My reasearch interests are the application of non-traditional stable metal isotope systematics such as nickel, iron, copper, zinc and chromium, essentially in the modern marine sedimentological record, as tracers of biogeochemical processes occurring in oceanic envrionments. Metal isotope fractionation in marine environments occurs through a large range of biogeochemical processes including precipitation and adsorption reactions in sediments, redox reactions, biological activity in the water column. However, further efforts are necessary for better constraining metal isotope fractionation in marine environments that occurs during these processes and the links with the biogeochemical cycling of trace metals in the water column.
My research in Noah’s Planavsky group at Yale University in the department of Geology and Geophysics is focused on the study of Chromium isotope systematics. This element is a redox sensitive element and Cr isotopes fractionate during redox reactions whereby oxidized and reduced Cr species have different Cr isotope composition. Therefore, Cr isotopes preserved in marine sediments could be used to track variations of oxidative conditions prevailing at the Earth’s surface through geological time (e.g. variations in the extent of continental weathering). In this framework, my primary objective is to calibrate the Cr isotope proxy and evaluate its response to variable redox conditions through both laboratory experiments and investigation of modern marine sediments. Ultimately, these results will provide important constraints for validating the use of Cr isotopes in ancient marine sediments as a proxy of the extent of oxidative weathering on land.
