Image: David Manning at Cockle Park.
This lecture by Prof David Manning is one of three lectures introducing and exploring the topic of Carbon Offsetting held in cooperation with Greener Berwick.
Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW) involves spreading crushed rock from quarries onto agricultural land, where it naturally weathers, removing CO 2 from the atmosphere and providing crops with nutrients. Pioneering work on the process has been carried out in Northumberland, dating back almost 20 years, and the county’s whinstone (dolerite) quarries have a vital role to play. This is because dolerite contains minerals that are unstable at the Earth’s surface, and weather quickly enough to have an effect in a single growing season. The use of stable isotopes of carbon first demonstrated that the process takes place, through analysis of pedogenic carbonate minerals newly formed in artificial soil mixes prepared for quarry restoration. Pot trials clearly demonstrate benefits for plant growth, although more and longer field trials are needed.
David Manning is Professor of Soil Science at Newcastle University. With a degree from Durham University and a doctorate from the University of Manchester, he is recognized as one of Europe's most highly qualified scientific reviewers, having been awarded medals and honors by the Mineralogical and Geological Society for his contributions to mineralogy and geochemistry. He currently holds an honorary chair in the School of Geosciences at the University of Edinburgh.
You can read an interview with David talking about remineralization in Brazil here (press the US flag for a version in English).
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