Predicting the Impacts of CO2 Leakage from Subseabed Storage: Effects of Metal Accumulation and Toxicity on the Model Benthic Organism Ruditapes philippinarum

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• 作者：Araceli Rodr铆guez-Romero ; Natalia Jim茅nez-Tenorio ; M. Dolores Basallote ; Manoela R. De Orte ; Juli谩n Blasco ; Inmaculada Riba
• 刊名：Environmental Science & Technology
• 出版年：2014
• 出版时间：October 21, 2014
• 年：2014
• 卷：48
• 期：20
• 页码：12292-12301
• 全文大小：408K
• ISSN：1520-5851

文摘

The urgent need to minimize the potential harm deriving from global climate change and ocean acidification has led governmental decision-makers and scientists to explore and study new strategies for reducing the levels of anthropogenic CO₂. One of the mitigation measures proposed for reducing the concentration of atmospheric CO₂ is the capture and storage of this gas in subseabed geological formations; this proposal is generating considerable international interest. The main risk associated with this option is the leakage of retained CO₂, which could cause serious environmental perturbations, particularly acidification, in marine ecosystems. The study reported is aimed at quantifying the effects of acidification derived from CO₂ leakage on marine organisms. To this end, a lab-scale experiment involving direct release of CO₂ through marine sediment was conducted using Ruditapes philippinarum as a model benthic organism. For 10 days bivalves were exposed to 3 sediment samples with different physicochemical characteristics and at pre-established pH conditions (8.0鈥?.1). End points measured were: survival, burrowing activity, histopathological lesions, and metal accumulation (Fe, Al, Mn, Cu, and Zn) in whole body. Correlations analyses indicated highly significant associations (P < 0.01) between pH and the biological effects measured in R philippinarum, except for metal concentrations in tissues. Further research to understand and predict the biological and economic implications for coastal ecosystems deriving from acidification by CO₂ leakages is urgently needed.