Research

Research Interests

My research focuses on element cycling in the hydrological cycle, including;

  • Geochemical evolution of hydrothermal vent fluids, particularly shallow-sea vents.
  • Cycling of toxic elements in coastal marine environments, either naturally occurring or anthropogenic.
  • Environmental geochemistry, emphasizing source, fate, flux, transport?and bioaccumulation of toxins.
  • Mobilization mechanisms and fate of arsenic in groundwater aquifers.
  • Abiotic vs. biotic (microbial) processes across redox gradients.
  • Shallow-sea analogs for early-Earth conditions and the origin of life.

Recent presentation at SoMAS describing how shallow-sea vents can be used as analogs to coastal anthropogenic pollution.

Detailed Research Interests

My research interests generally focus on element cycling in the hydrological cycle. As such, I am interested in a wide range of topics. However, my primary focus is on the geochemical evolution of hydrothermal vent fluids, particularly for shallow-sea vents, and the consequences this has for toxic metal cycling, bioaccumulation and microbial communities in these important coastal environments.

Shallow-sea hydrothermal vents are generally defined as occurring at a water depth < 200 m, a depth which marks the deepest extent of the photic zone and coincides with a large change in the slope of the seawater boiling curve. Their easy accessibility, relative to deep-sea hydrothermal systems, makes them excellent natural laboratories to study a wide range of chemical, physical, and biological processes. I’ve undertaken several research projects related to these types of hydrothermal vents. Click the link to see a brief description:

My research is not limited to hydrothermal vent research. I’ve also worked on several projects focused on understanding arsenic cycling in southwest Florida. Click here to learn more.