E-mail Announcements

Subject: Chapman Conference

Greetings, colleague and carbon scientist/engineer:
This is a third notice, but I've added more names to the distribution list this time (so you may have only received notification once or not at all before). Just wanted to give you a "heads up" regarding a conference coming up in January (in SAN DIEGO) -- the general topic is carbon sequestration, but monitoring/assessment, measurement and verification) is at the heart of the conference. With a focus on monitoring and verification (see more detailed description below), we expect much discussion from many different perspectives. We will be publishing a book associated with this conference and the presentations made, so I encourage you to consider submitting an abstract for a paper -- the deadline for submitting abstracts is TWO DAYS FROM NOW, OCTOBER 22. See http://www.agu.org/meetings/cc05acall.html. If an abstract weren't submitted until Monday morning (the 25th), that would probably be okay, given that the abstract review would not start until Monday anyway, but please let us know if you will be submitting. Details below
-- many thanks, Brian McPherson and Eric Sundquist
*** Chapman Conference on The Science and Technology of Carbon Sequestration: Methods and Prospects for Verification and Assessment (aka MMV) of sinks for anthropogenic carbon dioxide Bahia Resort Hotel, San Diego, CA, USA 16 - 20 January 2005
**Abstract Submission Deadline: 22 October 2004
** See http://www.agu.org/meetings/cc05acall.html Conveners Brian McPherson, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM, USA, E-mail: brian@nmt.edu Eric Sundquist, United States Geological Survey, Woods Hole, MA, USA, E-mail: esundqui@usgs.gov Program Committee Peter Brewer, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Moss Landing, CA, USA, E-mail: brpe@mbari.org Joel Brown, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, USA, E-mail: joelbrow@nmsu.edu Ken Caldeira, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA, E-mail: kenc@llnl.gov Beverly Saylor, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA, E-mail: bzs@po.cwru,edu

Conference Objective The goal of this conference is to bring together scientists, engineers, and others who study long-term natural and deliberate sequestration of carbon. A particular focus will be methods and prospects for verification and assessment of sinks for anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2). Carbon sequestration is an important factor in consideration of policy options to mitigate the increasing atmospheric concentrations of anthropogenic greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4). Significant quantities of anthropogenic CO2 are sequestered by natural carbon uptake in plants, soils, sediments, and the oceans. These uptake processes are objects of intense study by carbon-cycle researchers who seek to understand the historical and present-day carbon mass balance ("budget") and to predict future interactions between carbon cycling and climate. At the same time, a rapidly growing group of scientists and engineers is examining methods for deliberate carbon sequestration through storage in plants, soils, the oceans, and geological repositories. Studies of natural and deliberate carbon sequestration have much in common, from development of measurement techniques to assessment of risks and benefits. This conference will bring together representatives of the diverse communities who are studying carbon sequestration, focusing on the topic from both basic science and technology perspectives. The application of science and technology to carbon research and management includes quantitative verification of carbon transfer and storage. The conference will provide a forum for discussion of current and prospective verification methods, ranging from project-specific monitoring to regional measurements and numerical analysis. Presentations will emphasize techniques that are credible and applicable to a broad spectrum of spatial and temporal scales. Verification will be discussed not only in relation to particular carbon sinks, but also as an essential tool for comparing diverse natural and engineered carbon transfers. Conference presentations will also emphasize the broader assessment of deliberate and natural sinks for anthropogenic CO2. Assessment procedures include verification of carbon transfers and storage, but also extend to more comprehensive evaluation of risks and benefits. Potential secondary effects or unintended impacts of deliberate sequestration will be examined in the context of potential impacts of natural sequestration. The meeting will feature assessment perspectives within the disciplinary range of science and technology, but selected presentations may also address relevant economic and societal issues in a nonpartisan fashion. A central objective of the conference is to promote the kind of integrated communication and analysis that is necessary to evaluate and compare diverse carbon management strategies.

Conference Overview Carbon is removed from the atmosphere by terrestrial, oceanic, and geologic processes. The meeting will be structured to address these three general types of carbon sequestration. In each of these general areas, participants will be asked to respond to three questions: . What are the processes that currently remove CO2 from the atmosphere, and how will these processes evolve in the future?
. What is the potential for deliberate future enhancement of current CO2 removals from the atmosphere?
. What is the potential for future carbon sequestration by new applications of science and technology? This unique conference will cover a broad, but tractable, set of issues, including the following:
. An overview of current carbon sources and sinks
. Mechanisms of carbon stabilization and loss in soils . Carbon sequestration in forests, grasslands, wetlands, and other ecosystems
. Oceanic CO2 dissolution and potential dissolution of marine carbonate sediments . Carbon sequestration by oceanic ecosystems
. Climate controls on carbon sequestration
. Geologic carbon sequestration by natural weathering and burial and by deliberate injection in deep saline aquifers, coal seams, and depleted oil/gas reservoirs
. Value-added sequestration options such as enhanced oil recovery, natural gas production, and growth of timber and agricultural crops
. Industrial mineral carbonation processes
. Technological barriers and unintended consequences of sequestration

Format and Preliminary Schedule The conference will include four and a half days of presentations, discussions, and posters. Each day or half-day will be devoted to a primary topic as follows. Tentative subtopics are listed to suggest the breadth of each topic. The program committee will be responsible for organizing invited talks on each primary topic.
Day 1 Morning Overview and Keynote Talks
Day 1 Afternoon Verification and assessment of global carbon sources and sinks - uptake/emissions of CO2, CH4, CO from forests, agriculture, and energy production - long term observations of atmospheric, oceanic, vegetation and soil fluxes - global terrestrial, oceanic, and geologic carbon sources and sinks and their interactions - climate controls on carbon sources and sinks - impacts of anthropogenic sources and deliberate sinks on the natural carbon cycle

Day 2 Potential capacity and temporal/spatial scales of terrestrial, oceanic, and geologic carbon storage - carbon storage capacity estimation methodologies - scale limitations on carbon storage - enhancement of carbon storage by value-added practices - definitional issues in carbon storage verification and assessment - technological gaps and barriers

Day 3 Assessing risks and benefits associated with terrestrial, oceanic, and geologic carbon storage - terrestrial ecosystem impacts - ocean ecosystem impacts - impacts of geological carbon storage - other possible unintended impacts - risk assessment and management technology gaps and barriers

Day 4 Predicting, monitoring, and verifying effectiveness of terrestrial, oceanic and geologic carbon storage - verification of carbon transfer and retention - effects of deliberate sequestration on natural carbon storage - accounting issues related to distinguishing deliberate and natural carbon storage - monitoring and verification technology gaps and barriers - influence of monitoring and verification technologies on risk assessment

Day 5 Morning Summary discussions and keynote talks - session and poster highlights - summary presentation(s) - discussion of next steps - keynote talk(s) Abstract Submission and Other Information: http://www.agu.org/meetings/cc05acall.html

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