Quantifying carbon dioxide sequestration and constraining the potential sources of dissolved methane at the Tablelands, Gros Morne National Park, NL, Canada; a site of continental serpentinization

• Main Author: Cumming, Emily
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Memorial University of Newfoundland 2018
• Subjects: Canada; Gros Morne National Park
• Online Access: https://research.library.mun.ca/13609/; https://research.library.mun.ca/13609/1/thesis.pdf

Sites of continental serpentinization demonstrate natural carbon sequestration, which could be enhanced via the injection of atmospheric gas in order to offset anthropogenic greenhouse gas production. Establishing the baseline geochemical properties of the Tablelands Ophiolite with respect to greenhouse gases (CH₄ and CO₂) required investigation into the production pathway or pathways of CH₄, and the sequestration rates of atmospheric CO₂. This thesis has constrained the source of methane emitted at the Tablelands to low-temperature (<100˚C) abiogenic or thermogenic synthesis, and was the first to quantify natural CO₂ sequestration for an actively serpentinizing ophiolite complex as a whole based on measurements made at multiple discrete sites within the ophiolite. Further characterization of the Tablelands Ophiolite is necessary in order to validate Global Carbon Storage (GCS) at this site as a means of mitigating anthropomorphic greenhouse gas contributions to the atmosphere.