Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
On April 3, 2026, Jonathan Lambert, a Gallatin visiting assistant professor, joined Melissa Metrick, the manager of NYU’s Urban Farm Lab, to create the first enhanced rock weathering site in New York City. To achieve this, they spread 10 pounds of volcanic rock called basalt over a soil bed at the Urban Farm Lab for carbon sequestration.
Enhanced rock weathering is the process through which basalt removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through the rocks’ chemical reaction with rainfall. The process has been used in recent years as a promising method for removing carbon emissions and Lambert will evaluate its success through monthly sampling for carbon uptake.
"This specific climate solution is usually practiced on large agricultural fields. New Yorkers, therefore, rarely get to see it in action,” says Lambert. “Our goal here is to engage the NYU and New York community with this unique site and provide a window into one of the many new methods that are being scaled up to help mitigate climate change.”
On April 3, 2026, Jonathan Lambert, a Gallatin visiting assistant professor, joined Melissa Metrick, the manager of NYU’s Urban Farm Lab, to create the first enhanced rock weathering site in New York City. To achieve this, they spread 10 pounds of volcanic rock called basalt over a soil bed at the Urban Farm Lab for carbon sequestration.
Enhanced rock weathering is the process through which basalt removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through the rocks’ chemical reaction with rainfall. The process has been used in recent years as a promising method for removing carbon emissions and Lambert will evaluate its success through monthly sampling for carbon uptake.
"This specific climate solution is usually practiced on large agricultural fields. New Yorkers, therefore, rarely get to see it in action,” says Lambert. “Our goal here is to engage the NYU and New York community with this unique site and provide a window into one of the many new methods that are being scaled up to help mitigate climate change.”
