Research on Stable Isotope Geochemistry
A wide range of research projects of stable isotope geochemistry are being conducted in organic/petroleum geochemistry, environmental and hydrological isotope geochemistry, and carbon compounds and cycle in the deep Earth and space.
1. Organic and Petroleum Geochemistry: Our group seek to understand origins, formation, transport and degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons (gas-oil) in the subsurface, combining field, analytical, and experimental approaches. Our fields include Permian Basin, Eagle Ford and others with support from oil and gas companies.
2. Position-specific isotope geochemistry of organic compounds: Most natural compounds of organic and biological origins are composed of a set of diverse isotopic molecules that differ in the positions of isotopic substitution within a given molecule, ‘position-specific’ (or intramolecular) isotope compositions. These high-dimensional isotopic compositions within a single molecular compound can provide deep-insights. Biogenic and abiogenic origins of organic molecules are of great interest.
3. Environmental and surface-subsurface hydrology: Our group study water cycles (soil, playas, and groundwater in the Southern High Plains) in arid environment, utilizing stable isotope techniques (δ2H, δ18O, and 17O-excess). Efforts are supported with internal ((TTU-Water Resources Center, Plant-Soil Sciences) and external (USGS Water Science Center, USDA-Lubbock/Bushland) collaborations.
4. Volatile cycles in the deep Earth and Space: Wee investigate the origins, distributions, and dynamics of carbon compounds (diamond, organic carbon) and water (H2O, -OH) in the deep Earth and space since the formation of the Earth. The behavior of volatiles provides rich and complex history of Earth formation and dynamcis.
