I am an aqueous and isotope geochemist. I investigate Earth’s global carbon cycle on both modern and geologic timescales.

My academic background is in silicate chemical weathering, the natural process that controls Earth’s atmospheric CO₂  levels on long timescales and ultimately regulates global temperatures. I have conducted studies on chemical weathering around the world. My research has addressed whether chemical weathering of volcanic terranes, such as Iceland, have a disproportionally large impact on Earth’s longterm atmospheric CO₂ levels, challenged the long-held assumption that silicate chemical weathering beneath ice sheets is minimal, and investigated the extent to which plant biogeochemical cycling alters the primary signatures of chemical weathering in rivers.

More recently, I have been investigating Enhanced Weathering (EW), a carbon dioxide removal (CDR) strategy that accelerates the process of natural chemical weathering to combat climate change. EW optimizes the controls on chemical weathering such that large quantities of CO₂ are sequestered on human, rather than geologic, timescales. Presently, I am VP and Head of Science at Vesta, where we are conducting fundamental research into coastal EW and launched the world’s first pilot trial of EW in a marine environment in July 2022. Prior to this, I served at the Leverhulme Centre for Climate Change Mitigation and implemented the first large-scale field trials of terrestrial EW at agricultural sites in the US, Malaysia, and the UK. 

Last Updated: 05/2023