Polteau et al. (2026): Well-connected basalt sequences as potential reservoirs for large-scale carbon sequestration revealed by strontium isotopes
Stéphane Polteau, P. Craig Smalley, Vani N. Devegowda, Ingar Johansen, John M. Millett, Marija P. Rosenqvist, Mohamed Mansour Abdelmalak and Sverre Planke, IN: Communications Earth & Environment, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-03020-7
Permanent storage of gigatons of carbon in basalt requires thick, uncompartmentalized sequences that allow lateral dissipation of CO₂ away from injection sites. Here the authors assess the presence of flow barriers by evaluating the variations in ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr patterns in pore water, a method used extensively in sedimentary successions. Present-day pore water ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr was measured from residual salts in core samples, while past water compositions were reconstructed from carbonate cements of different ages.