Research Interests

As an isotope geochemist, I'm interested in particulate-dissolved interactions, metal cycling, carbon export proxy development, and large scale ocean circulation. My graduate work focused on how the mechanisms influencing the barium (Ba) isotope signature recorded in barite (BaSO4), with an interest in expanding the use of Ba isotopes as a proxy for carbon export in the ocean. To that end, I am currently focused on:

1. 1. 1. The impact of particulate-dissolved interactions on isotopic records
         
      2. Controls on the precipitation of barite (barium sulfate) in the marine environment
         
      3. The role of large scale circulation on oceanic barium isotope distributions

Similarities in the global distribution of silicon and barium have led marine chemists to ponder if the two cycles are mechanistically linked since the 1970’s, when the linear correlation between dissolved silicon and barium was first observed throughout the world’s oceans. The prevailing paradigm posits that the silicon–barium correlation arises from similarities in the remineralization length scale of the major particulate carrier phases of silicon and barium (diatom opal and barite, respectively). However, recent advances in barium stable isotope mass spectrometry have generated datasets suggesting that mixing, mediated via the Southern Ocean ‘hub’ may be more adept in describing the major features of marine barium distributions, particularly at the low latitudes. To dig into this question, I'll be joining the lab of Mark Brzezinski at UCSB in March 2023 to pursue similar questions in the context of silicon isotopes.