Taylor, L.L. orcid.org/0000-0002-3406-7452, Quirk, J., Thorley, R.M.S. et al. (6 more authors) (2015) Enhanced weathering strategies for stabilizing climate and averting ocean acidification. Nature Climate Change, 6. pp. 402-406. ISSN 1758-6798
Abstract
Chemical breakdown of rocks, weathering, is an important but very slow part of the carbon cycle that ultimately leads to CO2 being locked up in carbonates on the ocean floor. Artificial acceleration of this carbon sink via distribution of pulverized silicate rocks across terrestrial landscapes may help offset anthropogenic CO2 emissions. We show that idealized enhanced weathering scenarios over less than a third of tropical land could cause significant drawdown of atmospheric CO2 and ameliorate ocean acidification by 2100. Global carbon cycle modelling driven by ensemble Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) projections of twenty-first-century climate change (RCP8.5, business-as-usual; RCP4.5, medium-level mitigation) indicates that enhanced weathering could lower atmospheric CO2 by 30–300 ppm by 2100, depending mainly on silicate rock application rate (1 kg or 5 kg m−2 yr−1 ) and composition. At the higher application rate, end-of-century ocean acidification is reversed under RCP4.5 and reduced by about two-thirds under RCP8.5. Additionally, surface ocean aragonite saturation state, a key control on coral calcification rates, is maintained above 3.5 throughout the low latitudes, thereby helping maintain the viability of tropical coral reef ecosystems. However, we highlight major issues of cost, social acceptability, and potential unanticipated consequences that will limit utilization and emphasize the need for urgent efforts to phase down fossil fuel emissions.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | ©2016 Macmillan Publishers Limited. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in Nature Climate Change. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Biogeochemistry; Climate-change mitigation; Climate sciences |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > School of Biosciences (Sheffield) > Department of Animal and Plant Sciences (Sheffield) The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Department of Geography (Sheffield) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number EUROPEAN RESEARCH COUNCIL CDREG - 322998 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 10 Mar 2017 13:04 |
Last Modified: | 22 Mar 2018 10:25 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2882 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Nature Publishing Group |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1038/nclimate2882 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:110367 |