In a 2009 report on nine natural underground gas reservoirs, researchers found that dissolution in groundwater accounted for up to 90 percent of the carbon dioxide lost from those reservoirs. That figure describes a share of CO₂ lost from the natural gas reservoirs studied; it does not mean that 90 percent of injected CO₂ will dissolve at every engineered storage site.
What the researchers reported
Chemistry World reported on April 1, 2009, that researchers examined nine natural reservoirs containing carbon dioxide. Most were deeper than 700 metres. The report said that up to 90 percent of the CO₂ lost from the gas reservoirs had dissolved into groundwater. Chemistry World’s 2009 report
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The distinction in the denominator matters: the reported percentage concerns CO₂ that had left the gas reservoirs, not all CO₂ initially present or injected. It should not be presented as a universal capture or retention rate.
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When carbon dioxide dissolves in groundwater, it is no longer present as a separate pool of gas. The 2009 report presents this dissolution as a way carbon can remain underground over long periods. It quotes study leader Stuart Gilfillan: “What we tried to do with this work was to look at the longer timescale and find out where the CO2 ends up being stored, and our main conclusion is that most of it goes into the groundwater.”
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Gilfillan also said that some of the natural fields described had stored CO₂ for up to 40 million years. That timescale refers to those fields, not to engineered storage projects as a class. The University of Edinburgh’s archive connects Gilfillan’s work with the contemporaneous coverage, and the university currently identifies him as Professor of Geochemistry. University of Edinburgh: Stuart Gilfillan
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the natural-reservoir evidence can—and cannot—show
Natural reservoirs provide evidence that underground carbon dioxide can enter groundwater and remain stored over geological timescales in some settings. They are not equivalent to engineered storage sites, which have their own geology, operating conditions and monitoring records.
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The accessible 2009 report and the university archive do not provide the study’s full methods, reservoir-by-reservoir calculations or a basis for applying the reported percentage to engineered projects. The finding is therefore useful as evidence of a possible long-term trapping pathway, not as proof that a particular storage site is safe or will achieve a specified retention rate. The University of Edinburgh archive lists the related Chemistry World and Nature coverage from April 2009. University of Edinburgh archive: CO₂ storage coverage
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