Hi All, I feel that the best way to look at this question is to look at it in terms of the carbon cycle. If we are talking about carbon with respect to global climate change, the exact form of carbon doesn't matter. CO2 in the atmosphere is what affects radiative forcing, so no matter how that CO2 is taken up, any reduction in CO2 would help lessen the effects of warming. If you are sequestering carbon in forests and soils, you are talking about the conversion of CO2 into cellulose, lignin and other plant materials that will hopefully remain in that pool for a long time. That is, the forest needs to remain forest for a long time to actually sequester carbon. If you are talking about sequestration of carbon in the ocean, you are looking at two different processes. First, CO2 will be used for cellular material by algae and other photosynthetic organisms in the water column. When they die, they settle to the ocean bottom and eventually lithify (turn to some kind of sedimentary rock). The other process is a geologic process whereby CO2 is absorbed in clayey materials when silica rich rocks (think granite and sandstone) are weathered. These clays will be transported downstream and eventually reach the ocean and become sediment.
So I guess the take away point would be that any process which removes CO2 from the atmosphere and stores it in a long lived pool/sink could be considered sequestration. Hope that helps, Chris Farmer --- Christopher Habeck wrote: Carbon sequestration is the capture and long-term storage of atmospheric ca= rbon by terrestrial plants, soils, and the ocean. Christopher Habeck=20 Zoology Graduate Student=20 University of Wisconsin=20 > Date: Wed, 7 Mar 2007 10:52:30 -0800> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: ca= rbon sequestration?> To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU> > I'm a bit confused ab= out what people mean when they talk about carbon sequestration. In some pap= ers it seems to refer to atmoshpheric carbon dioxide uptake, other times it= seems to refer to the ability of soils or plants to store carbon. So, gene= rally speaking does "carbon sequestration" refer to CO2 or C?> > Sorry if t= his is a dumb question, I have no background in this. Thanks in advance...>= > > ---------------------------------> Finding fabulous fares is fun.> Let= Yahoo! FareChase search your favorite travel sites to find flight and hote= l bargains. _________________________________________________________________ Explore the seven wonders of the world http://search.msn.com/results.aspx?q=3D7+wonders+world&mkt=3Den-US&form=3DQ= BRE= --- end of quote ---
