Isabel Barton Joins Other Geoscientists to Study Effects of Subsurface Fluids and Rocks on Resource Management

MGE's Isabel Barton, research scientist at the Lowell Institute for Mineral Resources, is joining other UA researchers to study how underground fluids affect subsurface rocks in the Paradox Basin.

With the help of a three-year, $1 million grant from the Keck Foundation, researchers from the UA and the New Mexico Institute of Technology will integrate geologic, geochemical, geochronologic and hydrogeologic observations and develop an integrated, interdisciplinary understanding of subsurface fluid-rock systems.

Figuring out how these fluids interact with subsurface rocks is important not only for understanding critical energy and mineral resources but also for effective management of energy byproducts such as wastewater, carbon dioxide and spent nuclear fuel.