NSF Home IMAGE LIBRARY HOME Contact NSF Image Library How to Use the NSF Image Library
Image Information


IMAGE SEARCH
ALL IMAGES
NEW ADDITIONS TO THE LIBRARY
NEWS IMAGES
NSF SENIOR STAFF
OTHER PHOTO SOURCES

Ion Clusters in Aqueous Solution

Caption:

Clusters of sodium (pink) and carbonate (gray and red) ions in aqueous solution. A snapshot of molecular dynamics (or MD) computer simulations of aqueous fluids relevant to the geological sequestration of carbon dioxide.

More about this Image
Molecular dynamics research at the University of Illinois is giving scientists a fundamental understanding of the chemistry behind what may someday become a method of disposing of excess greenhouse gases. There is no doubt that carbon dioxide levels have increased since the industrial revolution, but is the carbon dioxide increase causing global warming through the greenhouse effect? And if it is, what can be done about it?

James Kirkpatrick, a geology professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and his colleague Andrey Kalinichev are currently working on the chemistry behind a possible solution to the problem. They’re creating molecular dynamics models of carbon dioxide and other chemical species as they dissolve in water, as well as models of this water-carbon dioxide solution as it interacts with mineral surfaces. These simulations, which are being run on a supercomputer at the university, will help researchers develop methods of “sequestering” carbon dioxide—injecting it deep into the ocean or deep groundwater aquifers where it won't interact with the atmosphere and won’t have the same negative environmental impact.

This work is being supported in part by National Science Foundation grant EAR 97-05746, “NMR and Quantum Chemical Computational Study of Silicate-Based Materials,” awarded to E. Oldfield and R.J. Kirkpatrick.

Ion Clusters in Aqueous Solution
(Preview Only)

Credit: Credit A. G. Kalinichev, R.J. Kirkpatrick, 2000; Department of Geology; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Year of Image: 2000

Categories:

BIOLOGICAL / Molecular

Formats Available:

Restrictions:

No additional restrictions--beyond NSF's general restrictions--have been placed on this image. For a list of general restrictions that apply to this and all images in the NSF Image Library, see the section "Conditions".

Image Library HomeNSF HomeOffice of Legislative and Public Affairs Home


The National Science Foundation
4201 Wilson Boulevard
Arlington, Virginia 22230, USA
Tel: 703-292-5111
FIRS: 800-877-8339 ~ TDD: 703-292-5090

Last Modified: Mar 29, 2001