Capturing and storing greenhouse gases beneath the earth could allow climate change to be mitigated, but researchers still need to find a method that can both permanently and safely contain the gases. Now researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) believe that they may have found an option: they’ve begun injecting carbon dioxide (CO2) — one of the main gases involved in global warming — a half-mile underground into flows of basalt, a volcanic rock, to see if it will stay put. PNNL’s researchers suggest that because basalt is porous, it’ll be able to hold onto CO2 when it’s inserted in a liquid form. According to Nature, the basalt should also initiate a chemical reaction that will ultimately turn the mixture into limestone — though the process will take decades.
via The Verge
Image: MATT HOFFMAN (FLICKR)
