Research
I investigate diffusion kinetics of different elements and species in various geological and few commercial materials. Through experiments I determine diffusion rates as a function of different parameters. I operate a variety of experimental and analytical techniques to approach previously inaccessible conditions and diffusion settings. These results can be used in numerous applications for example the determination of duration of geological processes. Other projects I am involved in are for example the study of hydrogen implantation into solids, the investigation of sulfide melt properties at mantle pressures, or multicomponent diffusion studies
Projects
Diffusion of hydrogen-bearing species in silicate glasses, melts, and minerals
Hydrogen diffusion influences a wide range of Earth processes, including bubble growth in magma, seafloor alteration, volcanic explosivity, cosmic weathering, obsidian hydration dating in archaeology and many more. In silicate glasses and melts, hydrogen occurs as both molecular water (H₂O) and hydroxyl groups (OH⁻), with diffusion behavior complicated when the glass transition is crossed.
At low temperatures, studying hydrogen diffusion is challenging: conventional diffusion couple experiments are unsuitable, and diffusion is too slow for traditional analytical resolution. I addressed these issues by developing a novel method that combines Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) and Nuclear Resonance Reaction Analysis (NRRA) to create and quantify hydrogen concentration profiles with high precision.
This approach also applies to Nominally Anhydrous Minerals (NAMs) such as clinopyroxene, which—despite containing only trace hydrogen—make up much of the upper mantle and play a major role in Earth’s deep water cycle. By implanting hydrogen into gem-quality diopside crystals, I produce artificial gradients that allow direct measurement of low-temperature hydrogen diffusion and assessment of how diffusional modification affects initial hydrogen contents in NAMs.Together, these studies provide new experimental insights into hydrogen transport in silicate systems and its implications for Earth’s geochemical and volatile cycles.
The viscosity and glass transition of silicate and carbonate melts
TEST
Solar wind implantation
This study investigates hydrogen implantation in silicate minerals as an analog for processes on airless planetary bodies exposed to the solar wind. Solar wind ions are implanted into the surfaces of minerals and amorphous materials, producing near-surface hydration that may serve as a source of water on planetary surfaces and potentially contribute to Earth’s water inventory.
In collaboration with Shun-ichiro Karato (Yale University), I examine the mechanisms and efficiency of hydrogen implantation and retention in silicates. The experiments involve low-energy (<20 keV) hydrogen implantation into San Carlos olivine, combined with Nuclear Resonance Reaction Analysis (NRRA) to quantify hydrogen concentrations.
This work provides new experimental constraints on hydrogen uptake and retention in olivine and other minerals, shedding light on solar wind–driven hydration processes on the Moon, asteroids, and other airless bodies.
Phase relations in the Fe-Ni-Cu-S system at mantle conditions
Base metal sulfides are the most abundant inclusions in diamonds and play a key role in controlling the behavior of chalcophile elements such as Ag and Cu in the Earth’s mantle.
Using high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) experiments, we simulate mantle environments to investigate the stability and melting behavior of sulfide systems. The experiments employ mantle-relevant compositions with systematically varied Ni contents and metal/sulfur ratios, enabling precise evaluation of how these parameters influence solidus and liquidus phase relations across a range of pressures and temperatures.
These experiments provide new insights into the thermodynamic properties and element partitioning of mantle sulfides, improving our understanding of deep Earth geochemistry and the conditions recorded by sulfide inclusions in diamonds.
Corner Brook Collisional Complex (CBCC), Newfoundland
This project investigates the metamorphic evolution of metapelitic rocks from a former collision zone between Laurentia and the Dashwoods microcontinent. By combining petrographic observations with thermodynamic modeling, I reconstructed the pressure–temperature (P–T) history of these rocks and identified the complex sequence of metamorphic events they record.
Using mineral isopleth calculations (e.g., for garnet), I derived detailed P–T paths that reveal a complex metamorphic scenario involving overprinting and interrelated metamorphic trajectories. The studied localities exhibit a Barrovian-type metamorphic zoning, yet also preserve signatures of earlier high-pressure metamorphism—potentially related to the Taconic orogeny—that was later partly overprinted by Barrovian metamorphism. Evidence of fluid–rock interaction in some samples further constrains the conditions and timing of metamorphic re-equilibration.
These results refine our understanding of the tectonometamorphic evolution of the Dashwoods–Laurentia suture zone and the processes governing metamorphism in ancient continental collision environments.