TEACHING & RESEARCH
Erika R. Elswick
Director, Analytical Geochemistry Lab
Office: MSBII 428
- Ph.D., 1998, University of Cincinnati
- M.S., 1994, Wright State University
Stable isotopes in sedimentary environments (past and present) and their application to sedimentary ore deposits.
The fate of metals in the environment, and in the development of tropical soils.
Low temperature hydrothermal rock-water interactions at oceanic spreading ridges
The influences and interactions with microbial activity and microbial byproducts with these rock-water interactions.
Students learn by doing and by dialog. Students in my laboratory and classes are exposed to a wide variety of geologic materials and problems, and are encouraged to engage in dialog to discuss and write about their findings in order to develop critical thinking skills along with a deeper understanding of the geologic concepts, materials, and systems.
Recent Research Projects
Analysis of copiapite samples from Devonian black shale outcrops.
Sulfur Isotopic Budget of the Yaxcopoil-1 Core, Chicxulub Impact Crater and modeling of the sulfur isotopic fractionation at the K/T boundary.
Depositional environments, sedimentology and stratigraphy of the Santa Rosa Group, E–M Permian, Belize
Effective determination of the critical components for Pb–Zn mineralization: Insights from the Santa Rosa Group, Belize, Central America
Carbon-Sulfur relationships in the Manus Basin, Sites 1188 and 1189, ODP Leg 193, Papua New Guinea
Graduate Student Projects
Emily S. Gercke –M.S 2011
Thesis: Windward and leeward sedimentation patterns on Catalina Island, Dominican Republic.
H.R.M. Sohel M. Anwar -- M.S. 2004
Thesis: A rare earth and trace element approach to understanding the origin of the Santa Rosa Group sediments, Maya Mountains, Belize.
Graduate and Undergraduate Projects and Opportunities
Holocene climate and coastal process in the Dominican Republic (a field and laboratory project)
Dendrochronology and stable isotopes, soils, and groundwater in the Indiana University Demonstration Watershed, Tobacco Root Mountains, Montana (field and laboratory projects)
Griffy Lake Water Chemistry (a field collection, and laboratory analysis project in the IU preserve, and the Bloomington city park)
Water samples from seeps in local Devonian black shales (a field and laboratory project)
Sigma Gamma Epsilon (SGE), National Council President
Geological Society of America (GSA) Campus Representative
Sigma Gamma Epsilon (SGE) Rho Chapter, Faculty Advisor