What do you do?
I am a geochemist, which means I try to use my knowledge of geology and chemistry to understand how rocks and water interact. Much of my work recently has been involved with studying hot springs on the seafloor. Submarine hot springs were responsible for formation of many of the deposits that we mine for copper, zinc, silver and gold. These hot springs also are home to an exotic ecosystems of ani mals that live off of the chemical energy of the Earth, not the photosynthetic energy provided by sunlight.

Why should the general public be interested in what you do?
We all rely on supplies of metals to support our life style. Studying how these deposits formed on the seafloor helps us know how to explore for them on land. Mining of these deposits in the days before we had environmental regulations resulted in some serious contamination. By studying how animals have adapted to the harsh environment represented by the submarine hot springs that form these deposits, we may be able to better mitigate the environmental damage caused by older mining activity.

Why does it interest you?
The interaction of water with rock is a fundamental process that affects many aspects of our lives, from the formation of the soil we depend on for our food to the quality of the water we drink, so I can see applications of geochemistry all around me. Visiting places like Yellowstone is especially fun when you can not only look at the natural beauty of the area, but also marvel at the geochemistry that underlies it all.

What major advances/discoveries have occurred in your research field over the last 10 years?
The first hydrothermal vent on the seafloor was discovered just 20 years ago, so this whole area of research is still new and exciting. No one realized there were complex communities of organisms that could live independently of photosynthesis. Every time we find new vent sites, we find new species of animals that have never been seen before. Even though we barely understand how these communities work at this stage, we have already found important commercial applications for products derived from this environment. Most DNA amplification, the process underlying DNA fingerprinting and a key process for the biotechnology industry, is performed using enzymes (DNA polymerase) isolated from high temperature bacteria (hyperthermophiles) that live in hydrothermal vents!