Preston Kemeny & Kly Suquino

T.C. Chamberlin Fellow Preston Kemeny and Geophysical Sciences major Kly Suquino are isotope geochemists studying how planets stay habitable over million-year timescales. Working primarily in the lab of Dr. Clara Blättler, they use mass spectrometers to measure the chemical and isotopic composition of river water to understand how chemical cycles interact and feedback upon one another. 

Last summer, Preston and Kly visited and sampled the Little Deschutes River catchment of central Oregon. Now back at UChicago, they are working together to measure the major ion chemistry and stable isotope ratios of calcium dissolved in collected river water samples. By understanding the origin and fluxes of calcium in rivers, they hope to improve understanding of how the movement of elements from global rock reservoirs into the ocean modulates the carbon content of Earth's atmosphere. Stay tuned for the results of Kly's senior thesis!