Greg Dipple, PhD

Principal Investigator

I study the processes and driving forces of mineral reactions with a focus on fluid-rock interactions. My research publications span environments from the upper mantle to the near surface. Over the past decade, my primary research interests have migrated from deep crustal metamorphic processes to shallower magmatic-hydrothermal systems and associated mineral deposits to, most recently, carbon sequestration at and near the surface of the Earth. The commonality between these projects is the integration of field data and forward models for heat-mass transport and reaction, and the conscription of appropriate geochemical tracers as monitors of fluid-rock interactions.

My research program in carbon sequestration identifies and evaluates novel CO₂ fixation pathways that offset anthropogenic greenhouse gas production. Central to these studies are identification of active carbon fixation in the field; field examination of geologic analogues to industrial fixation processes; mineralogical, geochemical and isotopic analysis of carbon sinks; and reactive transport modelling of carbon transport and fixation. My long-term objectives are to:

• develop new efficient reaction pathways for carbon sequestration in mine wastes,
• provide an objective scientific verification protocol for crystallographic trapping of carbon, and
• evaluate the stability and safety of stored carbon.

Email: gdipple@eoas.ubc.ca