UKUH Researcher Biographies

Professor David Manning - Challenge 4

David Manning is Senior Science User on the NERC-funded UK GeoEnergy Observatories project, helping to maximise the research and innovation potential of the newly created facilities. He is lead on the £1.6m EPSRC-funded project NetZero GeoRDIE: Net Zero Geothermal Research for District Infrastructure Engineering, which is part of the Decarbonising Heating and Cooling programme. He worked with Paul Younger on the Eastgate 1 km deep geothermal well, and was academic lead for the completion of the 1.6 km deep Newcastle Helix well. David has served as President of the Geological Society of London, and has worked closely with industry throughout his career.

Research Interests are to use my understanding of the reactions that take place in soils to provide benefits that help sustain human populations. The work focuses (a) on carbon capture - through the artificially-influenced precipitation of carbonate minerals and through use of poorly-reactive carbons such as biochar, and (b) on novel methods to build soil fertility - exploiting the weathering of minerals. To this end, I focus on mineral-water reactions in biologically-active systems including soils, sediments, aquifers, petroleum reservoirs and landfill sites.

Extending to greater depths, I use my long-standing interests in water-rock reaction in granitic and petroleum systems to develop novel geothermal opportunities. Most recently these include a 1000 m deep hole in Weardale, drilled in 2004, with a second 420 m hole nearby for injection, drilled in 2010, and the 1820 m deep hole at Newcastle Science Central.

The publications listed here are a small subset of what you can find in a database such as Web of Knowledge. Search on 'Manning DAC', which is a unique identifier that will give you the vast majority of publications produced throughout my career.

Last modified: Wed, 02 Dec 2020 11:07:16 GMT