International Journal of Physical Sciences Vol. 5(5), pp. 408-414, May 2010 Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/IJPS ISSN 1992 - 1950 © 2010 Academic Journals Full Length Research Paper A preliminary selection of regions in Mexico with potential for geological carbon storage Moisés Dávila 1,2 *, Oscar Jiménez 2 , Reyna Castro 1 , Vicente Arévalo¹, Jessica Stanley 1 and Laura Meraz Cabrera 2 1 Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE), Insurgentes # 826, Colonia del Valle, Código Postal 03100, Mexico City, Mexico. 2 Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigaciones y Estudios sobre Medio Ambiente y Desarrollo (CIIEMAD-IPN), Mexico. Accepted 2 April, 2010 Using a compilation of information about Mexican surficial geology and recent tectonic activity, zones for possible geological carbon storage were defined. There were seven zones defined on the basis of volcanic, geologic, lithologic, seismic and tectonic features. Most importantly at this stage, zones of exclusion were defined in which geologic storage is not recommended. These zones will aid in further exploration of the geological carbon storage possibilities in Mexico. Key words: Carbon dioxide, geological carbon storage, seismic, volcanic hazards, Mexico. INTRODUCTION With rising concerns over world carbon dioxide emissions, it is prudent to explore methods by which emissions can be reduced. Mexico is the world’s twelfth largest emitter of carbon dioxide, having emitted 119 million metric tons in 2006, about 1.4% of world greenhouse gas emissions that year (Boden et al., 2009). The main goal of CFE (Comisión Federal de Electricidad) governmental agency is to provide electricity to the increasing population of Mexico, which requires the construction of more power plants throughout the country. However because of environmental policies, international agreements, social responsibility and a corporate commitment to the environment, CFE has begun to explore the possibility of geologic carbon storage in Mexico. Geologic carbon sequestration allows for permanent storage of carbon dioxide in geological formations as a method of carbon emissions reduction. *Corresponding author. E-mail: moises.davila@cfe.gob.mx. Abbreviations: CFE, Comisión Federal de Electricidad, CIIEMAD-IPN, Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigaciones y Estudios sobre Medio Ambiente y Desarrollo-Instituto Politécnico Nacional Several such facilities are operational throughout the world (Gale et al., 2001; Metz et al., 2005; Jensen et al., 2009; Eccles et al., 2009) and some others are in the planning and development stages (USDOE, 2008; Schilling et al., 2009; Grataloup et al., 2009). According to Bachu et al. (2007), studies of CO 2 storage capacity in geological media depend on the scale and resolution of the assessment. The scale categories comprise five sizes of geographical areas: country, basin, regional, local and site-scale. In contrast, three levels of detail and resolution were proposed and vary from low and medium to high level data. In the country-scale assessment is usually considered the identification of areas encompassing sedimentary basins and types of storage capacities available. The data requirements and resolution are minimal, usually found in the public domain. This study depicts the country-level assessment in preparation for the basin-scale assessment, which is now being pursued by the authors at CFE. This paper represents a preliminary study on the geological carbon storage possibilities in Mexico by studying the seismic, volcanic and tectonic hazards in combination with the surface geology and lithology. The country was split up into seven zones based on these characteristics, ex- cluding some areas from further study and categorizing those with more potential for future more in depth and