Peridotite Rocks Absorb Atmospheric Carbon

The natural abilities that peridotite rocks have are no secret to scientists, as researches pointed to their potential years ago. At the time, harnessing the power of the rocks was deemed as a too costly project and the initiative was abandoned. Currently, geologists showed that peridotite doesn't have to be transported and fragmented in specially-designed plants, in order for it to be effective. It also works perfectly in nature, if it's "unveiled" and directly exposed to the atmosphere.
 

Geologist Peter Kelemen and geochemist Juerg Matter, both working for the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at the University of Columbia, studied the desolate Omani desert, in Mideastern Oman, to great lengths. The sheer size of their "workplace," a desolate, barren stretch of land, roughly the same size as the state of Massachusetts, allowed them to thoroughly assess the impact that the presence of the unveiled rocks had on surrounding carbon levels in both water and air.
 

The scientists estimate that the Oman rocks alone, which extend about 5 kilometers underground, could potentially absorb some 4 billion tons of carbon every year, which is a significant portion of the 30 billion tons that nations worldwide output annually. In order for such a process to be so efficient, the human intervention levels needed are negligible. The absorption reaction can be easily started by injecting carbon-rich, hot, high-pressured water into the rock.
 

The water would be inserted through boring-created holes and would reach moderate depths, where it would start a chain reaction. The peridotite would start absorbing it and forming hard rock, and the process would sustain itself, as it generates heat. More heat means more absorbed carbon, and more rock forming.

 
The process will be accompanied by small earthquakes, as the new-forming rock will affect the existing balance in the lithosphere, but geologists say that people should rest assured, as these tremors will be almost imperceptible to humans. However, billions of tons of carbon would be offset from current emissions.