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Image: 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.<BR> <BR> <U><B>More about this Image</B></U><BR> 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?<BR> <BR> 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.<BR> <BR> 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. Thumbnail

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