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Greenhouse gases stay buried, say scientists

Buried deep within subterranean caverns may be the strongest case yet for an emerging technology that pumps greenhouse gases underground.

OTTAWA — Buried deep within subterranean caverns may be the strongest case yet for an emerging technology that pumps greenhouse gases underground.

New research suggests carbon dioxide has been naturally stored below ground for millions of years.

The finding by scientists from Canada and the United Kingdom gives further credence to carbon capture and storage — a fledgling technology that harnesses emissions and pumps them deep into the soil.

Skeptics of carbon sequestration worry about its long-term effect on the soil and the potential for greenhouse gases to leak back into the air.

Scientists studied gas fields that naturally filled with carbon dioxide tens of thousands or millions of years ago and found the gases have stayed in underground pools of water ever since.