Update on the Green Rocks of Ronda story

New insights into the rocks of Ronda Serrania!

Not only are they aesthetically pleasing being of a delightful greenish hue which blends charmingly with the pine trees as one drives up from the coast (see Previous blog for details) but recent research reveals that they could play an important role in reducing climate change.

Peridotite lines the road from San Pedro de Alcantara to Ronda

 Dr Peter Kelemen of Columbia University and others have discovered that enormous quantities of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide can be stored cheaply and permanently and completely safely in this rare rock formation.

Peridotite outcrops appear in just a few places on Earth where the rock has squeezed through the seventy-odd kilometres of the Earth's mantle to ooze out onto the surface.

The Serrania de Ronda is just such a place and it is comforting to realise that, vast as our global problems seem, there are still solutions being found. This particular one is still in research phase but with great potential.

If you Google "peridotite and carbon dioxide" you will find scholarly articles on the subject.