Singapore-Sana
Scientists have discovered that slow collisions of tectonic plates are pulling more carbon into the Earth's interior than previously thought.
The team from the University of Cambridge and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore found that carbon pulled underground in subduction zones, where tectonic plates collide and sink into the Earth's interior, tends to stay away from depth, rather than appearing as volcanic emissions.
Their findings, published in Nature Communications, suggest that about a third of the carbon recycled under the volcanic chains returns to the surface via recycling, contrary to previous theories that what falls mostly goes back to the surface.
One solution to tackle climate change is to find ways to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere.
By studying the behavior of deep-earth carbon, which comprises the majority of the carbon on our planet, scientists are enabling a better understanding of the entire carbon life cycle on Earth, and how it flows between the atmosphere, oceans and life at the surface.