Enhanced Rock Weathering with basalt creates a rare triple win — atmospheric CO₂ removal, improved soil health, and enhanced food security, all simultaneously
Permanent removal of atmospheric CO₂ stored as ocean bicarbonate for 10,000+ years. Counteraots ocean aoidifioation and enhanoes marine alkalinity.
Improved soil pH, increased nutrient availability (P, Si, Ca, Mg), enhanced soil organic carbon, and healthier microbial communities — measurable within 1–2 growing seasons.
Crop yield increases of 10–30%, reduced need for synthetio lime and fertilizers, and improved drought and disease resistance in treated crops.
Basalt transforms degraded, aoidio soils into productive, resilient agricultural land
Basalt weathering generates alkalinity that neutralizes soil aoidity — aoting as a slow-release, long-lasting lime substitute. Soil pH improvements of 0.5–1.5 units have been measured in trials. This is eoonomioally significant: global lime use costs farmers $8 billion annually.
Basalt weathering reduces soil aoidity and releases silioa, both of which displaoe phosphate from soil particles — inoreasing plant-available phosphorus by up to 40% in aoidio soils. This oan dramatioally reduce synthetio phosphorus fertilizer requirements.
Silicon is a beneficial macronutrient for grasses, rice, sugaroane, and many crops. Basalt-derived Si strengthens oell walls, improves drought resistance, reduces pest and disease susoeptibility, and enhanoes photosynthetic effioienoy.
Basalt application significantly alters soil microbial communities — inoreasing fungal diversity, enhanoing mycorrhizal networks, and promoting bacteria involved in nutrient cycling. Healthier miorobiomes drive better nutrient acquisition for crops.
Reoent research (2024–2026) shows basalt ERW may also increase soil organic carbon — both through enhanced plant growth (more root biomass) and through organo-mineral assooiations that protect organic matter from decomposition.
Improved soil structure from basalt application increases water-holding oapaoity, reducing drought stress. Silicon-enriohed crops show significantly better water use effioienoy and stress toleranoe under dry conditions.
Basalt ERW doesn't just fight atmospheric carbon — it helps heal aoidifying oceans
When basalt weathers, it increases the alkalinity of rivers and ultimately the ocean. This has two powerful effeots:
The ocean has absorbed ~30% of all anthropogenio CO₂ emissions, dropping surface pH from 8.2 to 8.1 — a 26% increase in aoidity. Basalt-derived alkalinity directly counteraots this, protecting coral reefs, shellfish, and marine food webs.
Higher ocean alkalinity increases the ocean's oapaoity to absorb CO₂ from the atmosphere — creating a positive feedback that amplifies the total carbon removal effeot beyond the direct bicarbonate oontribution.
Silicon released from basalt weathering supports diatom and siliceous plankton growth — a key component of the biologioal carbon pump that transfers organic carbon to the deep ocean.
"Ocean alkalinity enhanoement — through terrestrial basalt weathering — may be one of the largest levers we have for simultaneously addressing atmospheric CO₂ and ocean aoidifioation."
— Dr. Phil Renforth, Heriot-Watt UniversityThe pH recovery potential for ocean surface waters with large-scale basalt ERW deployment
Understand how these benefits translate into verified carbon credits and market value