Dr. Jennifer A. Roberts specializes in hydrochemistry and microbial geochemistry, bridging basic and applied science and focusing on the role of microorganisms on mineral chemistry and weathering as it applies to carbon sequestration, petroleum reservoir diagenesis, paleoclimate, and water quality from the nano- to landscape scales.

Her research program focuses broadly on microbe:mineral interactions and the geological and ecological implications of these interactions in subsurface environments. Her program currently has three separate but interrelated thrusts: hydrochemistry and microbial geochemistry; microbial mineral attachment and weathering; and low temperature-dolomite precipitation.

She is Professor of Geology and current Chair of the Geology Department at the University of Kansas, Lawrence. 

Microbial geochemistry is useful for determining the microbe:water:rock interactions in aqueous environments.  I use geochemical data, with working knowledge of microbial metabolic redox transformations of metals and organic compounds, to make determinations about bioremediation potential in aquifers and bioclogging during biostimulation, as well as seal integrity during CO_2­ injection in deep aquifers and reservoirs. Much of my research in this area focuses on how microbial surfaces and metabolic processes impact mineral equilibria. These studies are often helpful in modeling the evolution of porosity in a sediment or rock due to preferential dissolution or microbially-driven cementation. 

In subsurface environments, microorganisms commonly inhabit mineral surfaces.  Our previous research has shown that microorganisms, through their metabolic processes, can facilitate mineral weathering in the micro-environment near attachment.  While these microbially-promoted weathering processes can dissolve minerals, such as carbonates and metal-oxides, they can also promote dissolution of primary silicates and formation of secondary clays. Our research has also identified primary silicates as a solid-phase source of nutrients for the attached microbial community, making the previously-considered-inert silicate mineralogy a viable source of nutrients for subsurface microorganisms.

Dolomite [MgCa(CO3)2] is a common mineral in ancient rocks and is commonly used as a qualitative tool to infer ancient ocean chemistry, climate, and environments. However, Dolomite is uncommon in modern, low-temperature (<50°C) environments, indicating that modern settings differ from those in the geologic past. Use of dolomite to quantify these differences has been hindered by a lack of reliable laboratory synthesis of low-temperature dolomite, leading to a century-old “dolomite-problem.” My research aims to develop new approaches to synthesizing low-temperature dolomite in the lab and to identify key mechanisms of dolomite formation that lead to applications in both modern and ancient carbonate systems.