Predicting the Impacts of CO^sub 2^ Leakage from Subseabed Storage: Effects of Metal Accumulation and Toxicity on the Model Benthic Organism Ruditapes philippinarum

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 CO... One of the mitigation measures proposed for reducing the concentration of atmospheric CO... 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 CO..., which could cause serious environmental perturbations, particularly acidification, in marine ecosystems. The study reported is aimed at quantifying the effects of acidification derived from CO... leakage on marine organisms. To this end, a lab-scale experiment involving direct release of CO... 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 (8.0-6.1). 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 CO... leakages is urgently needed. (ProQuest: ... denotes formulae/symbols omitted.)