EAR-9005218 Junta, Jodi L. The principal objective of this research is to test the hypothesis that clay minerals can nucleate and grown in/on leached layers produced by the OweatheringO (hydrolysis) of other silicates. Because aluminum is ubiquitous in nature, a second logical objective is to document how aqueous aluminum reacts with leached layers. To achieve these objectives, the Fellow will use a dual approach, combining wet-chemical solution methods with microscopic and spectroscopic analyses to quantify how weathered silicates can react with aluminum to form clay minerals. The study will demonstrate how clay minerals nucleate and grow in soils. This research has implications for understanding the cycling of excess aluminum released by acid rain. The techniques mastered by the Fellow during this work will open up new research avenues to study the cycling of environmentally or economically important heavy metals in other settings.
