Dear CATF Staff,

We are excited to announce the launch of the Land Systems Seminar Series! This bimonthly internal event will feature experts working at the intersection of land and climate systems, exploring their latest research. This series is intended to keep CATF staff up to date with ongoing, prominent research and provide an opportunity to engage directly with land and climate experts from outside of CATF.

The seminar series will launch in February, and our first three speakers will focus on emerging carbon dioxide removal approaches, including those utilizing biomass, ecosystem management, and bioenergy produced from agricultural wastes. Future presentations may include topics such as bioenergy landscape design, forest management for carbon storage, and novel approaches to permanent carbon removal through ocean alkalinity enhancement and enhanced rock weathering.

This series will kickoff on February 8 and continue alternating months on the second Thursday at 11:00 EST. Each seminar presentation will last for one hour including time for Q&A. 

Upcoming Seminars

February 8: Roads to Removal Report 

Join Dr. Jennifer Pett-Ridge to explore the Roads to Removal report – a U.S. national collaborative effort that examines regionally specific opportunities to address climate change and the urgent need to remove and store CO2 at the gigaton scale. The report draws on dozens of scientists from 13 different institutions and evaluates carbon dioxide removal techniques at the county level, based on feasibility, capacity, impact, and cost. Chapters in the report include forests, soils, biomass carbon removal and storage (BiCRS), and direct air capture (DAC), as well as transporting CO2 and storing it underground. The report also examines the environmental and socioeconomic co-benefits and the significance of avoiding and reducing negative impacts on people and the environment. 

Dr. Jennifer Pett-Ridge Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

April 11: Emerging Technologies for Biomass Carbon Removal and Storage

Explore some of the emerging technologies for biomass carbon removal and storage (BiCRS) with Dr. Joe Sagues. BiCRS approaches harness the power of photosynthesis to capture carbon from the atmosphere through plants and permanently store or utilize the carbon via novel technologies. Emerging BiCRS approaches include steel manufacturing, mass timber, pyrolysis with bio-oil injection, wood burial, composting with CO2 capture, macroalgae sinking, bioenergy-driven DAC with storage (DACS), and bioasphalt. While these technologies may not be ready for rigorous technoeconomic analysis, they have the technical potential for meaningful carbon removal.

Dr. Joe Sagues Principal Investigator of the Biocarbon Utilization & Sequestration (BUS) Lab in the Biological & Agricultural Engineering Department at NC State University

October 10: Anaerobic Digestion in Maryland

Anaerobic digestion is a technology that transforms waste into renewable energy while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. During anaerobic digestion, biogas is produced from a natural consortium of microbes that break down biodegradable material inside a sealed, oxygen-free reactor. Anaerobic digesters can use a wide range of waste, such as food scraps, manure, crop waste, or sewage sludge.

Dr. Stephanie Lansing has 20 years of experience in renewable energy research, extension education, and conducting sustainability life cycle assessments of waste to energy systems. Her work in bioenergy spans from large to small-scale anaerobic digestion in the U.S., Africa, and Latin America.

Dr. Stephanie Lansing Professor in the Department of Environmental Science and Technology at the University of Maryland and Vice Chair of the Maryland Food System Resiliency Council

We encourage anyone who is interested to attend! Click here to add the seminar series to your calendar.

Please reach out to Zoe Jee ([email protected]) if you have any questions.