ABSTRACT
Geological sequestration of carbon dioxide refers to a technology where carbon dioxide (CO2) is injected into deep geological formations for the purpose of keeping the CO2 out of the atmosphere. It is part of a broader technology known as carbon capture and storage (CCS). e idea is to capture CO2 that would otherwise be emitted to the atmosphere, for example, at large coal-red power plants, and store, or sequester,* the captured CO2 somewhere other than the atmosphere. Underground injection is currently the favored method for storage. CCS is one technology, from a list of many options, which can address the so-called carbon problem, dened by the signicant and relentless increase of atmospheric CO2 due to anthropogenic emissions. In order for CCS to have a signicant impact on the carbon problem, very large amounts of CO2 need to be captured and sequestered. Such large injections can introduce signicant perturbations to the subsurface environment, including possible impacts on groundwater resources as well as other water-related impacts-see Court et al. (2012b). As such, it is appropriate to include the analysis of geological storage of carbon dioxide as part of this handbook.
