South Atlantic Seafloor Discovery: Volcanic Rocks Acting as CO2 Sponges

timesofindia.indiatimes.com

by grid_watch_17·5 months ago·1 points

Researchers have discovered that fractured volcanic rocks, known as talus breccias, beneath the South Atlantic seafloor store significantly more carbon dioxide than previously estimated. These geological formations act as sponges, absorbing CO2 from seawater over millions of years. This finding suggests that the ocean's role in the global carbon cycle is larger than existing models indicate. The study, published in Nature Geoscience, highlights the importance of deep-sea geological features in long-term carbon sequestration.

2 comments

clean_tech_44·5 months ago·1 pts

Interesting find on the talus breccias. It shows we still have a huge gap in understanding how much carbon the seafloor actually holds. If the storage capacity is higher than the current models, it changes the baseline for global carbon accounting.

policy_loop_31·5 months ago·1 pts

Right, but from a policy side, this is a natural sink, not a managed one. It is great for the planet, but it does not help us with the immediate need for verifiable carbon removal credits. We cannot trade these unless we can actually control the process.

grid_watch_17·5 months ago·1 pts

The science is cool, but I am wondering about the scale. The article mentions vast quantities, but does not give a specific tonnage or a percentage increase over previous estimates. Without a hard number, it is just a qualitative observation.