AOSC Seminar by Dr. Ning Zeng, 1/25/2024
AOSC Seminar
Dr. Ning Zeng
AOSC
Title
Wood vault: Burying woody biomass to fight climate change---a simple idea that actually works
Abstract
To keep Earth safe from dangerous climate change, a large amount of CO2 will need to be removed from the atmosphere and stored away permanently, via negative emissions technology (NET), for example, planting trees. But planting trees is not enough. The natural carbon cycle is in near balance. In an established forest, some trees absorb large quantity of CO2, but other trees die, decay and release carbon back into the atmosphere. The idea of Wood Harvesting and Storage (WHS) proposes management intervention by wood harvesting or wood residual collection, followed by storage in oxygen-depleted subterranean or wet/dry/cold conditions to prevent decomposition. Because the forest as a whole is still maintained and continues to absorb CO2, the net effect is to remove CO2 from the atmosphere. The engineering structure to ensure long-durability storage is called Wood Vault. The technique is low tech, distributed, easy to monitor, safe, and reversible, thus providing an option in the 'toolbox' of climate mitigation and adaptation strategies. The technology is now being implemented by companies worldwide. See the original concept paper (Zeng, 2008), and Wood Vault science, engineering, and economics (Zeng and Hausmann, 2022), and In the News for media stories and updates (links attached in the email).
Bio
Ning Zeng is a professor at the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science and the Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center, University of Maryland, and affiliate professor with the Department of Geology and the Maryland Energy Innovation Institute. He earned a BS degree in Physics from the University of Science and Technology of China, MS degree in Physics and Ph.D in Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Arizona. He worked at MIT, UCLA, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, the Institute of Atmospheric Physics, and the Max-Planck Institute for Meteorology.
His professional interests include climate change and variability, carbon cycle and ecosystem, carbon sequestration and other technical solutions and policy implications of climate change. He is a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher and on Reuters Hot List of Top Climate Scientists. He is a founding co-chief editor of the journal Earth System Dynamics. He was Chair of the 9th International CO2 Conference. He is a contributor to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Reports and the Global Carbon Project. He served on the US CLIVAR panel and the US Carbon Cycle Science Working Group.
Contact
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AOSC Seminar
Pre-seminar refreshment: N/A
Seminar: 3:30-4:30pm, Room: ATL 2400(only when in-person)
Meet-the-Speaker: 4:30-5:00pm, Room: ATL 3400(only when in-person) [For AOSC Students only]
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