Cold War nuke tests light up problem with present-day climate models Premium

A study recently published in the journal Science by an international team of researchers suggests plants absorb more CO2 from the atmosphere than expected and also store it for a shorter duration than expected, based on adapting the models to include Cold War nuclear tests.

For billions of years, the carbon cycle has been nature’s solution to removing excess carbon from the atmosphere.

In nature, volcanic eruptions and life forms vent carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere. Plants and trees then draw in and store this CO2 during photosynthesis.

Of late, the carbon cycle has been a focus area in climate mitigation. Plants’ ability to lock away carbon produced by burning fossil fuels can offer respite. Both fossil-fuel corporations and governments have subscribed to this idea as they look for ways to offset their still-rising carbon footprints.

But a study recently published in the journal Science by an international team of researchers suggests plants absorb more CO2 from the atmosphere than expected and also store it for a shorter duration than expected, before releasing it into their surroundings.

To establish their findings, the researchers investigated the remains of nuclear bomb tests the U.S. and the Soviet Union conducted in the 1960s using climate models.

The dozens of nuclear bomb tests during the Cold War in the second half of the 20th century maintained an atmosphere of trepidation worldwide and, scientists later found, an opportunity for climate research.

“As terrible as they were, they’ve been quite useful to scientists,” Heather Graven, a climate physicist at Imperial College London and the study’s lead author, said.