CO₂ leakage alters biogeochemical and ecological functions of submarine sands.

ABSTRACT: Subseabed CO₂ storage is considered a future climate change mitigation technology. We investigated the ecological consequences of CO₂ leakage for a marine benthic ecosystem. For the first time with a multidisciplinary integrated study, we tested hypotheses derived from a meta-analysis of previous experimental and in situ high-CO₂ impact studies. For this, we compared ecological functions of naturally CO₂-vented seafloor off the Mediterranean island Panarea (Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy) to those of nonvented sands, with a focus on biogeochemical processes and microbial and faunal community composition. High CO₂ fluxes (up to 4 to 7 mol CO₂ m^-2 hour^-1) dissolved all sedimentary carbonate, and comigration of sil

SUBMITTER: Molari M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5810613 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature