Four Montana college students, including two from Helena, were selected from a large field of candidates to spend their summer in Norway, where they'll study the burgeoning science of storing carbon dioxide underground.

Bovard Tiberi and Whitney Treadway of Helena will leave for the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in July to study ways to reduce greenhouse gases by capturing and storing carbon dioxide through a process known as sequestration.

"Norway is one of the leaders in the world in carbon sequestration," said Steve Holmgren, director of the Undergraduate Studies Program at Montana State University. "They're further north, and they're already experiencing climate warming."

The Undergraduate Scholars Program selected 12 students from 40 applicants for the summer study. Norway's University in Bergen further narrowed the field of 12 down to four, selecting three from MSU and one from the University of Montana.

"It's really exciting," said Tiberi, a Helena mathematics and computer-sciences major selected for the program. "Sustainability and anthropogenic climate forcing (human-caused climate change) are two big issues that will demand to be addressed in the next few years. I think our generation is going to bear the brunt of that."

Global temperatures are rising. While there are persistent skeptics, the majority of scientists now believe human activity is to blame.

Increasing temperatures have already been linked to impacts on agriculture. Melting ice caps could raise sea levels and flood coastal areas, while changes in ocean temperatures could disrupt the Gulf Stream and make Europe a colder continent.

With so much at stake, Treadway, like Tiberi, hopes to get on the forefront of carbon storing studies, and find ways to reduce greenhouse gases.

"We've already looked at different types of rock to see if they'd be good reservoir rock," said Treadway, speaking of an earlier study.

"We looked at chemical changes and mechanical changes to see if it affected the long-term stability of the reservoir," she added.

There are at least two primary types of carbon sequestration.

One focuses on enhancing the natural process, such as forestation, to scrub carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

The second looks to capture carbon dioxide at its source, such as a power plant, and store it underground.

"A lot of carbon sequestration is still in the theoretical stage," Tiberi said. "What mathematicians can do is create a theoretical model of how it's supposed to work. By using the model, you can get some pretty good estimates of how it works."

In 1991, Norway became the first country to impose a federal tax on carbon dioxide emitted from combustion-based sources, like coal-fired power plants.

The country has gained a reputation over the past decade for its efforts to curb carbon emissions. Homlgren said that MSU, which received funding for the program from the National Science Foundation, hopes to continue building its new relationship with the Norwegian team.

"This is helping make some connections," said Holmgren. "I can certainly say it has already led to some discussions and some hopes for further collaboration."

Reporter Martin Kidston: 447-4086 or mkidston@helenair.com