Cited by 717CO2 Sequestration and Geologic InteractionsClimate Change and GeoengineeringCarbon Dioxide Capture Technologies

Enhanced chemical weathering as a geoengineering strategy to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide, supply nutrients, and mitigate ocean acidification

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Hartmann, Jens, West, A. Joshua, Renforth, Phil, Köhler, Peter, De La Rocha, Christina L., Wolf‐Gladrow, Dieter A., Dürr, Hans H., Scheffran, Jürgen·2013·Reviews of Geophysics

Abstract

Chemical weathering is an integral part of both the rock and carbon cycles and is being affected by changes in land use, particularly as a result of agricultural practices such as tilling, mineral fertilization, or liming to adjust soil pH. These human activities have already altered the terrestrial chemical cycles and land‐ocean flux of major elements, although the extent remains difficult to quantify. When deployed on a grand scale, Enhanced Weathering (a form of mineral fertilization), the application of finely ground minerals over the land surface, could be used to remove CO 2 from the atmosphere. The release of cations during the dissolution of such silicate minerals would convert dissolved CO 2 to bicarbonate, increasing the alkalinity and pH of natural waters. Some products of mineral dissolution would precipitate in soils or be taken up by ecosystems, but a significant portion would be transported to the coastal zone and the open ocean, where the increase in alkalinity would partially counteract “ocean acidification” associated with the current marked increase in atmospheric CO 2 . Other elements released during this mineral dissolution, like Si, P, or K, could stimulate biological productivity, further helping to remove CO 2 from the atmosphere. On land, the terrestrial carbon pool would likely increase in response to Enhanced Weathering in areas where ecosystem growth rates are currently limited by one of the nutrients that would be released during mineral dissolution. In the ocean, the biological carbon pumps (which export organic matter and CaCO 3 to the deep ocean) may be altered by the resulting influx of nutrients and alkalinity to the ocean. This review merges current interdisciplinary knowledge about Enhanced Weathering, the processes involved, and the applicability as well as some of the consequences and risks of applying the method.

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  • Mechanical comminution produces an approximately log-normal particle size distribution that varies with different grinding and milling technologies.

    “However, mechanical comminution produces an approximately log-normal psd 16 that varies with different grinding and milling technologies.”

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Authors
Hartmann, J., West, A. J., Renforth, P., Köhler, P., De La Rocha, C. L., Wolf‐Gladrow, D. A., Dürr, H. H., & Scheffran, J.
Affiliations
  • Universität Hamburg (DE)
  • University of Southern California (US)
  • University of Oxford (GB)
  • Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung (DE)
  • UMR CNRS 6539, Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer Université de Bretagne Occidentale, Technôpole Brest‐Iroise Place Nicholas Copernic Plouzané France
  • Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) Bremerhaven Germany
  • University of Waterloo (CA)
Venue
Reviews of Geophysics
Published
2013-04
Volume
51
Issue
2
Pages
113-149
ISSN
  • 0096-1043 (ISSN-L)
  • 8755-1209
  • 1944-9208
OpenAlex
W2146034720
Cited by
717
References
323
Citations by year
2026: 117 · 2025: 121 · 2024: 118 · 2023: 94 · 2022: 73 · 2021: 51 · 2020: 27 · 2019: 24 · 2018: 31 · 2017: 23 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 11 · 2013: 3
FWCI
10.49
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Reviews of Geophysics (publishedVersion)
  • Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar-und Meeresforschung (Alfred-Wegener-Institut) (acceptedVersion)
  • HAL (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
  • Max Planck Digital Library (submittedVersion)
  • ORCA Online Research @Cardiff (Cardiff University) (submittedVersion)
  • MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • National Science Foundation
  • University of Oxford
  • Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (EXC177)
  • Universität Hamburg (EXC177)
  • Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › CO2 Sequestration and Geologic Interactions
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Climate Change and Geoengineering
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Mechanical Engineering › Carbon Dioxide Capture Technologies
Keywords
enhanced weathering, geoengineering, atmospheric CO2 removal, ocean acidification, mineral fertilization, silicate dissolution, ocean alkalinity, nutrient supply, biological carbon pump, terrestrial carbon sequestration, liming, soil pH

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