A team led by Ning Zeng in 2013, a climate scientist from the University of Maryland, unearth a remarkable find while conducting an experiment in Quebec, Canada. The researchers were digging a trench to test if burying wood under clay soil could prevent its decomposition and keep carbon locked away from the atmosphere.
During this process, they unexpectedly discover a 3,775-year-old Eastern red cedar log buried just two metres below the ground.
This ancient log, still containing 95% of its carbon, demonstrate the potential effectiveness of clay as a carbon-preserving medium.
For years, scientists and environmental experts have exploring new ways to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Ning Zeng’s team initially aim to test if wood burial could be a low-cost, natural approach to long-term carbon storage.
As researching clay soil’s ability to inhibit decomposition, their discovery suggest a promising solution already existed in nature.
By covering wood with layers of clay, oxygen and microbes are kept from reaching it, thus helping to preserve its carbon content.
According to Daniel Sanchez who is an environmental scientist at the University of California, Berkeley, this affordable approach holds great potential.
Ning Zeng said that as global emissions continue, inexpensive solutions like these are critical.
Burying wood could reduce emissions at an estimated $30 to $100 per tonne of CO2, significantly less than other carbon-capturing methods.
Researchers estimates that replicating these conditions can allow up to 10 billion tonnes of carbon to be store annually by 2060.
This will potentially help in reducing greenhouse gases.
The wood vault design propose by Ning Zeng involves burying wood under clay, which forms a protective barrier.
As the long-term durability of these conditions is still under review, Ning Zeng’s team has conclude their original study, and findings suggest practical applications for climate mitigation efforts.
