Kocur Laboratory: Laboratory for Process-Based Biogeochemistry

The Kocur group measures and deciphers biogeochemical processes responsible for controlling the fate and cycling of nutrients, contaminants, and trace gases in soils, sediments, and natural waters. These biotic and biotic reactions are often chemically intertwined and transpire within complex systems containing aqueous solutions, mineral assemblages, gases, and microorganisms. Further, they are often linked with other physical and (geo)chemical processes, including hydraulic transport and photochemical reaction pathways. We are particularly interested in these “coupled” processes, since they often dominate pathways controlling the cycling of elements in natural and engineered systems. We perform laboratory experiments to understand the importance of specific (coupled) processes, and use variety of analytical tools, including conventional and synchrotron-based techniques, to understand mechanisms at the molecular scale. A goal of our group is to understand how these reactions “scale-up”, and this is accomplished by linking molecular-scale reactions and processes with observed field measurements using computational tools such as reactive transport modeling.