WEI-LI HONG
Silicate alteration in marine sediments: rate, pathway, and significance
Ragnar Söderbergs stiftelse
How does one of Earth’s most common minerals neutralise CO2?
Silicon-oxygen compounds are by far the most common mineral found in the Earth s crust and upper mantle.
These so called silicates have slowly and quietly been regulating the amounts of carbon dioxide on our planet for billions of years. Surprisingly, we do not know much about the chemistry behind it all — especially for silicates at the bottoms of our oceans, the largest pool of the minerals after that found in the Earth s crust.
With this project, Wei-Li Hong sets out to mimic harsh deep-sea conditions in the lab at Stockholm University — i.e. over hundreds of atmospheric pressures at sub-zero temperature — in order to study more closely how marine silicates aid in neutralising carbon dioxide.
Awarded an ERC Consolidator Grant in 2022.
Photo: © Ragnar Söderbergs stiftelse
