John Ayers

Professor and Chair
john.c.ayers@vanderbilt.edu
Office: 5705 Science & Engineering Bldg
Phone: (615) 283-0775
Researcher ID: B-4871-2010 h-index:14

Education

Ph.D. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1991
M.S. The Pennsylvania State University, 1988
B.S. State University College of New York at Fredonia, 1985

Specializations

• Geochemistry
• Experimental Petrology
• Sustainability Science

Curriculum Vitae

 

General Interests

Elements move on earth's surface and deep in its interior through the action of mobile agents such as fluids and silicate melts. John's research focuses on what controls the movement of trace elements in chemical systems. Recent research has focused on using shifts in chemical and isotopic compositions to characterize...

• the movement of fluids from magma chambers into country rocks and associated formation of ore deposits (Fig. 1).
• the potential mobility of zirconium in fluids. John and his students have measured the aqueous solubilities of Zr-minerals such as zircon and baddeleyite at upper crustal conditions.
• the potential mobility of trace elements in zircon-saturated fluids. PhD student Tim Peters is measuring zircon/fluid partition coefficients for a wide range of trace elements (work funded by NSF).
• the mobility of elements during metamorphism. PhD student Tim Peters is studying the role of fluids in zircon growth and recrystallization during ultra-high pressure metamorphism of eclogite samples collected in central China (funded by NSF).
• the potential mobility of titanium and rare earth elements in magmas. Currently PhD student Danny Flanagan is measuring the solubility of the mineral titanite (sphene) in magmas because titanite can limit the solubility of titanium and rare earth elements in magmas (with Calvin Miller, work funded by NSF).
• the movement of saline groundwater into shallow freshwater aquifers in the coastal region of Bangladesh caused by sea level rise and shrimp farming, and effects on arsenic mobility (current work with Steve Goodbred funded by ONR).
• the movement of heavy metals such as arsenic and lead from soil into plants, with potential applications in phytoremediation.

Recently John became interested in how changes in chemical systems, often caused by natural resource extraction, affect sustainability. This caused him to start writing a book about sustainability from an earth scientist's perspective, tentatively titled "Sustainability Science." You can view first drafts of chapters at http://www.vanderbilt.edu/Sustainability/book/

John has also started involving his students in service learning projects related to sustainability. Currently he has funding from a HUD grant (with Professors at Tennessee State University in Nashville) that will allow his Geochemistry class students to perform environmental assessments and Sustainability class students to conduct energy efficiency evaluations for homeowners in urban North Nashville.

Figure 2. Water footprint of national consumption from 1996-2005.
Figure from book in preparation.

Courses Taught

• Geochemistry
• Sustainability Science
• Sustainability: An Environmental Science Perspective
• Aqueous Geochemistry
• Environmental Applications of Geochemical Modeling

What Students Do

Students choose whether they want to do laboratory, field, or theoretical work, or some combination of the three. Students doing lab or field work measure the chemical and isotopic compositions of their samples using a variety of sophisticated analytical tools at Vanderbilt and other locations. Theoretical work involves geochemical modeling, and may involve use of GIS software. John's students develop problem solving skills and a quantitative understanding of earth processes. This experience is highly relevant to environmental problems. It is thus very practical, leading to job opportunities, and contributing to our knowledge of large-scale earth processes. 

Selected Publications (*denotes Students)

Luo Y.,Ayers J.C. (2009) Experimental measurements of zircon/melt trace element partition coefficients.Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta v. 73, 3656-3679.doi:10.1016/j.gca.2009.03.027

Rabbia O.M., Hernández L.B., French D.H., King R.W. and Ayers J.C.(2009) The El Teniente porphyry Cu-Mo deposit from a hydrothermal rutile perspective. Mineralium Deposita.  dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00126-009-0252-4

Luo Y., Sun M., Zhao G., Li S., Ayers J.C., Xia X., Zhang J. (2008) A comparison of U-Pb and Hf isotopic compositions of detrital zircons from the North and South Liaohe Groups: Constraints on the evolution of the Jiao-Liao-Ji Belt, North China Craton. Precambrian Research v. 163, 279-306.

Ayers J.C., *Loflin M., Miller C.F., Barton M.D., Coath C. (2006) Monazite used to determine the extent and timing of fluid infiltration in the Birch Creek Pluton metamorphic aureole. Geology 34(8), 653-8.  geology.geoscienceworld.org/cgi/content/abstract/34/8/653

*Lehner S.W., Savage K., Ayers J.C. (2006) Vapor growth and characterization of pyrite (FeS2) doped with Co, Ni, and As: Variations in semiconducting properties. Journal of Crystal Growth, v. 286, 306-317. doi:10.1016/j.jcrysgro.2005.09.062

Ayers, J.C., *Loflin, M., Miller, C.F., Barton, M.D., and Coath, C. (2004) Dating fluid infiltration using monazite. In R.B. Wanty, and R.R. Seal II, Eds. Proceedings of the Eleventh International Symposium on Water-Rock Interaction, Vol. 1, p. 247-251. A.A. Balkema Publishers.

*Bitting K., Ayers J.C., Savage K. (2005) Fact or fiction: The truth about water contamination in Manchester and Tullahoma, TN. In Proceedings of the Fifteenth Tennessee Water Resources Symposium, pp. 3C-20 to 3C-23, American Water Resources Association.

Bryant D. L., Ayers J. C., Gao S., Miller C. F., and Zhang H. (2004) Geochemical, Age, and Isotopic Constraints on the Location of the Sino-Korean/Yangtze Suture and Evolution of the Northern Dabie Complex, East Central China. Geological Society of America Bulletin 116, 698-717.bulletin.geoscienceworld.org/cgi/content/full/116/5-6/698

Ayers J.C., *DeLaCruz K., Miller C.F., *Switzer O. (2003) Experimental study of the growth kinetics of zircon in quartzite ± H2O at 1.0 GPa and 1000oC, with implications for geochronological studies of high-grade metamorphism. American Mineralogist 88, 365-376.

Ayers J.C., *Dunkle S., Gao S., Miller C. (2002) Triassic zircon U-Pb and monazite Th-Pb ages recorded in Maowu ultramafics and Shuanghe jadeite quartzite, Dabie Shan UHP belt, east-central China. Chemical Geology 186:315-331.

Ayers, J.C., Miller, C.F., *Gorisch, E.B., *Milleman, J. (1999). Textural development of monazite during high-grade metamorphism: Implications for U,Th-Pb age dating. American Mineralogist 84:1766-1780.

Ayers, J.C.;(1998). Trace element modeling of aqueous fluid – peridotite interaction in the mantle wedge of subduction zones. Contrib. Mineral. Petrol., 132:390-404.

Ayers, J.C., *Dittmer, S.K., Layne, G.D. (1997). Partitioning of elements between peridotite and H2O at 2.0-3.0 GPa and 900-1100 oC, and application to models of subduction zone processes. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 150:381-398.