Scientists from the Rochester Institute of Technology have proposed an unusual method of combating global warming – detonating 1620 nuclear charges on the ocean floor. According to their calculations, powerful underwater explosions will be able to accelerate the destruction of basalt rocks, which, when interacting with carbon dioxide, form stable minerals, thereby reducing the concentration of CO₂ in the atmosphere. This concept is based on the natural processes of weathering of rocks, but proposes their artificial acceleration on a scale that can compensate for greenhouse gas emissions over the past three decades.

To conduct the experiment, the scientists chose the Kerguelen Plateau region in the Southern Ocean, where there is a significant accumulation of basalt formations and sufficiently deep waters capable of absorbing the shock wave. According to the proposed model, the power of the explosions should be at least 81 gigatons - this is a thousand times greater than the combined power of all previous nuclear tests in human history. It is expected that after a series of detonations, the rocks will be crushed, which will significantly increase the area of ​​their contact with carbon dioxide and speed up the process of its binding.

The project's developers estimate its cost at $10 billion, while the potential economic benefit from preventing the effects of climate change could reach $100 trillion. According to them, if radical measures are not taken, then by the end of the 30st century, global warming will lead to the deaths of more than XNUMX million people. At the same time, the initiative is causing sharp criticism among the scientific community. Experts in the field of ecology, geophysics and international security point to the unpredictable consequences of such intervention, including potential seismic disturbances, risks of radioactive contamination and possible changes in ocean currents.

Alternative methods of artificially cooling the planet have been proposed in the past, including spraying aerosols into the stratosphere to reduce solar radiation and large-scale production of artificial clouds to increase the Earth's albedo. However, such projects remain theoretical concepts, as any global geoengineering interventions could lead to irreversible changes in ecosystems.