EGD scientists perform multidisciplinary research to understand how sedimentary geologic systems form and change when disturbed by natural processes or human activities. Reservoirs in sedimentary rocks can provide opportunities for energy or fluid storage and may offer new sources of critical elements. In all such systems, fluid composition, mineralogy, and reservoir structure alter over time under the combined and coupled effects of geochemical disequilibrium and mechanical stress. 

The team employs advanced experimental methods, including synchrotron X-ray and isotopic geochemistry techniques, supported by multiscale molecular modeling and theory, in order to establish mechanistic models of relevant mineral-fluid processes. A cross-cutting emphasis is on the geochemical properties of nanoscale aqueous films that are confined between charged mineral surfaces under applied stress. Their efforts are focused on three topics: marine carbonate evolution from sediment to rock; formation and healing of cracks and fractures; and formation, transformation and impacts of clay minerals.