Jose-luis Fernandez-turiel

Biography

Educational Background: MBA, 2002, Universitat Pompeu Fabra-IDEC, Barcelona. Ph.D., 1987, Geology, Universitat de Barcelona. B.Sc., 1982, Geology, Universitat de Barcelona.

Research Interest

My research interests focus on the geochemistry of trace elements and applying them mainly to studies of Earth Surface processes as well as the improvement of processes in drinking water treatment plants. I investigate the natural and anthropogenic trace element fluxes and their fate in the geological record and environment. With observations in the field, laboratory experiments and modelling I contribute to develop new tools to constraint spatial and temporal changes of past geosystems in response to large-scale geological processes (e.g., volcanic eruptions) in key regions of the world in order to provide decision criteria for stakeholders working to mitigate impacts and hazards on society.   Current work is focused on the impact of ash deposition in the Andes and the Chacopampean Plain in the South Cone of America (collaboration with IRNASA-CSIC and the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in Spain, and the Universities of San Luis, Tucumán, Mar del Plata and Buenos Aires in Argentina). I am studying the mineral-water interaction to understand mainly the behaviour of trace elements in drinking water treatment plants to improve the involved processes, including desalination plants. Key aspects are the development and application of geochemical source tracing techniques and modelling methods for water quality management in Mediterranean basins of South Europe (rivers Llobregat, Ter, Drama,…) and South America (Sali River). I develop and apply new methods for mineral exploration and environmental geochemistry based mainly on the analysis of rocks, soils, water, vegetation, etc. by ICP-MS. Recent work has developed a simple method that allows determining accurate and precise concentrations of sulphur and halogens in a multielement analysis in water by HR-ICP-MS (collaboration with the University of San Luis, Argentina). GIS-based geomorphological reconstructions also provide essential data to model the behaviour of past and future environmental changes (collaboration with the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain).