Amanda Stubbs is a doctoral researcher in the School of Geographical and Earth Sciences at the University of Glasgow. Her research focuses on investigating the potential of natural rocks that can be found in the United Kingdom and Canada for long-term carbon dioxide (CO2) storage.
As global warming continues to be one of the most pressing issues of our time, it is imperative to achieve permanent removal of greenhouse gas emissions, especially CO2. Meeting global greenhouse gas reduction targets requires the development and implementation of negative emission technologies that not only stop the release of emissions, but also effectively capture and store them over extended periods. Amanda’s research is exploring low-cost and energy-efficient emission reduction pathways known as CO2 mineralization and enhanced rock weathering (ERW). During these processes, various minerals present in the rock composition react with water and atmospheric CO2, ultimately resulting in the precipitation of carbonate minerals. This process securely locks CO2 within the crystal structure of the mineral, providing a stable and long-term CO2 sink.
Amanda’s passion for geology and the environment began during her upbringing on the shores of Rice Lake in the small town of Bewdley, Ontario. While pursuing her undergraduate degree in Physical Geography at Trent University, she developed a keen interest in climate change mitigation research. After completing her BSc, Amanda pursued a MSc at Trent University. Her research focused on exploring the potential of rock waste from diamond mines and other abundant rocks in Canada as a valuable resource for carbon removal through ERW. Shortly after finishing her MSc and amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Amanda was awarded the IAPETUS2 doctoral traineeship programme funded by the Natural Environment Research Council and moved to Glasgow to begin her PhD.
In her doctoral studies, Amanda has two primary goals. Firstly, she aims to unravel the mechanisms behind carbonate formation on rocks across Scotland which have been overlooked in the context of carbon removal. To achieve this, she conducted extensive research across Northwest Scotland, where large rock faces display a substantial amount of carbonate minerals. Through meticulous mineralogical and geochemical characterisation work, she identified the likely processes which lead to the formation of these minerals.
Secondly, Amanda is exploring methods to utilize basalt waste from quarries as a feedstock for carbon removal, tapping into currently underutilized natural resources. Her research involves laboratory experiments simulating various environmental conditions for rock carbonation employing analytical techniques to track changes in carbon content, enabling the calculation of CO2 removal rates.
Her research has implications for utilizing abundant but less traditional rock resources in Canada and the United Kingdom for long-term carbon removal.
Amanda was awarded the CIBC Scholarship 2023-2024.
