A new study reveals that researchers found a hidden ocean under China’s desert that might be storing carbon dioxide.
Scientists made a new discovery about what was considered to be the best way to absorb the carbon dioxide emitted by humans. They believe that a desert has a greater potential in storing carbon dioxide than all the plants on Earth.
Researchers found out that a huge amount of greenhouse gas started disappearing around a desert area called the Tarim basin in China. It was believed that 30 percent of carbon was absorbed by plants, but after this late study, it came to bearing that not all of it goes to plants.
Due to massive deforestations and the increasing use of fossil fuel combustion, the level of carbon dioxide has increased in the Earth’s atmosphere. Studies say that 70 percent of all the carbon is absorbed by the atmosphere and the oceans. Based on early findings, the rest of 30 percent is unevenly split between plants and soil. Furthermore, researchers say that this theory is made true by the carbon sinks in the desert.
Most of the carbon sink zones are characterized by the dense areas populated by vegetation. This way the carbon is absorbed by plants, afterwards being produced into oxygen. Although it was considered that such an event would be impossible in the desert, due to the lack of flora, studies show that over 1 trillion metric tons of carbon could be stored under such terrains.
Based on the calculations made on the samples that were extracted from the ground, scientists say that the overall amount of water that was accumulated there during all the years might be 10 times more than all the American great lakes.
In an early analyze, lead researcher Li Yan, form the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, states that the measurements of carbon dioxide in Earth samples, huge amounts of salt water was found.
Salt water is an important element in the process of dissolving carbon dioxide transported by air, being a better dissolvent than fresh water. This way, the waters found beneath the Tarim basin in China might have the necessary properties to enable carbon to oxygen transformation. for the process from carbon to oxygen to take place.
Image source: scmp.com
