012) · Geophysical Research Letters · doi:10.1029/2012gl051005 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Kinetics of the fading of phenolphthalein in alkaline solution
Nicholson, L. (1989) · Journal of Chemical Education · doi:10.1021/ed066p725 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 4
- Marini, L. Geochemical Sequestration of Carbon Dioxide. (Elsevier 2007).
- IPCC Special Report on Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage, edited by Metz B. et al. (Cambridge University Press, UK and New York, USA, 2005).
- Hesse, M.A., Tchelepi, H.A. & Orr, F.M. Natural convection during aquifer CO 2 storage , In the 8th International Conference on Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies. (Trondheim, Norway 2006).
- Andres, J.T.H. & Cardoso, S.S.S. (2012) Convection and reaction in a diffusive layer in a porous medium. CHAOS 22, 037113 (2012).
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Molecular-scale mechanisms of CO2 mineralization in nanoscale interfacial water films
Abdolhosseini Qomi, M. J., Miller, Q. R. S., Zare, S., Schaef, H. T., Kaszuba, J. P., & Rosso, K. M. (2022) · Nature Reviews Chemistry · doi:10.1038/s41570-022-00418-1 · Cited by 147 · see citing works
- Authors
- Cardoso, S. S. S., & Andres, J. T. H.
- Affiliations
- University of Cambridge (GB)
- Venue
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2014-12-11
- Volume
- 5
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 5743-5743
- ISSN
- 2041-1723 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2003840568
- Cited by
- 82
- References
- 39
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 5
- FWCI
- 6.89
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Nature Communications (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Apollo (University of Cambridge) (acceptedVersion)
- arXiv (Cornell University) (submittedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- arXiv (Cornell University)
- Funders
- Schlumberger Foundation
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › CO2 Sequestration and Geologic Interactions
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Geochemistry and Petrology › Groundwater and Isotope Geochemistry
- Physical Sciences › Energy › Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment › Geothermal Energy Systems and Applications
- Keywords
- CO2 sequestration, saline aquifers, carbonate rocks, CO2 dissolution, CO2 transport
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review