FLUID DYNAMICS AND GEOCHEMISTRY: TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF COLLABORATION PROVING THAT OIL AND WATER CAN MIX!

Hydrodynamicists often relegate geochemistry and geochemical reactions to the role of passive tracers, bumming along for the ride and, by chance, reacting. Geochemists, on the hand, traditionally view chemical reactions driven solely by thermodynamics, relegating the fluid phase to the simple duty of a convenient solvent. Over the past 25 years, we have worked on environmental questions in which the fluid dynamics and geochemical reactions are intimately linked; each strongly influencing the other’s behavior. From recycling of playa brines to the dynamics of ice-covered lakes, Dr. Lyon’s impacts on the fluid dynamics of these systems have been insightful and critical. In this presentation, the past contributions will be reviewed in light of new advances in computational fluid dynamics simulators; allowing us to model at the smallest scale, the dynamics of geochemical reactions and fluid flow simultaneously. Data from a variety of chemically stratified systems will be used to show how CFD simulations can advance our understanding of geochemical signatures.