I am finishing up a postdoctoral research position with Dr. George Luther at the University of Delaware on this cruise before starting a faculty position at the University of Vermont Department of Geology in January. I am a geochemist and will be using electrochemical tools to "see" different forms of iron and sulfur in the deep-sea hydrothermal vent environments we will be studying at the East Pacific Rise dive site. We can determine the form and how much of these elements are present in very specific places from inside a tubeworm’s home to the extremely hot fluids jetting out of the seafloor in an effort to link changes in chemistry with the life processes of the organisms present.
What kinds of questions will you try to answer, and why?
We are trying to understand more about the interactions between metals and sulfur and how organisms are affected by these chemical interactions. To do this, we are working on techniques to measure these chemicals and to understand where they are located in this environment. Direct, real-time measurement of the potential energy sources (like food and air to us) available to microbial communities helps us understand how this community may have formed and how it persists and grows.
Why is this research important? What are the benefits?
Life exists at the interface between reduced and oxidized components in the Earth and likely in the universe. Just as so many things in your home are powered by electricity, life gains energy from the flow of electrons between reduced and oxidized species (we eat reduced carbon and breathe an oxidized species called oxygen). The life at hydrothermal vents is based on the ability of microbes to harness energy from reduced and oxidized species, but they eat reduced metal and sulfur species. The areas between more reduced and oxidized chemical species supports the community of organisms in these environments, and the ability to learn more details about these chemical species helps us figure out why life exists here and what might limit that life.
What is your educational background? What lured you into marine research?
I have a B.S. from Muskingum College in Ohio, an M.S. from Washington State University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin. I came to the University of Delaware to work with Dr. George Luther in order to learn more about these reduced and oxidized species in marine and terrestrial environments and to learn how to make direct measurements of them with the electrodes we will employ from Alvin on this cruise. I studied geology and chemistry as a student, and have always been particularly interested in the chemistry of water and how it is affected by the rocks, minerals, and life forms that it comes in contact with. I am fascinated by the ideas that led us to understand how life processes are tied to disequilibrium and find the study of such processes on Earth to be very important to understanding our own planet and to teaching us more about the almost limitless possibilities for life on other planets. Scientific endeavor to me is a product of a love of learning and the thrill of discovery — I think this work is a lot of fun and I am amazed and thankful that I am fortunate enough to do this for a living!
