Computational Methods for Particle Reactivity and Sensor-Based Monitoring in Enhanced Rock Weathering - Thesis

[Geoengineering News]

https://atrium.lib.uoguelph.ca/bitstreams/ab7a7908-2624-42de-879e-a302168ad5d0/download

Authors: Aida Amidi

Abstract 

The global ambition to achieve large-scale carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is fundamentally constrained by challenges in data availability, measurement resolution, and systems-level integration. Enhanced rock weathering (ERW), a promising geological CDR pathway, requires rigorous monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) frameworks to ensure scientifically credible and commercially scalable deployment. However, traditional monitoring approaches treat the soil environment as a uniform and static system, resulting in statistically fragile interpretations and limited mechanistic insight.

To advance ERW from experimental trials to operational climate solutions, monitoring must shift from sparse, low-frequency sampling toward computational, high-resolution, automated data systems. Achieving this transition requires scalable methods capable of processing large volumes of sensor data, interpreting rapid hydrological–geochemical interactions, and producing reproducible metrics. This thesis addresses this gap by developing computational solutions that operate at both the micro-scale (particle geometry) and field-scale (sensor-observed hydrological forcing), positioning ERW monitoring as a problem situated within environmental data science and systems engineering.

Source: University of Guelph