Department of Earth, Environmental & Planetary Sciences

Geochemistry

Using analyses, experiments, and observations of aerosols, minerals, organic compounds, and waters to understand biogeochemical cycles, climates, and igneous and tectonic processes on Earth and other planets.

We investigate the elemental and isotopic composition of geological and biological materials to address a wide variety of environmental and geological problems.  Research topics vary widely, and include the development of new biomarker and isotopic methods to reconstruct the Earth’s climate, geochemical and isotopic reconstructions of the Earth’s carbon and water cycles, isotopic investigations of atmospheric pollution and the nitrogen cycle, geochronological studies of tectonic processes, events, and weathering, and the kinetics of elements and isotope exchange in fluid systems. Through these studies, we develop novel methods to assess biogeochemical, climatic, and lithospheric processes on Earth and other planetary bodies.

Faculty

Geochemistry News

A new U.S. Geological Survey reports that the world has enough rare earth minerals and other critical raw materials to switch from fossil fuels. “There are enough materials in reserves. The analysis is robust and this study debunks those (running out of minerals) concerns,” said DEEPS Assistant Professor Daniel Ibarra, who wasn’t part of the study but looks at lithium shortages.
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Sharp fronts and eddies that are ubiquitous in the world ocean, as well as features such as shelf seas and under-ice-shelf cavities, are not captured in climate projections. Such small-scale processes can play a key role in how the large-scale ocean and cryosphere evolve under climate change, posing a challenge to climate models.
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