Produced by: Tarun Mishra Designed by: Mohsin Shaikh
Geologists from MIT have identified smectite, a clay mineral with the unique ability to capture and store carbon for millions of years, potentially cooling Earth's climate.
Photo: MIT
Found within seafloor layers, smectite's accordion-like structure is proficient at trapping organic carbon, preventing its re-entry into Earth's atmosphere.
As oceanic crust collides with continental plates, rocks turn into minerals, including smectite. This mineral descends to the ocean bed, capturing remnants of deceased organisms and contributing to carbon sequestration.
MIT researchers, led by Joshua Murray and Professor Oliver Jagoutz, established a link between plate tectonics, the creation of smectite, and the onset of ice ages, as detailed in their report, published in peer-reviewed Nature Geoscience Journal.
The study traced smectite production through major tectonic events over the past 500 million years, suggesting its potential role in cooling the Earth and inducing ice ages.
Building on previous work, the team examined weathering patterns of magmatic minerals and incorporated findings into Earth's carbon cycle simulations. Smectite emerged as an efficient captor of organic carbon.
While measuring ancient smectite directly was challenging due to geological changes, the presence of elements associated with smectite in sedimentary deposits supported the team's theory.
Despite its seemingly small impact at less than one-tenth of a percent, smectite's cumulative effect on carbon preservation was substantial over geological timescales, contributing to the planet's major ice ages.
The discovery could enhance our understanding of Earth's climatic history, revealing the potential of harnessing natural processes like smectite for climate change mitigation.
The MIT team's findings suggested practical applications, such as using smectite to stabilize carbon-rich permafrost regions threatened by global warming, showcasing the relevance of natural processes in addressing human-induced climate challenges.