[1] One potential way to geologically sequester captured CO 2 emissions is to inject them below the seafloor into marine sedimentary strata where pressures and temperatures would trap the CO 2 through "self-sealing" gravitational and hydrate-formation mechanisms. Here we map out the worldwide distribution and thicknesses of such self-sealing strata using a comprehensive, global dataset of deep-sea sediment cores in combination with digital grids of ocean floor heat flow, bathymetry, and sediment thickness. Based on our mapping, we estimate that the total bulk sediment volume of self-sealing strata is 63 million cubic kilometers, 0.8-1.4 km 3 (or $1.3-2.7%) of which are sands with intrinsic permeability suitable for storing CO 2 . This is enough storage capacity to hold between 1,260-28,500 gigatonnes of CO 2 , or about 40-1,000 y of total global CO 2 emissions. However, the storage capacity is unevenly distributed where it lies within the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) of the world's largest CO 2 emitting economies. The United States and India respectively release 16% and 62% of their annual CO 2 emissions (or 1 Bt/y and 800 Mt/y) within 500 km of self-sealing sands located in their EEZs, while only 6% of the annual emissions from China and the European Union (or 330 Mt/y and 250 Mt/y, respectively) occur within this distance. Citation: Eccles, J. K., and L. Pratson (2012), Global CO 2 storage potential of self-sealing marine sedimentary strata, Geophys.