March 2026

Evan has a new publication out in the American Journal of Science. With Preston Kemeny (WHOI), Mark Torres (Rice), and Tomas Capaldi (UCSD), we compiled and holistically interpreted published river solute lithium isotope ratios from around the world to understand drivers of clay formation and its relative impact on weathering-driven CO2 drawdown. The ultimate goal of the study is to evaluate and optimize the utility of lithium isotope measurements in studies of the contemporary and geological carbon cycle. 

This study was a true labor of love and benefited greatly from community input, for which we are immensely grateful.

February 2026

After a year of design, our analytical and sample preparation facilities are under construction. The spaces will be used to process sediment, bedrock, water, and organic matter and analyze them with a range of elemental and isotopic measurements. The space will house a triple quadrupole inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer, which we are especially excited to use.

Thanks to Hasenstab Architects and Pitt Facilities for making this process go smoothly.

December 2025

Evan, Hwiseo, Claire, and Noah attended the annual American Geophysical Union in New Orleans, LA. Congratulations to Hwiseo on his first conference talk!

• Evan: "Time-dependent controls of clay mineral formation impact the net alkalinity generation from rock weathering" [abstract]

• Hwiseo: "Lithium Isotopes as Tracers of Silicate Weathering Intensity and Clay Formation in the East River Watershed, Colorado" [abstract]

• Claire: "Hydrologic and geomorphic controls on bedrock organic carbon export" [abstract] 

• Noah: "Impact of clay mineralogy on lithium isotope fractionation during rock weathering" [abstract]

July 2025

Several members of ESG and colleagues Preston Kemeny (WHOI), Sebastian Muñoz (Brown), and Kly Suquino (Rice) returned to East River to undertake another sampling campaign as part of our Department of Energy-funded research on clay mineral formation and organic carbon cycling in alpine watersheds. With a larger team, we extended our efforts to nearby watersheds, including Cement Creek and the Paradise Basin Divide, to further investigate how lithologic composition and structure modulates secondary mineral formation.

June 2025

Evan, with colleagues Dan Ibarra (Brown) and Gavin Piccione (Brown), has published a new paper in Geophysical Research Letters on the use of lithium and uranium isotope measurements in characterizing how rock properties factor in their breakdown at the Earth's surface. We think that pairing these isotope systems together can be useful in studies of modern watersheds and of the recent past (< 1 million years) to understand the weathering sensitivity of given rocks to tectonic and climatic change.

June 2025

An interview with Claire through the ARCS Foundation highlights her ongoing research aims, which focus on mechanisms of rock-derived organic carbon breakdown during soil formation. The Pittsburgh Chapter of the ARCS Foundation is providing Claire with financial support to conduct research in Colorado and possibly locations in our backyard here in western PA. 

July 2024

Claire and Evan, with close collaborators Mark Torres (Rice) and Sebastian Muñoz (Brown), spent two successful weeks along the East River near Crested Butte, CO collecting river sediment and water. We are trying to understand how alpine watersheds store and release carbon against the backdrop of a warming climate, with particular attention given to the role of clay minerals and floodplain dynamics in regulating carbon transfer.

A special thanks to the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory for logistical support and resources, the DOE for financial support, and to all the wet wet mud.