David Vinson

Potential graduate students for Fall 2017 – Please contact me directly to discuss possible research directions.

I examine the processes that control element occurrence in natural and human-modified waters, with applications to energy resources, water quality, and groundwater sustainability. Environments of interest range from urban streams to deep saline groundwater. As tools, I use natural elements and isotope fingerprints to trace water-rock interaction, biogeochemical processing, mixing, and movement. These tools are combined with physical hydrologic data and in some cases microbiology to address a range of interdisciplinary problems. At UNC Charlotte, I teach courses in earth science, hydrology, hydrogeology, and geochemistry.

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Education

• Ph.D (2011) Duke University – Earth & Ocean Sciences
• M.S. (2002) University of New Mexico – Earth & Planetary Sciences
• B.S. (2000) University of Alabama – Geology / American Studies

Research & Teaching Interests

• Hydrogeology
• Environmental geochemistry
• Environmental tracers and isotopes
• Subsurface biogeochemistry
• Water quality & sustainability

Current Research Directions & Opportunities

Subsurface interactions in urban hydrology

• Groundwater-surface water interactions with urban and pre-restored streams  (collaboration with Sandra Clinton)
• Urban baseflow – its connections to groundwater evolution and urban solute sources

Environmental geochemistry & water-rock interaction: The major and trace elements in water resources, and their isotope ratios, provide fingerprints of natural and human-induced processes. Current or recent work has included

• Naturally-occurring trace elements of health significance (“natural contaminants”) such as boron, arsenic, vanadium, chromium, fluoride, radium, radon, strontium
• The geochemical fingerprint of shale-water interaction in a proposed shale gas basin (collaboration with John Diemer)
• Underground storage of water

Environmental isotopes: Naturally-occurring isotope ratios carry detailed information about water sources, element sources, and biogeochemical processes. Facilities at UNC Charlotte are available for collaborative studies using laser-based isotope analyzers:

• oxygen-18/oxygen-16 and deuterium/hydrogen ratios of water (δ¹⁸O and δD)
• carbon-13/carbon-12 isotope ratio of methane (δ¹³C)
• carbon-13/carbon-12 isotope ratio of carbon dioxide (δ¹³C)
• carbon-13/carbon-12 isotope ratio of dissolved inorganic carbon (δ¹³C)

Subsurface and redox-sensitive biogeochemistry: Buried organic matter is oxidized through microbial activity, controlling aquifer redox conditions with effects on metal mobility and carbon processing. Problems of interest include

• Redox-sensitive metals
• Biodegradation, biogenic methane, and the methane precursor acetate

Spring sampling with GEOL 4145/5145 Hydrogeology class