Weathering kills the rock and establishes equilibrium with its surroundings by physical disintegration, chemical decomposition and biological degradation. Physical weathering carves the geomorphology of the Earth's surface, while chemical and biological weathering result in a new reservoir on the globe, called the critical zone. The interplay of minerals, micro-organisms, and plants determines soil attributes in the critical zone.
Clay minerals are ubiquitous in Earth’s critical zone, but how they form there remains enigmatic. Clays are phyllosilicates with complex structures. Although formation of such silicates is thermodynamically feasible in the critical zone (low-temperature system), it is difficult kinetically. I aim to experimentally understand clay mineral nucleation and crystallization pathways in the critical zone. I investigate the role of biomolecules and microbes in mineral nucleation processes during the early stage of soil formation.
In recent studies, clay minerals have been found to be associated with preserved soft tissues in Laggerstätten beds. As a post-doctoral researcher with Dr Ross Anderson, I am investigating clay and biomolecule interactions from the perspective of preservation of soft tissues. I aim to experimentally investigate the impacts of biomolecules on mineral equilibria in sediment pore fluid and vice-versa. This study can also propose some experimental evidence to understand the role of mineral substrate on biomolecule monomer formation and polymerisation, which can shed light on basic questions related to origin of life.
