Aqueous and Environmental Geochemistry

This research area includes the study of the processes (both inorganic and microbially mediated) that control the chemical composition of surface and ground waters. We have an active program tracing water-rock interaction using stable isotopes of Sr and Pb. We are participating in research related to geologic sequestration of CO2 released by burning of fossil fuels. Other active research deals with the fundamental chemical processes that occur at mineral surfaces during water-rock interaction - adsorption, catalysis, kinetics of growth and dissolution, and electron transfer. Applications of this work include processes that control the movement of metals released by mining and other human activities, the long-term storage of radioactive waste, processes that control the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere, and the chemical means by which microorganisms interact with minerals.

 

Fields of interest:

Analytical Chemistry, Environmental Geochemistry, Isotope Geochemistry, Low Temperature Geochemistry, Stable Isotope Geochemistry.