Dr. Perkins' research focus is in water and sediment geochemistry.

   Specific areas of current interest and some recent studies

• Mineral-water reactions that control concentrations of trace elements in soils and water.

  • Mobilization of trace metals during weathering of black shales.

  • Mineralogical & chemical changes accompanying hydrous retorting of oil shales.

  • Mobility of arsenic from tuffs and tuffaceous sediments.

  • Synthesis, characterization & adsorption capacities of floating iron films.

  • Adsorption / leaching of trace metals and nutrients from organic soil amendments.

  • Biogeochemical and mineral controls on selenium and other trace elements in the environment.

  • Mineralogy of arsenic-bearing iron seams in shallow sediments in Bangladesh.

  • Solubility controls on chromium in alkaline environments.

• Paleo-environmental reconstruction using sediment geochemistry.

  • Paleoceanography of Devonian-Mississippian black shales, northeastern Kentucky.

  • Paleoenvironmental conditions of deposition for Phosphoria Formation, southern Idaho and western Wyoming.

• Surface/ground water interactions and geochemical delineation of groundwater sources.

• Delineation of spring systems in upper Deschutes River Basin, central Oregon.