carbon sequestration

noun

plural carbon sequestrations

1

: any of various methods or processes for capturing and storing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere : carbon capture

Carbon sequestration is capturing the carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuels and storing it safely away from the atmosphere.

—National Academy of Engineering

… carbon sequestration, the process of taking carbon dioxide—the greenhouse gas associated with global warming—and removing it from circulation by compressing it and injecting it deep underground.

—Phred Dvorak

especially : the capture and use of carbon dioxide by living vegetation : carbon capture sense 2

Carbon sequestration is a process by which carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere, which can be done by forests or in the soil, among other processes.

—Eliza Noe

2

: the storage of carbon and especially carbon dioxide in carbon sinks (such as oceans, soil, or forests) by natural or artificial means

While measurements of carbon sequestration in trees is well documented, there has been very little work on how much carbon … grasslands can capture …

—John Lovett

Greater Toledo has the potential to be a national leader in carbon sequestration thanks to geological formations that support burial of the captured carbon.

—Toledo (Ohio) Blade

Examples of carbon sequestration in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

And though not all of these small-scale farms are necessarily organic, small farms are more likely to grow a diversity of crop types, use methods that reduce negative impacts on the climate, increase carbon sequestration, and tend to be more resilient in the face of climate change. —Eliza Milio, TIME, 16 Apr. 2024

In fact, the study concludes carbon sequestration rates in rewilding projects are as fast as deciduous woodland planting over the first 20 years when measured using the woodland carbon code. —Jamie Hailstone, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024

Wyoming governor is pushing for carbon sequestration Green's is a pretty common sentiment in Wyoming, the nation's top coal producing state. —Kirk Siegler, NPR, 28 Mar. 2024

Soil biodiversity, which plays a role in carbon sequestration, is also damaged by logging. —Alfredo Sosa, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 Mar. 2024

With sea level rise factored in—which increases the area of these blue carbon ecosystems—their restoration could increase carbon sequestration in the region by 10 to 20 percent. —Bianca Nogrady, WIRED, 19 Mar. 2024

The cultivation of these grains thus plays a part in carbon sequestration, helping absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. —Sixteen Ramos, USA TODAY, 14 Jan. 2024

Leon agrees that the federal carbon sequestration tax credits should help make Carbon TerraVault a profitable operation for CRC and partner Brookfield. —Christopher Helman, Forbes, 14 Feb. 2024

Some of the microbes that make carbon sequestration work. —Dina Genkina, Ars Technica, 1 Feb. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1989, in the meaning defined above