Baseline groundwater chemistry and isotopic signatures to trace impacts of uranium in-situ recovery

Groundwater contamination associated with conventional uranium mining is a longstanding concern for communities surrounding Mt. Taylor, New Mexico. We lack detailed, pre-operational data characterizing groundwater variability at both regional and site-specific scales. 

I use a broad suite of geochemical parameters–including water chemistry and strontium, uranium, and water isotopes–to characterize groundwater–rock interactions. These parameters allow me to distinguish between natural variability, legacy contamination, and potential impacts from modern uranium recovery in groundwater.  

Metal liberation and sequestration during CO2 storage in baffle-reservoir systems: Experimental case study of the Hulett Member Sandstone, Powder River Basin, Wyoming

My research investigated CO2–water–rock interactions in a sandstone reservoir targeted for geologic carbon storage. The geochemistry of the reservoir rock and water changes after introducing a foreign fluid like CO2. To provide insight into potential impacts of geologic carbon storage, I combined batch hydrothermal experiments with rock and water characterization. I evaluated how differences in rock composition related to trace metals liberated from the rock into the water.

The geochemistry of tephra from late Miocene fossil sites in southern Kenya

The Southern Kenya Rift Project (SKRP) studies the Lemudong’o Formation to interpret the paleoenvironmental context in which humans diverged from apes during the late Miocene in southern Kenya. Despite the abundance of volcanic material around SKRP sites, there is a lack of geochemical studies. My senior thesis research quanitifed the geochemical fingerprint of glass from tephra layers collected in the Lemudong’o Formation and assessed potential local tephra correlations to strengthen our geological understanding of the area.