Speeding up the naturally occurring process of weathering rocks to draw carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere could help to
stabilize the climate and avert ocean acidification caused by greenhouse gas emissions, according to research published in the journal Nature Climate Change. As rainwater and other environmental conditions naturally break down rocks on the earth’s surface, carbon dioxide is drawn from the atmosphere. The process converts CO2 to bicarbonate, a mineral that chemically binds CO2 and is washed away through rivers to the oceans. By modeling the large-scale effects of weathering — which is driven largely by precipitation, vegetation, and soil microbes — the researchers found methods for accelerating this CO2-removal system. Such a strategy could significantly counteract anthropogenic fossil fuel emissions, they say, slowing ocean acidification and protecting delicate ocean ecosystems such as coral reefs.
Accelerating Rock Weathering Could Help Reduce Atmospheric CO2 Levels
More From E360
-
ANALYSIS
How China Became the World’s Leader on Renewable Energy
-
Biodiversity
As Flooding Increases on the Mississippi, Forests Are Drowning
-
Climate
In Mongolia, a Killer Winter Is Ravaging Herds and a Way of Life
-
Energy
In Rush for Lithium, Miners Turn to the Oil Fields of Arkansas
-
Food & Agriculture
How a Solar Revolution in Farming Is Depleting World’s Groundwater
-
INTERVIEW
What Will It Take to Save Our Cities from a Scorching Future?
-
Climate
Rain Comes to the Arctic, With a Cascade of Troubling Changes
-
Health
Plastics Reckoning: PVC Is Ubiquitous, But Maybe Not for Long
-
Energy
How a Legal Loophole Allows Gas Leaks to Keep on Flowing
-
Solutions
Flying Green: The Pursuit of Carbon-Neutral Aviation Revs Up
-
TECHNOLOGY
As Use of A.I. Soars, So Does the Energy and Water It Requires
-
Cities
How Parking Reform Is Helping Transform American Cities