![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/brazil1.jpg\" "\\"Manhattan-sized")
A Terradot spreader distributes basalt rock powder to farmland. Credit: Bryan Stefano Leite<\/p>\nIn Brazil, a Manhattan-sized carpet of basalt is turning farmland into a living lab for carbon removal.<\/p>\n
Here, rain, soil, and rock are working together to pull carbon from the air\u2014a natural process, accelerated by science.<\/p>\n
The project, led by carbon removal company Terradot in collaboration with Microsoft, is testing how Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW) can remove CO\u2082 from the atmosphere while benefiting farmers.<\/p>\n
For billions of years, silicate rocks have helped regulate Earth\u2019s climate by capturing CO\u2082 and locking it away in soils and oceans.<\/p>\n
Terradot speeds up that geologic process by spreading finely milled basalt on farmland, where it reacts with rain and soil to form bicarbonate, storing carbon in dissolved form.<\/p>\n
Brazil offers ideal conditions for ERW: a favorable climate, abundant renewable energy, and accessible basalt from extensive quarry networks.<\/p>\n
Over the past year, Terradot has scaled deployment, applying more than 100,000 tonnes of basalt across 4,500 hectares, which is about the size of Manhattan.<\/p>\n
The company says its goal is \u201cnot only to deliver carbon removal, but also to integrate seamlessly with farm operations and provide tangible agronomic benefits to farmers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Microsoft\u2019s support extends beyond a standard offtake deal. The company is backing Terradot\u2019s \u201cmeasurement-first approach\u201d and funding the field trials, lab work, and data infrastructure that power its verification platform.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy bringing not just capital but also technical expertise, Microsoft is helping move ERW from promise to practice while ensuring scientific integrity,\u201d Terradot said.<\/p>\n
Soil to stream science<\/p>\n
At the heart of this work is Sentinel, a soil-to-stream research site built within a commercial-scale deployment in S\u00e3o Paulo state.<\/p>\n
\u201cSentinel shows that ERW can deliver today while generating data that powers the Terradot platform, ensuring rigorous science is embedded into every commercial project,\u201d the company said.<\/p>\n
Located on farmland within a single watershed, Sentinel tracks carbon\u2019s full journey: from basalt applied to fields through soils and aquifers to the streams where groundwater resurfaces.<\/p>\n
A Terradot spreader distributes basalt rock powder to farmland. Credit: Bryan Stefano Leite<\/p>\n
The site features deep groundwater wells, in-situ soil sensors, and surface-water stations to close the loop on how carbon moves through the environment.<\/p>\n
With Microsoft\u2019s support, Terradot has drilled soil and sediment cores to bedrock to analyze mineral and chemical profiles.<\/p>\n
The research focuses on three areas: how agricultural practices like tillage and fertilizer use affect ERW; how dissolved inorganic carbon travels below the root zone; and what happens when carbon-enriched groundwater<\/a> resurfaces.<\/p>\n \u201cTogether, these efforts move us beyond shallow soil measurements toward a fuller picture of the carbon balance,\u201d Terradot said. <\/p>\n \u201cThat deeper perspective allows Sentinel to transform open questions into evidence that strengthens and scales ERW.\u201d<\/p>\n From pilot to proof<\/p>\n Terradot\u2019s next project, Carcar\u00e1, in Paran\u00e1 state, has been validated under Isometric\u2019s Enhanced Weathering in Agriculture protocol, with first verified credits expected in Q4 2025.<\/p>\n As the company expands, it is working toward \u201cinfrastructure-grade carbon<\/a> removal\u201d, with plans afoot for large-scale, rigorously monitored projects that connect with existing agricultural<\/a> and infrastructure networks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In Brazil, a Manhattan-sized carpet of basalt is turning farmland into a living lab for carbon removal. Here,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2192,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[2773,2774,2775,2776,2777,75,84,83,2778,9,24,63,2779],"class_list":["post-2191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manhattan","tag-basalt","tag-brazil","tag-carbon-removal","tag-climate-technology","tag-enhanced-rock-weathering","tag-manhattan","tag-manhattan-headlines","tag-manhattan-news","tag-microsoft","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-terradot"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2191","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2191"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2191\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2192"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}