The new study postulates that only about a third of the carbon recycled beneath volcanic chains returns to the surface via recycling. As the media outlet points out, scientists thought that much of the carbon that gets channeled into our planets interior at subduction zones, in the form of seashells of microorganisms that have locked atmospheric CO2, for example, ends up getting expelled back into the atmosphere via volcanic emissions. However, the new study shows that chemical reactions taking place in [carbonate] rocks swallowed up at subduction zones result in carbon being trapped and sent deeper into the bowels of the Earth, therefore preventing some from returning to the surface. "These results will also help us understand better ways to lock carbon into the solid Earth, out of the atmosphere. If we can accelerate this process faster than nature handles it, it could prove a route to help solve the climate crisis," he added.

Source: The Nation July 28, 2021 16:07 UTC