Geochemistry

USC studies in Marine Chemistry include nutrient uptake and remineralization, trace metal speciation, ocean mixing, sediment diagenesis and their impacts on the global carbon cycle. Recent and ongoing studies have been located in the coastal zone, central gyres of the Atlantic and Pacific, the equatorial Pacific, and the Indian Ocean.

Chemical hydrology, contaminant transport, and water-rock interactions. Recent and ongoing studies have been located in the Himalayas, Taiwan, Mongolia, the Sierras, the Los Angeles area, hydrothermal systems, and the deep ocean crust.

Studies of biogeochemical cycles in modern and ancient systems. Recent and ongoing studies have been located in diverse environments including rocks of the Precambrian, deep sea and coastal sediments, closed basin lakes of Southern California and the Great Basin, and hydrothermal systems.

High temperature studies of magma origin and crustal evolution, utilizing mineral chemistry, stable isotopes and radioisotopes to evaluate magmatic and tectonic histories. Recent and ongoing field area have included the Sierras, the Cascades, Mongolia, and the Whipple Mountains.

Behavior of Earth’s climate revealed through isotopic and chemical signals. Recent and ongoing studies have included stable isotope and chemical analyses of microfossils, speleothems, and tree rings, as well as selected organic molecules from ocean and lacustrine sediments. Recent and ongoing study areas include oceanic sites from the Indian Ocean and coastal California, trees from California, Southeast Asia and New Zealand, speleothems from India, China and Peru, and lakes from Southern California.