When the Greenland ice melts and moves, it rubs against the rock below. As a mortar grinds grain, the ice grinds stone into fine flour. The glaciers in Greenland create a billion tonnes of such rock flour every year. The same happens with the glaciers in Norway, and the fine powder gives lakes such as Gjende in Jotunheimen a nice turquoise colour. This flour, a group of Danish scientists believe, can now kill two birds with one stone: store billions of tonnes of CO₂, and fertilize infertile soil. – More than anything else, this is a scalable solution. Stone flour has accumulated in Greenland for the last 8,000 years or more. All cultivated land on earth can be covered with this, if you wanted to, says Professor Minik Rosing at the University of Copenhagen to The Guardian. NORWEGIAN STONE MEAL: Stone meal from the river Muru flows into Lake Gjendesjøen in Jotunheimen. Simple solution In the UN climate panel’s latest synthesis report, the scientists call for every stone to be turned over to actively remove carbon from the atmosphere. The Danish researchers believe that each tonne of stone flour can store around 250 kilograms of CO₂ over time. That is significant, especially because the solution does not require any kind of advanced technology. – If you want something to have global consequences, then it must be very simple. The simpler the better, and nothing is simpler than mud, says Professor Rosing. The study also shows that if stone flour is spread over all fields in Denmark, it will store 27 million tonnes of CO₂. This corresponds to Denmark’s total annual emissions. MILKY: Meltwater from glaciers flows into Lake Tekapo in New Zealand. Rock flour gives the water its milky colour. Photo: Neerav Bhatt / Flickr Can produce 20 percent larger crops Another study by the same researchers showed that rock flour can also make the soil far more fertile. Stone flour was added to the soil in maize and potato fields in Denmark. This meant that the size of the crops increased by 24 and 19 per cent respectively. Researchers at the University of Ghana have carried out similar experiments on maize farmers in the less fertile African country. There the crops grew even more, up to 30 per cent. According to the Scottish research center SEER, the supply of stone flour can have many positive effects on agriculture: Slowly releases nutrients and minerals. Leads to balanced pH values in the soil. Prevents erosion and increases the soil’s storage capacity. Increases plants’ resistance to insects, disease, frost and drought. Reduces dependence on fertilizers and pesticides. Leads to more nutritious and tasty crops.
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Rock flour from Greenland can store carbon and make the soil more fertile – news – Klima
