Bob Hilton
I am a geochemist who studies the exchange of carbon between the atmosphere and rocks, and how these carbon transfers respond to and drive climate change.
Our research group Earth Surface Geochemistry @Oxford quantifies how weathering processes act as CO2 sinks, and CO2 sources, and transfer CO2 between the atmosphere, hydrosphere and oceans, and long-term, geological storage in sedimentary deposits.
I’ve developed several geochemical approaches to tackle these themes, including trace element proxies of weathering and their isotopes (e.g. rhenium), while also tracking carbon age and reactivity using CO2, CH4, dissolved and particulate organic carbon, and their radiocarbon and stable C isotope composition. There is a current focus on climate change impacts on carbon cycles in the Arctic and high latitudes, with fieldwork in the Mackenzie River Basin, Isle of Lewis and Svalbard.
Ongoing research seeks to understand and predict weathering processes which act as a CO2 source and CO2 sink via the “mineral permafrost feedback”, alongside the leak of CO2 and CH4 from soils and landscapes to rivers and to the atmosphere. We are also interested in wider impacts of changing weathering reactions on rivers, including trace metal delivery and fate, and how enhanced weathering impacts river chemistry. Alongside these research themes, I also consult on topics of environmental science for a variety of end users.
I hold the Professorship of Geography in the School of Geography and the Environment and am a Professorial Fellow at Hertford College, while retaining strong links to the Earth Sciences Department as an elected member of the faculty.
Professor Robert Hilton | School of Geography and the Environment
