“These reactions require water,” said lead author Iris Holzer, a doctoral candidate in soils and biogeochemistry in the Department of Land, Air and Water Resources at UC Davis. “Since we’re interested in the global carbon storage potential of enhanced weathering, we need to understand if it can work in these drier climates and if different measurement approaches are effective. We were excited to observe carbon removal in this environment.
A spreader unloads crushed metabasalt rock on a fallowed corn field in the Central Valley. Credit: Amy Quinton/ UC Davis“We’re definitely seeing evidence of weathering processes taking place on short time scales,” said Holzer. “Even the infrequent heavy rains we get in the West might be enough to drive enhanced rock weathering and remove carbon dioxide.”
Forty-one percent of Earth’s land surface is covered by drylands that are expanding due to climate change. Researchers said this makes investigating enhanced rock weathering in drylands increasingly important.
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