Earth’s natural CO2 vacuum cleaners
18 hours ago Anthony Watts
From the “giant sucking sound” department and Utrecht University comes this bit of science saying what most of us already knew – nature is better at removing CO2 than any man-made scheme. Apologies to Spaceballs “MegaMaid”- Anthony
Natural weathering processes are removing CO2 from the air in a wide range of environments across continents and ocean. Until recently these ‘CO2 vacuum cleaners’ were often studied separately, without properly examining their complex interactions. Now, an international team of earth scientists is proposing an integrated vision of the many factors that influence the removal of atmospheric CO2 from the highest mountain peaks to the deep ocean floor, including their various interactions. The so-called weathering continuum provides a much more complete picture on what controls and regulates the natural removal of CO2, which could help in the development of enhancing weathering techniques.
The type of rock worn away by wind and water, the chemical reactions that break down rocks and convert them into soils and muds: all of this influences the rate at which CO2 is removed naturally from the air and is stored in the soils or the ocean. The efficiency of these CO2 vacuum cleaners has varied substantially in the Earth’s past, which had researchers puzzled for over a century.
Overview figure of the weathering continuum, in which processes from the highest mountain to the deep ocean play a role in removing CO2 from the air. Credit: Gerrit Trapp-Müller et al.
Weathering Continuum
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2025/09/20/earths-natural-co2-vacuum-cleaners/
