Bees Help Curb Carbon Dioxide Pollution

The U.S. Department of Energy is currently looking into alternative options to measure the effectiveness of carbon dioxide storage sites.

Researchers at the National Energy Technology Lab are studying the use of bees as means to make sure that CO2 is remaining at the appropriated sites and not re-polluting the surrounding atmosphere.

The research which utilizes bees and helium balloons is being undertaken at Michigan State University.  Michigan State University has bee hives on site, and incidentally also harvests their own honey.  Researches will use the pollen collected by the bees to measure the amount of trace CO2 picked up from direct contact with foliage at the CO2 storage sites.

The helium balloons are being used to establish atmospheric variations in the tracer content being brought back by the bees.  The amount of atmospheric variation will help researchers determine whether or not the CO2 storage sites are effectively containing carbon dioxide.

“Researchers will determine if pollen collected by bees contains measurable quantities of tracer or if bees bring back tracer from direct contact with foliage. They will use balloons to determine atmospheric variations in tracer content to assess the effectiveness of CO2 storage sites,” the DOE reports.

The research in Michigan is being conducted at a carbon sequestration site in Gaylord.  The tests are funded by a more comprehensive project called the Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership.

Thanks to www.cleantechnica.com for the above quote, for more information see the article on their website.