Scientists may have found a solution to our carbon problem. In Oman, there is a type of rock called peridotite, which scientists believe may have formed in the mantle, which is the middle layer of our planet and dozens of kilometers below the surface. These rocks have the ability to absorb and petrify C02. In fact, according to the Scientific American article The Carbon Rocks of Oman by Douglas Fox, the exposed mantle rocks in Oman are absorbing an estimated 100,000 metric tons of C02 annually. Worldwide, these mantle rocks have the potential to store as much as 60 trillion tons of C02, an amount much greater than the amount of C02 humans put into the atmosphere. This discovery is huge because it could be the key to stopping climate change.
Recently, a company called 44.01 was given government approval to try mineral carbonation in mantle rocks. Basically, the company 44.01 will pump water with certain levels of C02 into the rock so that the C02 reacts with the magnesium and calcium inside, allowing the rock to store C02 in a solid form. If the test shows that C02 is mineralizing fast enough to work against climate change, the company will start a commercial injection operation in 2022.
This project, if successful, has the power to change our increasingly dismal future. If other countries along with Oman are able to create effective carbon capturing systems, we have the power to reverse effects from greenhouse gases.