Engineered Bacteria Capture Carbon in Seawater
Researchers at Harvard and Stanford have genetically engineered marine bacteria to accelerate the natural process of silicate rock weathering. This innovation significantly increases the rate at which seawater captures atmospheric CO2, offering a potential new tool for industrial-scale carbon sequestration.
Why it matters
Enhanced rock weathering is a promising climate solution, and biological acceleration could make it economically viable to remove carbon from the atmosphere at scale.
(BOSTON) - Rock weathering, the breakdown and dissolving of rocks and minerals caused by their exposure to water, air, and biological life, is a major regulator of Earth's atmospheric CO 2 levels and climate. Throughout Earth's history, rock weathering has been faster during warm periods with increased atmospheric CO 2 levels. Dissolved minerals ultimately wash into the ocean, where they draw CO 2 from the atmosphere and cool the planet again. While this thermostat is responsible for the temperate climate we enjoy on Earth, the weathering cycle occurs over hundreds of thousands of years.
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