Assessing the bioavailability of contaminants in marine sediments associated with CO2 leakages

• Grant number: 14/22273-1
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): March 01, 2015
• Effective date (End): December 31, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Oceanography - Biological Oceanography
• Principal Investigator: Augusto Cesar
• Grantee: Manoela Romanó de Orte
• Home Institution: Instituto de Saúde e Sociedade (ISS). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Baixada Santista. Santos , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 17/06686-2 - Evaluating the effects of local adaptation to ocean acidification on mussels in the presence of other stressor, BE.EP.PD

Abstract

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) in marine geological formations has been proposed as a mitigation measure for the prevention of global warming. However, leakage of the stored CO2 may occur over time, leading to various effects on ecosystems, especially those related to the mobility of contaminants present in the sediments. This project aims to investigate the potential environmental impacts associated with the acidification of marine sediments subject to leakage of CO2, through the evaluation and modeling of contaminant mobility, bioavailability and toxicity. To this end, a simulator of CO2 leakage is being developed on a laboratory scale for conducting ecotoxicological tests. An innovative methodology for integrating data based on a model that uses "lines of evidence" (LOEs) to monitor the quality of sediment from contaminated areas will be used. This model includes the physicochemical characterization of sediments, the study of the concentration of metals that are mobilized from the sediments to the water column due to the acidification, the toxicity measured in laboratory in both sublethal and lethal levels, and studies of bioaccumulation, taking into account changes in the pH levels. This method allows predicting the effects of CO2 leakage in small or large scale, as well as the immediate and long-term effects and the levels of impact. The results will be applied to regulate the use of this technology in Brazilian jurisdictional waters and optimize test protocols for risk assessment of this new activity, thus providing a tool for decision making that can be used by the proper environmental agencies and companies in the oil and gas sector.

Scientific publications

(6)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

SOUZA, LORENA DA SILVA; PUSCEDDU, FABIO HERMES; CORTEZ, FERNANDO SANZI; DE ORTE, MANOELA ROMANO; SEABRA, ALESSANDRA ALOISE; CESAR, AUGUSTO; RIBEIRO, DANIEL ARAKI; DEL VALLS CASILLAS, TOMAS ANGEL; SEABRA PEREIRA, CAMILO DIAS. Harmful effects of cocaine byproduct in the reproduction of sea urchin in different ocean acidification scenarios. Chemosphere, v. 236, DEC 2019. Web of Science Citations: 0.

GOULDING, T. A.; DE ORTE, M. R.; SZALAJ, D.; BASALLOTE, M. D.; DELVALLS, T. A.; CESAR, A. Assessment of the environmental impacts of ocean acidification (OA) and carbon capture and storage (CCS) leaks using the amphipod Hyale youngi. ECOTOXICOLOGY, v. 26, n. 4, p. 521-533, MAY 2017. Web of Science Citations: 5.

SZALAJ, D.; DE ORTE, M. R.; GOULDING, T. A.; MEDEIROS, I. D.; DELVALLS, T. A.; CESAR, A. The effects of ocean acidification and a carbon dioxide capture and storage leak on the early life stages of the marine mussel Perna perna (Linneaus, 1758) and metal bioavailability. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, v. 24, n. 1, p. 765-781, JAN 2017. Web of Science Citations: 10.

KERR, RODRIGO; DA CUNHA, LETICIA C.; KIKUCHI, RUY K. P.; HORTA, PAULO A.; ITO, ROSANE G.; MUELLER, MARIUS N.; ORSELLI, IOLE B. M.; LENCINA-AVILA, JANNINE M.; DE ORTE, MANOELA R.; SORDO, LAURA; PINHEIRO, BARBARA R.; BONOU, FREDERIC K.; SCHUBERT, NADINE; BERGSTROM, ELLIE; COPERTINO, MARGARETH S. The Western South Atlantic Ocean in a High-CO2 World: Current Measurement Capabilities and Perspectives. Environmental Management, v. 57, n. 3, p. 740-752, MAR 2016. Web of Science Citations: 12.

BAUTISTA-CHAMIZO, ESTHER; DE ORTE, MANOELA ROMANO; ANGEL DELVALLS, TOMAS; RIBA, INMACULADA. Simulating CO2 leakages from CCS to determine Zn toxicity using the marine microalgae Pleurochrysis roscoffensis. Chemosphere, v. 144, p. 955-965, FEB 2016. Web of Science Citations: 14.

DOLORES BASALLOTE, M.; RODRIGUEZ-ROMERO, ARACELI; DE ORTE, MANOELA R.; DEL VALLS, T. ANGEL; RIBA, INMACULADA. Evaluation of the threat of marine CO2 leakage-associated acidification on the toxicity of sediment metals to juvenile bivalves. AQUATIC TOXICOLOGY, v. 166, p. 63-71, SEP 2015. Web of Science Citations: 18.