Dr. Huiming Bao

Huiming Bao (CV) Charles L. Jones Professor in Geology & Geophysics Ph. D; Princeton University, 1998 Stable isotope geochemistry bao@lsu.edu (225) 578-3419 (office), -3413 (lab)

LSU Oxy-Anion Stable Isotope Consortium (OASIC) OASICers' field camp (2011)

Research:

(http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=CnsOpuwAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao)

A common thread of my research has been the use of high-dimensional stable isotope systems to "read" geological, biological, and environmental records, with a special interest in the history of our evolving atmosphere.

The tools that I use include gas-source isotopic ratio mass spectrometry (dual-inlet and conflo), laser-fluorination systems, vacuum lines, GC, IC, ICP-ES, SEM, XRD, and wet- and photo-chemistry lab facilities. My students and I have built up a unique stable isotope laboratory that is specialized in the isotope-ratio measurements of most elements in water-soluble oxy-anions such as sulfate, nitrate, or perchlorate. The Oxy-Anion Stable Isotope Consortium (OASIC) is capable of chemical preparation and measurement of δ¹⁵N, δ¹⁸O, δ¹⁷O, δ³⁴S, δ³³S, and δ³⁶S values of SO₄^2-, NO₃^-, or ClO₄^- with the best precisions in the community.

Students in my group are trained to be hands-on and independent researchers who are comfortable and skillful with fieldwork, wet chemistry, stable isotope analysis, data synthesis, and modeling. We demand solid physical-chemistry background and quantitative skills. Our active fieldwork sites are all over the world, including Antarctic Dry Valleys, Australia, China, Chile, South Africa, and USA.

Active Research Projects

I. Atmosphere-Biosphere condition associated with Neoproterozoic global glaciations

II. Atmospheric deposition and post-depositional migration of ions in hyperarid deserts

III. Sulfur oxidation chemistry associated with large-scale volcanic eruptions in the geological past

             IV.      Stable Isotope Kinetics

              V.      Antarctica, Early Earth, and Mars

Teaching:

I teach introductory-level Physical Geology (Geol-1001) and Historical Geology (Geol-1003) for majors and non-majors.  My upper-level graduate courses include "Geol7081-- Stable Isotope Geochemistry", "Introduction to Geochemistry" (starting Spring 2013), "Carbonates: Geochemistry, petrology, & sedimentology", and "Advanced Topics in Stable Isotope Geochemistry".

Selected Publications:

Bryan A. Killingsworth*, Justin A. Hayles*, Chuanming Zhou, and Huiming Bao, 2013, Sedimentary Constraints on the Duration of the Marinoan Oxygen-17 Depletion (MOSD) Event. PNAS, Feb. 6, 2013

Sun, T*. & Bao, H.M., 2011. Thermal-gradient-induced non-mass-dependent isotope fractionation. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry 25, 765-773.

Bao, Huiming, Yu, Shaocai, and Tong, Daniel Q., 2010, Massive volcanic SO₂ oxidation and sulphate aerosol deposition in Cenozoic North America. Nature, doi:10.1038/nature09100

Bao, Huiming, Ian J. Fairchild, Peter M. Wynn, and Christoph Spotl, 2009, Stretching the Envelope of Past Surface Environments: Neoproterozoic Glacial Lakes from Svalbard, Science, 323, 119-122; DOI: 10.1126/science.1165373

Bao, Huiming, Jim Lyons, and Chuanming Zhou, May 2008, Triple oxygen isotope evidence for elevated CO₂ levels after a Neoproterozoic glaciation, Nature, 453 (7194), 504-506; DOI: 10.1038/nature06959.

Bao, Huiming, Sun, T., Kohl, I., and Peng, Y.-P., 2008, Comments on "Early Archaean microorganisms preferred elemental sulfur, not sulfate", Science, v. 319 (5868), p. 1336.

Bao, Huiming and Gu, Baohua, 2004, Natural perchlorate has a unique oxygen isotope signature. Environmental Science and Technology, 38(19): 5073-5077.; 10.1021/es049516z

Bao Huiming, Douglas A. Campbell, James G. Bockheim, Mark H. Thiemens, 2000, Origin of sulfate in Antarctic Dry Valley soils as deduced from anomalous ¹⁷O compositions. Nature 407, 499-502.

Bao, Huiming et al. 2000, Anomalous ¹⁷O compositions in massive sulphate deposits on the Earth. Nature 406, 176-178.

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Selected photos of fieldwork from 2001-2012

2001: The Atacama Desert, Northern Chile (2001) (2007-1)
2001: Xinjiang, northwestern China (2001) (2002)
2002: Nebraska, USA (-1, -2)
2002: The Antarctic Dry Valleys (2002-1, -2, -3, -4, -5, -6)
2005: Scotts Bluff, Nebraska, USA (-1,-2, -3, -4)
2006: Nebraska, Wyoming, USA (1) and northern China (-1, -2)
2007: southern China (-1, -2, -3)

2008: southern China (-1, -2)

2009: southern China (-1, -2, -3, -4)

2010: Western Australia (-1, -2, -3)

2011: southern China (-1, -2, -3, -4)

2012: north-central China (-1, -2); Nebraska, Texas, and Nevada, USA (-1, -2, -3,-4)

In my previous life (1, 2)

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