Microbial characterization of basalt formation waters targeted for geological carbon sequestration.

Geological carbon sequestration in basalts is a promising solution to mitigate carbon emissions into the Earth's atmosphere. The Wallula pilot well in Eastern Washington State, USA provides an opportunity to investigate how native microbial communities in basalts are affected by the injection of supercritical carbon dioxide into deep, alkaline formation waters of the Columbia River Basalt Group. Our objective was to characterize the microbial communities at five depth intervals in the Wallula pilot well prior to CO2 injection to establish a baseline community for comparison after the CO2 is injected.