This project will study how rare earth elements (REEs) and other important critical materials can be released (leached) from coal and coal ash. Coal ash is produced in large amounts across the United States, and many studies show that it can contain valuable elements that are needed for electronics, renewable energy technology, and national defense. However, we still do not fully understand how easily these elements can be removed from the ash or what chemical conditions make them more or less available. Learning this will help determine whether coal ash can be used as a practical source of critical materials and how it should be safely managed.

The Southern Oklahoma Aulacogen (SOA) records extensive bimodal magmatism associated with continental rifting during the opening of the southern Iapetus Ocean. This study presents new petrographic and geochemical data for selected Carlton Rhyolite flows, late diabase intrusions, and small gabbros from the Wichita Mountains that were previously unanalyzed or lacked complete trace element data.
Rhyolites are characterized by quartz and feldspar phenocrysts in a felsitic to spherulitic groundmass, with varying degrees of devitrification, sericitization, and alkali metasomatism. Diabases and gabbros display ophitic to subophitic textures defined by plagioclase and clinopyroxene, with olivine completely replaced by bowlingite in the gabbros.
Rhyolite samples show strong LREE enrichment, pronounced negative Eu anomalies, and elevated high-field-strength elements, consistent with A-type felsic magmatism. A rhyolite dike at the base of the thickest Carlton Rhyolite flow displays geochemical similarity to the overlying flow, identifying it as the only known feeder dike within the SOA. Diabase samples show moderate LREE enrichment, no significant Eu anomaly, and E-MORB–type patterns consistent with an enriched mantle source. Two diabase samples with elevated REE concentrations suggest at least two distinct mafic magma sources within the rift system.

We are looking to map sea-level rise along the California coast from 2000 to 2026. The sea level is currently rising approximately .25 inches per year. We are going to focus on how this is affecting California, and we are going to pair this information with properties in California that will be underwater by 2050. It is estimated that 10 billion dollars' worth of property will be underwater in the next 30 years. The part of California that is under the highest risk is Northern California, specifically the Bay Area. We will be mapping floodplains and low-lying areas in the Bay Area to show what areas are at the highest risk of water damage.

The Devonian Sierra Buttes Formation (SBF) occurs at the base of a thick succession of submarine Paleozoic island arc strata in the northern Sierra Nevada. Bulk eastward rotation of the succession has provided cross-sectional views of a variety of SBF sediments and volcaniclastics, arc deposits, and associated hypabyssal intrusions. The area of concern herein is centered on the prominent glaciated Sierra Buttes peaks, from which the formation takes its name. Coeval andesitic to rhyolitic volcanic deposits and subsequent intrusive bodies form a multistage complex assemblage making up much of the SBF in this area. To better understand this assemblage, detailed mapping of a small area was done in 2025.

Here we report results of detailed mapping of glaciated outcrops that occupy an area of ~ 245,000 m2 within the intrusive assemblage. A total of ten separate geologic units were identified within the field area. Sedimentary rocks, SBF, cap the sequence, and consist of black radiolarian chert and ash fall tuffs. A large unit of lapillistone, the result of seafloor fire fountaining, is at the base of the complex. Six separate intrusive units are identified, ranging from andesitic to dacitic in composition. Peperite, a rock that forms when magma quenches and mixes with unconsolidated wet sediment, is present along the contact with the SBF. Hyaloclastite, consists of glassy shards, which are the result of nonexplosive quench fragmentation, is the most abundant unit in the field area. Hosted within the hyaloclastite are disrupted fluidal feeder bodies, once part of an interconnected tubular network that fed the hyaloclastite and broke apart during continued intrusive activity.

Rapid population growth in Texas has accelerated urbanization and land-use/land-cover (LULC) changes, increasing pressure on groundwater resources and influencing the processes that control groundwater chemistry. To better capture the inherent heterogeneity of groundwater systems, a logistic distribution–based approach was applied instead of simple averaging, enabling a more robust assessment of long-term trends, pH, total dissolved solids (TDS), major cations and anions, buffering capacity, and partial pressure of CO₂ (pCO₂). Analysis of nine major aquifers from 1985 to 2014 reveals a gradual decline in pH associated with increasing pCO₂ and carbonic acid formation, alongside strong variability in TDS driven by lithology, residence time, and recharge conditions. Carbonate buffering moderates these changes, with limestone-dominated aquifers showing greater resistance to pH variation, while hydrochemical facies indicate that groundwater evolution is primarily controlled by rock weathering and evaporation. A focused assessment of the Trinity Aquifer in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex (2015–2024) highlights clear depth-dependent differences, where shallow groundwater reflects recharge-driven, CO₂-influenced conditions and deeper groundwater exhibits more evolved, carbonate-buffered chemistry. Overall, the results demonstrate that natural hydrogeochemical processes, particularly carbonate equilibrium and water–rock interaction, remain the dominant controls on groundwater chemistry, with anthropogenic influences playing a secondary role despite rapid urban growth.