Carbon Sequestration in Continental Basalts

David S. Goldberg, Dennis V. Kent, Paul E. Olsen, and Natalia V. Zakharova

Massive continental flood basalts and smaller igneous intrusions exist on many continents and represent a potentially important host medium for the geologic sequestration of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO₂). Injection into basalt formations provides unique and significant advantages, including large potential storage volumes and permanent fixation of carbon by mineralization. We analyze borehole geophysical and core data from a pilot CO₂ sequestration project in the Columbia River flood basalts (Wallula, Washington, USA), and the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (the East Coast, USA). The Wallula Pilot project is the first field test specifically designed to confirm the feasibility of permanently and safely sequestering of CO₂ within deep flood basalt formations. The porous flow tops in these deep flood basalts may offer reservoirs with high mineralization rates, long leakage migration paths, and thick sections of caprock for CO₂ storage. The Central Atlantic Magmatic Province basalt flows in the South Georgia basin, the New York Bight basin, and the Sandy Hook basin offer promising basalt-hosted reservoirs with coniderable potential for CO₂ sequestration due to their proximity to major metropolitan centers, and thus to large industrial sources for CO₂. Onshore sites are suggested for cost-effective characterization studies of these reservoirs, although offshore sites may offer larger potential capacity and additional long-term advantages for safe and secure CO₂ sequestration.

The areal extent of the Columbia River Basalt Group and the study site location.

Schematic profile of the Columbia River Basalt intersected by the Wallula borehole.

Related links:
Wallula Pilot Project
Newark Basin Coring Project
Nature News Overview

Select Publications:

Zakharova, N. V., Goldberg, D. S., Sullivan, E. C., Herron, M. M., & Grau, J. A. (2012). Petrophysical and geochemical properties of Columbia River flood basalt: Implications for carbon sequestration. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 13(11).

Goldberg, D. S., D. V. Kent, and P. E. Olsen (2010), Potential on-shore and off-shore reservoirs for CO₂sequestration in Central Atlantic magmatic province basalts, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences107(4), 1327-1332.