Monitoring Olivine Sand Placement Near Duck’s Oceanfront

Vesta is placing olivine sand in the nearshore waters off Duck, N.C., from May to July 2024. This project pilots Coastal Carbon Capture™ (CCC), a technique inspired by Coastal Enhanced Weathering (CEW) to speed up the natural removal of atmospheric CO2. More details can be found on Vesta’s website here.

How can we best monitor the plume created once the olivine sand is released to the bottom of the sea? We are using UAS to track the plume, aiding in this important climate science research.

MS Geography student, Sarah Pettyjohn (left) and Dr. Sirianni (right) prepare for takeoff from the beach, ready to fly out over the Atlantic to monitor the plume.