23 results for tag: research


Answering the IPCC Call to Demonstrate Rock Dust’s Potential for Climate Stabilization

The IPCC 2022 report on the impacts of global warming warns that climate hazards will increase dramatically if global temperatures continue rising and exceed 1.5 degrees C above pre-industrial levels.

How to Lock Carbon in the Soil Permanently

Prof. Wolfram Buss of Australian National University Large-scale carbon sequestration is a significant challenge, especially when considering competition for land and resources among different techniques. In this article we report the findings of Buss et al.[4] concerning the synergistic interactions between techniques and soil processes and how they can enhance carbon sequestration potential. The study aims to identify limitations, assess interactions, and define strategies for integrating these methods into agro-ecosystems for large-scale carbon sequestration. Human-induced climate change is already causing severe effects on the environment, ...

A Breakthrough in Verifying Carbon Dioxide Removal by Rock Dust Weathering

For over a billion years, rock weathering has played a central role in regulating Earth's climate. So what’s behind the rock-climate connection? It turns out...

Call for Enhanced Weathering Projects for Google’s 2023 Carbon Removal Research Awards

Deadline for applications is April 28, 2023. Apply through their website. Diagram of the enhanced weathering process. In 2020, Google announced its goal to achieve net zero emissions by 2030. Google plans to achieve this target through reducing direct and indirect emissions (scope 1, 2, and 3) by 50% and investing in carbon removal technologies to offset any remaining emissions. As a way to propel technology-based carbon removal solutions forward and meet their own sustainability goals, Google has announced it is accepting proposals for its 2023 Google Carbon Removal Research Awards. Recognizing the need for further research into carbon ...

New UC Davis Center Paves the Way for Rock Dust Research

If the world were to judge soil remineralization based on what could happen, rock dust amendments might already be standard procedure for the world’s farmers. The potential to use rock dust as a carbon storage tactic for climate change mitigation is well known in the scientific community, in addition to its ability to improve agricultural yields and soil health. Benefits like these are enough to make any policymaker or farmer at least consider the use of soil amendment programs, but expectations alone are not adequate to persuade any party to go “all in.” Stakeholders include farmers, ranchers, politicians, business owners, and everyday ...

Barbuda Limestone Soil Crop Growth Stimulated by Montserrat Volcanic Ash

Fig. 1 Principal John Mussington surveying the plants. The plot receiving the volcanic ash on the left, and the control plot on the right. Introduction Soil fertility depends on the geological history of the minerals in it, climate, and their management. Oceanic islands are either limestone or volcanic, the only exception being the high granite islands in the Seychelles, an ancient small continental fragment. Most limestone islands, including all atolls, are low and flat and are much drier than the high wet volcanic islands. Volcanic islands are much more fertile, because they are wetter, and because basalt contains an ideal mixture of the nutrient ...

RTE’s New Research Database Director Spreads Word about Remineralization at Australia-Brazil Conference

Above: Multidisciplinary team of researchers at the Australia-Brazil Alumni Conference. The 4th Australia-Brazil Alumni Conference was held in São Caetano do Sul, at the Instituto Mauá de Tecnologia, from May 17th - 18th. Aiming to engage former scholarship recipients from Australian and Brazilian government programs, the two-day conference brought together a multidisciplinary team of researchers and students to explore ways to strengthen the scientific bonds among the two countries, stimulating international cooperation. From biologists to lawyers, participants had the opportunity to give a presentation in the TED Talk format and show others ...

University of California receives $4.7M to Study Carbon Sequestration with Rock Dust, Compost and Biochar

An exciting new consortium led by the University of California, Davis, and the UC Working Lands Innovation Center is setting out to find new ways of taking excess carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere using Nature’s best resource — soil. The multipartner consortium has received a $4.7 million grant from California’s Strategic Growth Council to research and study the use of soil amendments in carbon sequestration. Carbon sequestration is the process of removing carbon from the atmosphere and storing it as a fixed molecule in a carbon sink, such as soil, oceans or plants. While this happens naturally, human advancements in agriculture and ...

Blending Biochar with Rockdust: High-efficiency Mineral Delivery

Seedlings grown in soil treated with rock dust. 4 trays on left are commercial rock dust products; 3 on right are potential midwest region resources.   David Yarrow emphasizes that carbon is only one element in soil, and that the priority for our planet is soil regeneration through stewardship of diverse living communities and cultures. The very actions essential to put carbon, minerals, and microbes back in soils may restore authentic community to human society, wealth to community economies, health to human bodies, and true culture to our relations with the Earth as Gaia, a unified living intelligence.   Foundation fertility Rock ...

High School Project with Aji Peppers Show Increased Growth with Rock Dust and Compost

In our previous article “Students Gain Hands-On Experience with Remineralization at Paulo Freire Social Justice Charter School,” RTE reported on a remineralization experiment carried out in part by high school students. Aji peppers were planted to test the effect of rock dust on plant growth. Now, the results of the experiment are in.   Background In 2014, Remineralize the Earth (RTE) received a grant of $5000 from the Judith Haskell Brewer Fund of the Community Foundation Serving Richmond and Central Virginia to coordinate several local projects and create a resilient remineralization network in the Pioneer Valley. These initiatives ...