One Idea to Mitigate the Effects of Burning Fossil Fuels

Multiple Choice

One idea to mitigate the effects of burning fossil fuels on atmospheric CO₂ concentrations is to pipe liquid CO₂ into the ocean at depths of 2,500 feet or greater. At the high pressures at such depths, CO₂ is heavier than water. What potential effects might result from implementing such a scheme?

A) increased photosynthetic carbon fixation because of the increased dissolved carbon dioxide in the deep water
B) increased carbonate concentrations in the deep waters
C) reduced growth of corals from a change in the carbonate-bicarbonate equilibrium
D) no effect because carbon dioxide is not soluble in water
E) both increased acidity of the deep waters and changes in the growth of bottom-dwelling organisms with calcium carbonate shells