Would it be easier to collect CO2 at volcano opening to reduce greenhouse gas emission?

[Etienne]

We need to reduce CO2 from the atmosphere.
One way is to reduce emission at every exhaust of every car and truck, but would it be simpler to collect the same amount of CO2 at the opening/mouth of subduction volcanoes?
It would obviously involve very big machinery, it would have to be payed by the people polluting the most, but it still would probably more practical, isn't it?
If I correctly understand, only some volcanoes (subduction?) emit large quantities of CO2, because the tectonic plate which goes under need to contains large quantities of CO and so should have been a sea floor during a very long time.

 

[Roj5]

One way is to reduce emission at every exhaust of every car and truck, but would it be simpler to collect the same amount of CO2 at the opening/mouth of subduction volcanoes?

From the following link "several individual U.S. states emit more carbon dioxide in a year than all the volcanoes on the planet combined do. ".

"volcanoes (purple line) produce less than 1 billion metric tons annually. " - From the second link below "There are about 1,350 potentially active volcanoes worldwide, aside from the continuous belts of volcanoes on the ocean floor at spreading centers like the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. About 500 of those 1,350 volcanoes have erupted in historical time. " - If I have calculations right, the average volcano produces the same CO2 as 50k cars driving 350 miles.

Which emits more carbon dioxide: volcanoes or human activities?

Human activities emit 60 or more times the amount of carbon dioxide released by volcanoes each year.

www.climate.gov

How many active volcanoes are there on Earth? | U.S. Geological Survey

There are about 1,350 potentially active volcanoes worldwide, aside from the continuous belts of volcanoes on the ocean floor at spreading centers like the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. About 500 of those 1,350 volcanoes have erupted in historical time. Many of those are located along the Pacific Rim in...

www.usgs.gov

 

[Hartmann352]

Volcanoes could be our fiery allies in the fight against carbon emissions​

Weathering is key to locking up some of the atmosphere's natural carbon dioxide.

BY ANGELY MERCADO

PUBLISHED AUG 26, 2021

Along with the belt of volcanoes that dot the ocean floor across the globe, there are about 1,500 potentially active volcanoes around the world—many of which are in the Pacific “ring of fire”, a ring of active volcanoes and earthquakes along the Pacific Ocean. Their presence has sparked legends and origin stories, such as the true story of the volcanic eruption of Nabukelevu.

It turns out that volcanoes provide important climate mechanisms as well. Researchers at the University of Southampton found that volcanoes are responsible for both emitting and removing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), which has helped stabilize the Earth’s surface temperature over millions of years. The findings were recently published in Nature Geoscience.

The scientists worked alongside colleagues at the University of Ottawa, University of Leeds, the Australian National University (ANU), and the University of Sydney. They investigated the combined impact of processes in the solid Earth, oceans, and atmosphere over the past 400 million years— aka how different processes including how the ocean helps capture some of the atmosphere’s CO2 is connected to other naturally occurring processes.

“It’s a balancing act. On one hand, these volcanoes pumped out large amounts of CO2 that increased atmospheric CO2 levels. On the other hand, these same volcanoes helped remove that carbon via rapid weathering reactions,” says coauthor Martin Palmer, a professor of geochemistry at the University of Southampton via a press release.

The researchers worked together to create an “Earth network” using machine-learning algorithms and plate tectonic reconstructions. This network helped them interpret how different interactions in the Earth’s systems, including systems of volcanoes, have changed over time and have affected the CO2 in the planet’s atmosphere.

One process they extensively researched is chemical weathering releases calcium, magnesium, potassium, or sodium ions. These elements form minerals that lock up CO2 from the atmosphere, regulating global climate over geological time. Volcanic rock is fragmented and chemically reactive and can rapidly weather down and end up in the oceans to help trap CO2.

These new findings cast some doubt over the long-held idea that the ocean is the largest driving factor for weathering and natural carbon capture. Lead author Tom Gernon, an associate professor of earth science at the University of Southampton, calls volcanoes a “geological thermostat” that helps regulate the earth’s CO2 levels. When asked if volcanoes can be used to mitigate the current climate crisis, Gernon points out that CO2 emissions are at record high levels.

“Conventionally, it’s assumed that global weathering is driven by a kind of an interplay between … the continental interiors and the oceans—the seafloor. That’s often assumed to be the main drivers [of weathering] … we show that actually, that may not be true,” says Gernon.

This means volcanoes could be important in the weathering process as well. But are volcanoes the answer to our record-high carbon emissions and rapidly changing climate? It’s trickier than it seems, Gernon says.

“The volcanoes certainly aren’t a solution, in themselves,” Gernon says. “If we can kind of engineer that system, and try to maybe deploy certain compositions of rocks as an enhanced weathering tool to draw down CO2 [that] may play some role … [but volcanic rock] is not a silver bullet solution to the climate crisis. It has to be just one part of many solutions needed for different mitigation measures that the IPCC has advised.”

He hopes that the machine learning tool and the data collected can lead to potential solutions that involve volcanic rocks in the future. Using broken-down rocks can in fact pull some CO2 from the atmosphere, according to a 2020 study showed that spreading dust rock on farmland can “remove about half of the amount of that greenhouse gas currently produced by Europe,” according to the Washington Post. This works because the carbonate materials in the rock dust will dissolve when it comes in contact with water. CO2 is drawn in to form bicarbonate ions that then become carbon-storing carbonate minerals after they’re washed away into the ocean.

“I have colleagues who are working on enhanced weathering mineral carbonation—using grinding up minerals doing experiments on what compositions and grain size distributions work best [for weathering],” he says. “Those experiments need to be done to demonstrate the applicability or the effectiveness of this approach.”

See: https://www.popsci.com/environment/volcanic-rock-captures-carbon-emissions/

Up to about 19 percent more carbon dioxide than previously believed is removed naturally and stored underground between coastal trenches and inland chains of volcanoes, keeping the greenhouse gas from entering the atmosphere, according to a study in the journal Nature.

Surprisingly, subsurface microbes play a role in storing vast amounts of carbon by incorporating it in their biomass and possibly by helping to form calcite, a mineral made of calcium carbonate, Rutgers and other scientists found. Greater knowledge of the long-term impact of volcanoes on carbon dioxide and how it may be buffered by chemical and biological processes is critical for evaluating natural and human impacts on the climate. Carbon dioxide is the major greenhouse gas linked to global warming.

See: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190424153512.htm

There are four categories of carbon offsets including Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency, Gas Capture, and Sequestration. Seashells have drawn down about the same amount of carbon as regional emissions of carbon dioxide, and this process was even higher during ancient periods of climate warming. Humans are taking carbon out of the ground by burning fossil fuels deposited millions of years ago and putting it into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. The main geological (long-term) mechanism of carbon storage today is the formation of seashells that become preserved as sediment on the ocean floor. Organic carbon in the form of dead plants, algae and animals is mostly eaten by other creatures, mainly bacteria, in both the ocean and in forest soils. Most organisms in the ocean are so small (less than 1mm in size) they remain invisible, but as they die and sink, they transport carbon to the deep ocean. Their shells can accumulate on the seabed to make vast deposits of chalk and limestone. Limestone, or its metamorphic cousin, marble, is rock made primarily of calcium carbonate. These rock types are often formed from the bodies of marine plants and animals, and their shells and skeletons can be preserved as fossils. Carbon locked up in limestone can be stored for millions—or even hundreds of millions—of years.
Hartmann352

 

[Hartmann352]

Volcanoes could be our fiery allies in the fight against carbon emissions​

Weathering is key to locking up some of the atmosphere's natural carbon dioxide.

BY ANGELY MERCADO

PUBLISHED AUG 26, 2021

Along with the belt of volcanoes that dot the ocean floor across the globe, there are about 1,500 potentially active volcanoes around the world—many of which are in the Pacific “ring of fire”, a ring of active volcanoes and earthquakes along the Pacific Ocean. Their presence has sparked legends and origin stories, such as the true story of the volcanic eruption of Nabukelevu.

It turns out that volcanoes provide important climate mechanisms as well. Researchers at the University of Southampton found that volcanoes are responsible for both emitting and removing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), which has helped stabilize the Earth’s surface temperature over millions of years. The findings were recently published in Nature Geoscience.

The scientists worked alongside colleagues at the University of Ottawa, University of Leeds, the Australian National University (ANU), and the University of Sydney. They investigated the combined impact of processes in the solid Earth, oceans, and atmosphere over the past 400 million years— aka how different processes including how the ocean helps capture some of the atmosphere’s CO2 is connected to other naturally occurring processes.

“It’s a balancing act. On one hand, these volcanoes pumped out large amounts of CO2 that increased atmospheric CO2 levels. On the other hand, these same volcanoes helped remove that carbon via rapid weathering reactions,” says coauthor Martin Palmer, a professor of geochemistry at the University of Southampton via a press release.

The researchers worked together to create an “Earth network” using machine-learning algorithms and plate tectonic reconstructions. This network helped them interpret how different interactions in the Earth’s systems, including systems of volcanoes, have changed over time and have affected the CO2 in the planet’s atmosphere.

One process they extensively researched is chemical weathering releases calcium, magnesium, potassium, or sodium ions. These elements form minerals that lock up CO2 from the atmosphere, regulating global climate over geological time. Volcanic rock is fragmented and chemically reactive and can rapidly weather down and end up in the oceans to help trap CO2.

These new findings cast some doubt over the long-held idea that the ocean is the largest driving factor for weathering and natural carbon capture. Lead author Tom Gernon, an associate professor of earth science at the University of Southampton, calls volcanoes a “geological thermostat” that helps regulate the earth’s CO2 levels. When asked if volcanoes can be used to mitigate the current climate crisis, Gernon points out that CO2 emissions are at record high levels.

“Conventionally, it’s assumed that global weathering is driven by a kind of an interplay between … the continental interiors and the oceans—the seafloor. That’s often assumed to be the main drivers [of weathering] … we show that actually, that may not be true,” says Gernon.

This means volcanoes could be important in the weathering process as well. But are volcanoes the answer to our record-high carbon emissions and rapidly changing climate? It’s trickier than it seems, Gernon says.

“The volcanoes certainly aren’t a solution, in themselves,” Gernon says. “If we can kind of engineer that system, and try to maybe deploy certain compositions of rocks as an enhanced weathering tool to draw down CO2 [that] may play some role … [but volcanic rock] is not a silver bullet solution to the climate crisis. It has to be just one part of many solutions needed for different mitigation measures that the IPCC has advised.”

He hopes that the machine learning tool and the data collected can lead to potential solutions that involve volcanic rocks in the future. Using broken-down rocks can in fact pull some CO2 from the atmosphere, according to a 2020 study showed that spreading dust rock on farmland can “remove about half of the amount of that greenhouse gas currently produced by Europe,” according to the Washington Post. This works because the carbonate materials in the rock dust will dissolve when it comes in contact with water. CO2 is drawn in to form bicarbonate ions that then become carbon-storing carbonate minerals after they’re washed away into the ocean.

“I have colleagues who are working on enhanced weathering mineral carbonation—using grinding up minerals doing experiments on what compositions and grain size distributions work best [for weathering],” he says. “Those experiments need to be done to demonstrate the applicability or the effectiveness of this approach.”

See: https://www.popsci.com/environment/volcanic-rock-captures-carbon-emissions/

Up to about 19 percent more carbon dioxide than previously believed is removed naturally and stored underground between coastal trenches and inland chains of volcanoes, keeping the greenhouse gas from entering the atmosphere, according to a study in the journal Nature.

Surprisingly, subsurface microbes play a role in storing vast amounts of carbon by incorporating it in their biomass and possibly by helping to form calcite, a mineral made of calcium carbonate, Rutgers and other scientists found. Greater knowledge of the long-term impact of volcanoes on carbon dioxide and how it may be buffered by chemical and biological processes is critical for evaluating natural and human impacts on the climate. Carbon dioxide is the major greenhouse gas linked to global warming.

See: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190424153512.htm

There are four categories of carbon offsets including Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency, Gas Capture, and Sequestration. Seashells have drawn down about the same amount of carbon as regional emissions of carbon dioxide, and this process was even higher during ancient periods of climate warming. Humans are taking carbon out of the ground by burning fossil fuels deposited millions of years ago and putting it into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. The main geological (long-term) mechanism of carbon storage today is the formation of seashells that become preserved as sediment on the ocean floor. Organic carbon in the form of dead plants, algae and animals is mostly eaten by other creatures, mainly bacteria, in both the ocean and in forest soils. Most organisms in the ocean are so small (less than 1mm in size) they remain invisible, but as they die and sink, they transport carbon to the deep ocean. Their shells can accumulate on the seabed to make vast deposits of chalk and limestone. Limestone, or its metamorphic cousin, marble, is rock made primarily of calcium carbonate. These rock types are often formed from the bodies of marine plants and animals, and their shells and skeletons can be preserved as fossils. Carbon locked up in limestone can be stored for millions—or even hundreds of millions—of years.
Hartmann352

Global chemical weathering dominated by continental arcs since the mid-Palaeozoic​

• Thomas M. Gernon,
• Thea K. Hincks,
• Andrew S. Merdith,
• Eelco J. Rohling,
• Martin R. Palmer,
• Gavin L. Foster,
• Clément P. Bataille &
• R. Dietmar Müller

Nature Geoscience volume 14, pages 690–696 (2021)

Earth’s plate-tectonic activity regulates the carbon cycle and, hence, climate, via volcanic outgassing and silicate-rock weathering. Mountain building, arc–continent collisions and clustering of continents in the tropics have all been invoked as controlling the weathering flux, with arcs also acting as a major contributor of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. However, these processes have largely been considered in isolation when in reality they are all tightly coupled. To properly account for interactions among these processes, and the inherent multi-million-year time lags at play in the Earth system, we need to characterize their complex interdependencies.

Here we analyse these interdependencies over the past 400 million years using a Bayesian network to identify primary relationships, time lags and drivers of the global chemical weathering signal. We find that the length of continental volcanic arcs—the fastest-eroding surface features on Earth—exerts the strongest control on global chemical weathering fluxes. We propose that the rapid drawdown of carbon dioxide tied to arc weathering stabilizes surface temperatures over geological time, contrary to the widely held view that this stability is achieved mainly by a delicate balance between weathering of the seafloor and the continental interiors.

See: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-021-00806-0

How plate tectonics has maintained Earth's 'Goldilocks' climate​

26 May 2022

A natural 'carbon conveyor belt' is responsible

Not hothouse, nor icehouse: when tectonic plates move at a moderate speed - not too fast or slow - Earth remains habitable, new University of Sydney research finds.

Hothouse and icehouse climates have existed in the geological past. The Cretaceous hothouse (which lasted from roughly 145 million to 66 million years ago) had atmospheric CO₂ levels above 1,000 parts per million, compared with around 420 today, and temperatures up to 10℃ higher than today.

But Earth’s climate began to cool around 50 million years ago during the Cenozoic Era, culminating in an icehouse climate in which temperatures dropped to roughly 7℃ cooler than today.

What kickstarted this dramatic change in global climate?

Our suspicion was that Earth’s tectonic plates were the culprit. To better understand how tectonic plates store, move and emit carbon, we built a computer model of the tectonic “carbon conveyor belt”.

The carbon conveyor belt​

The Earth’s tectonic carbon conveyor belt shifts massive amounts of carbon between the deep Earth and the surface, from mid-ocean ridges to subduction zones, where oceanic plates carrying deep-sea sediments are recycled back into the Earth’s interior. The processes involved play a pivotal role in Earth’s climate and habitability. Author provided

Tectonic processes release carbon into the atmosphere at mid-ocean ridges - where two plates are moving away from each other - allowing magma to rise to the surface and create new ocean crust.

At the same time, at ocean trenches - where two plates converge - plates are pulled down and recycled back into the deep Earth. On their way down they carry carbon back into the Earth’s interior, but also release some CO₂ via volcanic activity.
The Earth’s tectonic carbon conveyor belt shifts massive amounts of carbon between the deep Earth and the surface, from mid-ocean ridges to subduction zones, where oceanic plates carrying deep-sea sediments are recycled back into the Earth’s interior. The processes involved play a pivotal role in Earth’s climate and habitability.
Our model shows that the Cretaceous hothouse climate was caused by very fast-moving tectonic plates, which dramatically increased CO₂ emissions from mid-ocean ridges.

In the transition to the Cenozoic icehouse climate tectonic plate movement slowed down and volcanic CO₂ emissions began to fall. But to our surprise, we discovered a more complex mechanism hidden in the conveyor belt system involving mountain building, continental erosion and burial of the remains of miscroscopic organisms on the seafloor.

The hidden cooling effect of slowing tectonic plates in the Cenozoic​

Tectonic plates slow down due to collisions, which in turn leads to mountain building, such as the Himalayas and the Alps formed over the last 50 million years. This should have reduced volcanic CO₂ emissions but instead our carbon conveyor belt model revealed increased emissions.

We tracked their source to carbon-rich deep-sea sediments being pushed downwards to feed volcanoes, increasing CO₂ emissions and cancelling out the effect of slowing plates.

So what exactly was the mechanism responsible for the drop in atmospheric CO₂?
The answer lies in the mountains that were responsible for slowing down the plates in the first place and in carbon storage in the deep sea.

As soon as mountains form, they start being eroded. Rainwater containing CO₂ reacts with a range of mountain rocks, breaking them down. Rivers carry the dissolved minerals into the sea. Marine organisms then use the dissolved products to build their shells, which ultimately become a part of carbon-rich marine sediments.

As new mountain chains formed, more rocks were eroded, speeding up this process. Massive amounts of CO₂ were stored away, and the planet cooled, even though some of these sediments were subducted with their carbon degassing via arc volcanoes.

Rock weathering as a possible carbon dioxide removal technology​

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says large-scale deployment of carbon dioxide removal methods is “unavoidable” if the world is to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.

The weathering of igneous rocks, especially rocks like basalt containing a mineral called olivine, is very efficient in reducing atmospheric CO₂. Spreading olivine on beaches could absorb up to a trillion tonnes of CO₂ from the atmosphere, according to some estimates.

Geological processes, with some human help, may also have their role in maintaining Earth’s “Goldilocks” climate.

---

This study was carried out by researchers from the University of Sydney’s EarthByte Group, The University of Western Australia, the University of Leeds and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich using GPlates open access modelling software. This was enabled by Australia’s National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) via AuScope and The Office of the Chief Scientist and Engineer, New South Wales Department of Industry.

This piece was originally published in The Conversation. Hero image: Ben Turnbull on Unsplash.

See: https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opin...-maintained-earth-s--goldilocks--climate.html

The Earth’s tectonic carbon conveyor belt shifts massive amounts of carbon between the deep Earth and the surface, from mid-ocean ridges back to subduction zones, where oceanic plates carrying carbon rich deep-sea sediments are recycled back into the Earth’s interior where some CO2 and other gases are discharged from active volcanoes.
Hartmann352

 

[Hartmann352]

Global chemical weathering dominated by continental arcs since the mid-Palaeozoic​

• Thomas M. Gernon,
• Thea K. Hincks,
• Andrew S. Merdith,
• Eelco J. Rohling,
• Martin R. Palmer,
• Gavin L. Foster,
• Clément P. Bataille &
• R. Dietmar Müller

Nature Geoscience volume 14, pages 690–696 (2021)

Earth’s plate-tectonic activity regulates the carbon cycle and, hence, climate, via volcanic outgassing and silicate-rock weathering. Mountain building, arc–continent collisions and clustering of continents in the tropics have all been invoked as controlling the weathering flux, with arcs also acting as a major contributor of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. However, these processes have largely been considered in isolation when in reality they are all tightly coupled. To properly account for interactions among these processes, and the inherent multi-million-year time lags at play in the Earth system, we need to characterize their complex interdependencies.

Here we analyse these interdependencies over the past 400 million years using a Bayesian network to identify primary relationships, time lags and drivers of the global chemical weathering signal. We find that the length of continental volcanic arcs—the fastest-eroding surface features on Earth—exerts the strongest control on global chemical weathering fluxes. We propose that the rapid drawdown of carbon dioxide tied to arc weathering stabilizes surface temperatures over geological time, contrary to the widely held view that this stability is achieved mainly by a delicate balance between weathering of the seafloor and the continental interiors.

See: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-021-00806-0

How plate tectonics has maintained Earth's 'Goldilocks' climate​

26 May 2022

A natural 'carbon conveyor belt' is responsible

Not hothouse, nor icehouse: when tectonic plates move at a moderate speed - not too fast or slow - Earth remains habitable, new University of Sydney research finds.

Hothouse and icehouse climates have existed in the geological past. The Cretaceous hothouse (which lasted from roughly 145 million to 66 million years ago) had atmospheric CO₂ levels above 1,000 parts per million, compared with around 420 today, and temperatures up to 10℃ higher than today.

But Earth’s climate began to cool around 50 million years ago during the Cenozoic Era, culminating in an icehouse climate in which temperatures dropped to roughly 7℃ cooler than today.

What kickstarted this dramatic change in global climate?

Our suspicion was that Earth’s tectonic plates were the culprit. To better understand how tectonic plates store, move and emit carbon, we built a computer model of the tectonic “carbon conveyor belt”.

The carbon conveyor belt​

The Earth’s tectonic carbon conveyor belt shifts massive amounts of carbon between the deep Earth and the surface, from mid-ocean ridges to subduction zones, where oceanic plates carrying deep-sea sediments are recycled back into the Earth’s interior. The processes involved play a pivotal role in Earth’s climate and habitability. Author provided

Tectonic processes release carbon into the atmosphere at mid-ocean ridges - where two plates are moving away from each other - allowing magma to rise to the surface and create new ocean crust.

At the same time, at ocean trenches - where two plates converge - plates are pulled down and recycled back into the deep Earth. On their way down they carry carbon back into the Earth’s interior, but also release some CO₂ via volcanic activity.
The Earth’s tectonic carbon conveyor belt shifts massive amounts of carbon between the deep Earth and the surface, from mid-ocean ridges to subduction zones, where oceanic plates carrying deep-sea sediments are recycled back into the Earth’s interior. The processes involved play a pivotal role in Earth’s climate and habitability.
Our model shows that the Cretaceous hothouse climate was caused by very fast-moving tectonic plates, which dramatically increased CO₂ emissions from mid-ocean ridges.

In the transition to the Cenozoic icehouse climate tectonic plate movement slowed down and volcanic CO₂ emissions began to fall. But to our surprise, we discovered a more complex mechanism hidden in the conveyor belt system involving mountain building, continental erosion and burial of the remains of miscroscopic organisms on the seafloor.

The hidden cooling effect of slowing tectonic plates in the Cenozoic​

Tectonic plates slow down due to collisions, which in turn leads to mountain building, such as the Himalayas and the Alps formed over the last 50 million years. This should have reduced volcanic CO₂ emissions but instead our carbon conveyor belt model revealed increased emissions.

We tracked their source to carbon-rich deep-sea sediments being pushed downwards to feed volcanoes, increasing CO₂ emissions and cancelling out the effect of slowing plates.

So what exactly was the mechanism responsible for the drop in atmospheric CO₂?
The answer lies in the mountains that were responsible for slowing down the plates in the first place and in carbon storage in the deep sea.

As soon as mountains form, they start being eroded. Rainwater containing CO₂ reacts with a range of mountain rocks, breaking them down. Rivers carry the dissolved minerals into the sea. Marine organisms then use the dissolved products to build their shells, which ultimately become a part of carbon-rich marine sediments.

As new mountain chains formed, more rocks were eroded, speeding up this process. Massive amounts of CO₂ were stored away, and the planet cooled, even though some of these sediments were subducted with their carbon degassing via arc volcanoes.

Rock weathering as a possible carbon dioxide removal technology​

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says large-scale deployment of carbon dioxide removal methods is “unavoidable” if the world is to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.

The weathering of igneous rocks, especially rocks like basalt containing a mineral called olivine, is very efficient in reducing atmospheric CO₂. Spreading olivine on beaches could absorb up to a trillion tonnes of CO₂ from the atmosphere, according to some estimates.

Geological processes, with some human help, may also have their role in maintaining Earth’s “Goldilocks” climate.

---

This study was carried out by researchers from the University of Sydney’s EarthByte Group, The University of Western Australia, the University of Leeds and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich using GPlates open access modelling software. This was enabled by Australia’s National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) via AuScope and The Office of the Chief Scientist and Engineer, New South Wales Department of Industry.

This piece was originally published in The Conversation. Hero image: Ben Turnbull on Unsplash.

See: https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opin...-maintained-earth-s--goldilocks--climate.html

The Earth’s tectonic carbon conveyor belt shifts massive amounts of carbon between the deep Earth and the surface, from mid-ocean ridges back to subduction zones, where oceanic plates carrying carbon rich deep-sea sediments are recycled back into the Earth’s interior where some CO2 and other gases are discharged from active volcanoes.
Hartmann352

MICROBES NEAR VOLCANOES HELP STORE A WHOLE BUNCH OF CO2​

APRIL 25TH, 2019
BY TODD BATES
RUTGERS UNIVERSITY

Surprisingly, subsurface microbes play a role in storing vast amounts of carbon by incorporating it in their biomass and possibly by helping to form calcite, a mineral made of calcium carbonate, the researchers found.

Greater knowledge of the long-term impact of volcanoes on carbon dioxide and how it may be buffered by chemical and biological processes is critical for evaluating natural and human impacts on the climate. Carbon dioxide is the major greenhouse gas linked to global warming.

The carbon cycle near volcano chains. (Credit: Patricia Barcala Dominguez)
“Our study revealed a new way that tiny microorganisms can have an outsized impact on a large-scale geological process and the Earth’s climate,” says coauthor Donato Giovannelli, a visiting scientist and former postdoctoral researcher in the marine and coastal sciences department at Rutgers University-New Brunswick who is now at the University of Naples in Italy.

The study covers how microbes alter the flow of volatile substances that include carbon, which can change from a solid or liquid to a vapor, in subduction zones. Such zones are where two tectonic plates collide, with the denser plate sinking and moving material from the surface into Earth’s interior.

The subduction, or geological process, creates deep-sea trenches and volcanic arcs, or chains of volcanoes, at the boundary of tectonic plates. Examples are in Japan and South and Central America. Arc volcanoes are hot spots for carbon dioxide emissions that re-enter the atmosphere from subducted material, which consists of marine sediment, oceanic crust and mantle rocks, Giovannelli says. The approximately 1,800-mile-thick mantle of semi-solid hot rock lies beneath the Earth’s crust.

Calcite deposits near a waterfall in Costa Rica. (Credit: Peter Barry)

The Earth’s core, mantle, and crust account for 90 percent of carbon. The other 10 percent is in the ocean, biosphere, and atmosphere. The subduction zone connects the Earth’s surface with its interior, and knowing how carbon moves between them is important in understanding one of the key processes on Earth and regulating the climate over tens of millions of years.

The study focused on the Nicoya Peninsula area of Costa Rica. The scientists investigated the area between the trench and the volcanic arc—the so-called forearc. The research reveals that volcanic forearc are a previously unrecognized deep sink for carbon dioxide.

The study appears in the journal Nature. Additional researchers from Rutgers; the University of Oxford; the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, Washington; and the National Research Council in Messina, Italy.

Source: Rutgers University

See: https://www.futurity.org/carbon-dioxide-storage-microbes-volcanoes-2046032/

Hartmann352