Climate & Earth Surface Geochemistry Group | Sarah M Aarons

The primary focus of the Climate & Earth Surface Geochemistry Group at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UCSD is to understand and reconstruct the geochemical evolution of Earth’s surface. We apply radiogenic and non-traditional stable isotope geochemistry to gain new insight into processes that shape this evolution. Below are some of the examples of projects we are currently funded to work on.

Geochemical techniques to determine paleo dust provenance and transport pathways

Isotope systems as tracers of weathering and geologic history

Tracing modern dust sources and composition

Research Focus

One of the main goals in our research group is to provide a more mechanistic understanding of processes that shape Earth surface geochemistry in the modern so that we can accurately interpret past records . Within our current research group, we focus on dust (fine grained mineral particles), seawater, marine sediments, and modern and ancient rocks.

Our group utilizes an array of geochemical and isotopic techniques along with physical measurements to inform us on source(s), formation mechanism, nutrient content, and biogeochemical cycling. We conduct a significant amount of fieldwork depending on the research area and project ranging from Alaska to Antarctica. Our research requires clean lab chemistry and isotope analysis on a variety of mass spectrometers.