Scientists generally agree that stopping global warming will require both reducing emissions and taking carbon out of the atmosphere. Throughout geologic time, there has been one proven method for achieving the latter: the weathering and transport of silicate rocks. When the weathered silicates dissolve in the ocean, they take up protons from the water. This chemical process allows the ocean to permanently absorb carbon dioxide. The natural weathering and transport of rocks, however, takes a very long time. Scientists at the company Vesta are seeking to accelerate this process by placing olivine, a cheap and quick-dissolving mineral, on beaches where coastal erosion is already necessitating the introduction of more sand. The interaction of wind, sand grains, and water at these beaches generates the ideal location for fast weathering. Changing the mineral foundation does not come without challenges. Importantly, it can affect beach life forms. McCormick’s work focuses on monitoring the effect on some of the smallest life forms with the largest impact: microbes.
“Humans are guests in a planet run by microbes.”
“Humans are guests in a planet run by microbes,” McCormick said.
Microbes drive important ecosystem functions, the loss of which could transform the macro-scale environment. To ensure that the olivine is not harming the microbial community, McCormick sampled the sand before olivine placement and at regular intervals from the start of the project until October 2023. He then extracted DNA from the samples and sequenced a particular gene to identify the specific microbes in the community. Ideally, the community will look similar before and after olivine replacement — and that is what initial data shows.
A change in the community, however, does not necessarily mean a change in the functions performed by the microbes. McCormick’s other goal is to determine the impact on microbial functions. A change in these could have more significant environmental consequences.
Today, McCormick continues to meet with Vesta scientists as their work expands to other areas. Earlier this year, Vesta became the first company to obtain a federal permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to deploy a stand-alone carbon removal test in U.S. waters. Work is now underway off the Outer Banks in North Carolina.
