DrSara Polanco

The long-term drivers of river evolution: implications for human habitation. Funded by Fulbright and in collaboration with the California Institute of Technology – Caltech
Rivers play a key role in society, providing water and protection for people living within their drainage basins. This project will reveal the long-term drivers that modify rivers, which ultimately control human habitability. Expected outcomes of this project include the development of innovative numerical models of river catchments in North America. These numerical models will advance our understanding of how rives form and evolve and its impact on groundwater resources and future environmental change.

Harnessing the power of the oceans to remove excess CO₂ from the atmosphere. In collaboration with USA-based statup company VESTA https://www.vesta.earth/
Weathering is a natural process that reduces CO₂ levels in the atmosphere and can be accelerated by deploying a mineral called olivine in coastal settings to mitigate human-made carbon emissions. This project will reveal how olivine-rich sediments will respond to coastal dynamics when deployed into a beach setting by using numerical modelling.