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Geochemical and C-O isotopic study of ophiolite-altered carbonates of the Barzaman Formation, Oman: Evidence of natural CO2 sequestration via carbonation of ultramafic clasts
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  • Arshad Ali,
  • Iftikhar Ahmed Abbasi,
  • Leonardo Brandão Nogueira,
  • Osman Salad-Hersi,
  • Sumaiya A. N. Al Kindi,
  • Mohamed A.K. El-Ghali,
  • Sobhi Nasir
Arshad Ali
Sultan Qaboos University
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Iftikhar Ahmed Abbasi
Sultan Qaboos University

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Leonardo Brandão Nogueira
Department of Geology
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Osman Salad-Hersi
Department of Geology
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Sumaiya A. N. Al Kindi
Department of Earth Sciences
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Mohamed A.K. El-Ghali
Sultan Qaboos University
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Sobhi Nasir
Sultan Qaboos University
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Abstract

Carbonate mineral precipitation via capture of atmospheric CO2 by alkaline-hyperalkaline waters offers a potential strategy-referred to as carbon capture and storage-to mitigate anthropogenic CO2 emissions. Oman ophiolite produces high-pH waters characterized by continuous sequestration of atmospheric CO2. The geochemical and isotopic data of carbonates are utilized to assess the CO2 stored in dolomite-calcite assemblage of the Barzaman Formation. PAAS-normalized REE+Y patterns display increasing LREE, flat HREE, and a positive Eu-anomaly, identical to those of the bulk ocean crust and lower crust. Further, La(+), Ce(-), and Y(+) anomalies in studied samples are missing in the ocean crust, however, present in local groundwater and modern seawater. Carbon and oxygen isotopes show two distinct end-members, heavier dolomite than calcite. The estimated carbonate growth temperatures (18℃ to 65℃) are indistinguishable from literature values. The C-O isotope model of dolomite-calcite assemblage, water, and atmospheric CO2 demonstrates that the C-budget of ophiolite-derived carbonates represent an unequivocal contribution from the latter. Meanwhile, the remaining contributors may include dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in waters closely associated with travertines and ophiolite-derived soil exhibiting large variations in their C-O isotope compositions caused by kinetic fractionation leading to isotopic disequilibrium. Taken together, REE+Y patterns and isotopic compositions verify that the carbonates were formed under oxic conditions through alterations triggered by the reaction between ophiolite and meteoric water. A detailed groundwater study is recommended to assess the contribution of atmospheric CO2 in DIC for a thorough estimation of the amount of CO2 sequestered by carbonates of the Barzaman Formation.