Leakage from CO2 storage areas is likely to affect the microbial communities in the overlaying sediments.
We have conducted a baseline characterization of the microbial communities present in the surface
sediments overlaying the Johansen formation, a potential site for CO2 storage, using metagenomics. We
detected six abundant potentially CO2 fixing strains (e.g. Nitrosopumilus maritimus SCM1) as well as key
genes for CO2 fixation pathways (e.g. the reductive tricarboxylic acid cycle and the Wood Ljungdahl
pathway). Assuming this fraction of the community would increase in case of CO2 leakage; this
information could be used as part of a surveillance project.