Erika Elswick
Assistant Scientist
Geochemistry
Office: GY410
Phone: 812-855-2493
Email: eelswick@indiana.edu
Educational Background
- Ph.D., 1998, University of Cincinnati
- M.S., 1994, Wright State University
Research Interests
Stable isotopes in sedimentary environments (past and present) and their application to sedimentary ore deposits.
The fate of metals in the environment, 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.
Courses Taught
- G444/G690, Methods in Analytical Geochemistry
- G329, Field Experience in Environmental Science
Teaching Philosophy
Students learn by doing and by dialog. Students in my 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
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
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.
Undergraduate Projects and Opportunities
Trace Element Survey of Soils and Sediments of Lerna, Greece (a laboratory based project with Dr. Christina Shriner)
Griffy Lake Water Chemistry (a field collection, and laboratory analysis project in the IU preserve, and the Bloomington city park)
Sulfur isotopic analysis of barite in Mississippian black shales of the Stanley Formation and the corresponding kerogen (a laboratory project)
Water samples from seeps in local Devonian black shales (a field and laboratory project)
Representative Publications
Elswick, E.R., and Anwar, A.M., Sandstone petrology and rare earth and trace element geochemistry of the Early Permian Santa Rosa Group sediments, Maya Mountains, Belize.
(for submission to GSA Bulletin)
Elswick, E.R., The trace element characteristics of the alteration zones of the main hydrothermal field Manus Basin, Bismark Sea. (for submission to ODP Reports)
Elswick, E.R., Finkelstein, D.B., and Pratt, L.M., Sulfur budget of YAX-1 core, Chicxulub crater with models for sulfur isotopic fractionation patterns observed around the impact interval.
(for submission to Science)
Hill, MM and Elswick, E.R., Sauer, P.E., Sedimentation and nutrient loading rates, Griffy Reservoir, Bloomington, IN. (for submission to Journal of Environmental Quality)
Struck, S.D., Craft, C.B., and Elswick, E.R. (2008) Stable Isotopes as indicators of soil reduction and organic matter sequestration following brackish marsh creation. (submitted to Environmental Science and Technology.
Elswick, E.R. and Johnson, C.C., Evaluation of a Siliciclastic Diamictite from Belize.
(submitted to the Journal of South American Earth Sciences, Dec 2005; Accepted Feb 2007; Further revisions sent back to journal July 2008)
Hower, J.C.; Robertson, J.D.; ; Roberts, J.M.; Brandstedder, K.; Trimble, A.S.; and Mardon, S.M.; (in press); Further Investigation of the Impact of the Co-combustion of Tire-derived Fuel and Petroleum Coke on the Petrology and Chemistry of Coal Combustion Products: Energy Resources Journal. (Brandstedder, BSES Senior Research Project material)
Overberg-Webb, K, Craft, C., Elswick, E., (2008) The evaluation of the freshwater western pearl mussel, Margaritifera falcata (Gould, 1850), as a bioindicator through the analysis of metal partitioning and bioaccumulation: Northwest Science, v.82, no.3, p. 163-173.
Monaghan, G.W., Gerke, T.L., Elswick, E.R., and Fik, C., (2008) Geoarchaeology and Geophysics at the Angel Site, Angel Mounds State Historic Site, Evansville, IN: Field Trip # 11; Geological Society of America, North-central Section Meeting. April 26, 2008.
Ripley, E.M., Lightfoot, P.C., Li, C., and , (2003) Sulfur isotopic studies of continental flood basalts in the Norilsk region: Implications for the association between lavas and ore-bearing intrusions: Geochemica et Cosmochemica Acta, v. 67, p. 2805-2817.
Maynard J.B. and , and Hower, J.C., (2001) Reflectance of dispersed vitrinite in shales hosting Pb-Zn-Cu ore deposits in western Cuba: Comparison with clay crystallinity: In, Mastalerz, M., (Ed.) TSOP-Bloomington, 2000, selected papers presented at the 17th annual meeting of the Society for Organic Petrology, International Journal of Coal Geology, v. 47, p.161-170.
Service
Geological Society of America (GSA) Campus Representative
Faculty Co-advisor (with C. Johnson) of Sigma Gamma Epsilon (SGE) Ro Chapter
Building Safety Officer (in particular, Chemical Laboratories)
Facilities Committee
Laboratory Facilities
Analytical Geochemistry Laboratory (G410) is a department facility that is dedicated to the inorganic geochemistry of geologic materials (water, sediments and soils, and rock). The facility is equipped with multiple fume hoods, two of which are perchloric acid hoods, a Perkin Elmer Aanalyst 800 atomic absorption spectrometer, a Dionex IC25 for ion chromatography, an Eltra CS 2000 carbon-sulfur elemental analyzer, and a Jobin Yvon 38 ICP-AES. Additional equipment allows for multiple wet chemical extractions and preparation for the instruments listed above and other analyses, including mass spectrometry, and X-ray fluorescence.
