ISTerre - Institut des Sciences de la Terre

Rocks, fluids and microorganisms – The weathering of silicate minerals across scales

Roland HELLMANN — 2019-09-20T08:01:58Z

SÈminaire de l'Èquipe Géochimie

par Bastien Wild, Princeton University
– 26 sept 2019 ‡ 14h00
– Salle Dolomieu, ISTerre Grenoble

CV

Roland HELLMANN — 2011-10-08T06:20:56Z

Roland HELLMANN

Senior Research Scientist

Geochemistry Group

Institute for Earth Sciences (ISTerre)
Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS UMR 5275
Observatory for Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences at Grenoble (OSUG)
CS 40700
38058 Grenoble cedex 9, FRANCE

Tel. +33 (0)4.76.63.51.89

Email: roland.hellmann univ-grenoble-alpes.fr

Page personelle

Date of birth: 28.08.1958, New York City, USA

Nationality: American

Current position: senior research scientist, DR2 CNRS, section 20

Personal situation: married, 2 children

UNIVERSITY DEGREES:

Université Grenoble Alpes, France
ISTerre

Habilitation à Diriger les Recherches (HDR), 2007

Princeton University, Princeton, NJ USA
Dept. of Geological and Geophysical Sciences

Ph.D., Geochemistry, 1988
M.A., Geochemistry, 1984

University of Maryland, College Park, MD USA

B.S., Geology 1982 (cum laude with general honors)
B.S., Chemistry 1982 (cum laude with general honors)

PROFESSIONAL CAREER:

Director of research, DR2 CNRS, ISTerre, Grenoble, France: 2016 to present

Research scientist, CR1 CNRS, ISTerre (ex-LGIT), Grenoble, France: 10/1994 to 2016

Research scientist, CR2 CNRS, LGIT, Grenoble, France: 10/1990- 10/1994

Guest professor, Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France: 1990 (3 months)

CNRS poste rouge (CR1, foreign research fellow), Toulouse, France: 1989

Research and teaching assistant: Princeton University, USA: 1982-1988

LANGUAGES:

(trilingual)

English
French
German

Research

Roland HELLMANN — 2011-10-06T14:49:30Z

My research concerns the study of fluid-solid reactions (here solids include minerals, glasses, rocks) that occur in terrestrial settings, where the focus has been the Earth's surface and upper crust. When solids contact reactive aqueous fluids chemical and physical alteration processes take place, in particular dissolution and precipitation reactions. My research has shown that these reactions are generally controlled by interfacial processes that occur in a thin interfacial fluid film between the solid and the solvent phase, and very importantly, ultimately affecting the macroscopic behavior of the system. On an even larger scale, the macroscopic processes characterizing water-rock interactions (WRI) play a key role in controlling the overall balance of elements in the crust, the chemical composition of natural waters, the adsorption and sequestration of metals, soil formation and fertility, and global climate regulation through CO2 consumption. WRI is also important for industrial applications, such as the storage of nuclear and industrial waste, CO2 sequestration in geological environments, underground H2 storage, and geothermal energy. Based on a large international collaboration, I have recently started to examine water-rock interactions on grains from the asteroid Ryugu that were retrieved by the JAXA Hyabusa2 mission. This has provided a unique window on WRI processes that were operative while the Solar System was forming 4.6 billion years ago. This includes the chemical evolution of organic matter and the formation of hydrous clay phases in a pristine extraterrestrial environment. These processes ultimately have important implications for the evolution of many types of celestial bodies (asteroids, icy moons, comets, planetesimals), but also for the habitability of early Earth.

To summarize the big picture of my research, the overall aim is to obtain specific data needed to develop rate laws and models for quantifying reactivity and elucidating mechanistic pathways of alteration reactions undergone by minerals, glasses, and rocks in contact with aqueous fluids. Taken together, they provide a better understanding of physical and chemical instabilities in various terrestrial and extraterrestrial environments at different spatial and temporal scales.

To accomplish these goals, I use a “macroscopic-microscopic” approach to study WRI reactions at multiple scales, ranging from aqueous kinetic data derived from macroscopic laboratory experiments to physical and chemical measurements of fluid-solid interfaces at the µm-scale down to the atomic level (Å). This dual approach allows for a better understanding of the link between myriad processes operating at very different scales. Measurements of physical and chemical changes at interfaces are based on a wide range of analytical techniques, including advanced analytical electron microscopy (TEM), atom probe tomography, nano & ToF-SIMS, and electron spectroscopy.

Publications

Roland HELLMANN — 2011-10-06T08:16:25Z

Books and Special Volumes

Proceedings of the Fourteenth International Symposium on Water-Rock Interaction, 2013, (R. Hellmann and H. Pitsch, eds.), Procedia Earth and Planetary Science, v. , Elsevier, 964 p.

Water-Rock Interactions, Ore Deposits, and Environmental Geochemistry : A tribute to David A. Crerar, 2002, (R. Hellmann and S.A. Wood, eds.), Geochemical Society, 462 pp.

Publications - Journals and Book Chapters

(internationally peer reviewed)

Published :

52 publications ; 26 as first author

for citation scores : https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=8bTNReAAAAAJ&hl=fr

Google Scholar : total citations = 4256 (16 Nov 2023)

H index : 28

Number of papers with citations > 100 : 14

Distinguished publications indicated in bold

52. J. Marcial, J. Chesnutt, J. J. Neeway, E. Gichon, C.L. Thorpe, Z. Zhu, R. Golovchak, J. Cebulski, P. Niedzielski, M. Szostek, S. Luksic, S. Choi, A. Kennedy, R. Anguish, N. C. Bohrmann, A. Denny, O. Yagel, J. S. McCloy, L. R. Brown, R. J. Hand, J. R. Hager, A. A. Plymale, C. I. Pearce, E. Ben-Yosef, R. Hellmann, R. Sjöblom, M. J. Schweiger, D. S. Kosson, A. A. Kruger, 2025, Alteration of archeological and natural analogues for radioactive waste glass under different environmental conditions. Materials Degradation, 2025.

51. R. Hellmann, 2023, A. Lauer, T. Epicier, D. Leonard, Liquid Cell and Environmental TEM : Frontier Techniques Applied to Geochemical Interface Reactions Proceedings WR-17 & AIG-14 Sendai, Japan, Aug. 18-22, 2023.

50. A. Lauer, R. Hellmann, German Montes-Hernandez, Nathaniel Findling, Wai Li Ling, Thierry Epicier, Alejandro Fernandez Martinez, and Alexander van Driessche, 2023, Deciphering strontium sulfate precipitation via Ostwald's rule of stages : from prenucleation clusters to solution-mediated phase transformation, J. Chemical Physics, 158, 054501 https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0136870.

49. T. Amann, J. Hartmann, R. Hellmann, E.T. Pedrosa, A. Malik, 2022, Enhanced weathering potentials- the role of in situ CO2 and grain size distribution. Frontiers in Climate, https://doi.org/10.3389/fclim.2022.929268

48. A. Zandanel, R. Hellmann, L. Truche, V. Roddatis, M. Mermoux, G. Choblet and G. Tobie, 2022. Geologically rapid aqueous mineral alteration at subfreezing temperatures in icy worlds. Nature Astronomy, 6, 554–559 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550- 022-01613-2.

47. A. Zandanel, L. Truche, R. Hellmann, A. Myagkiy, G. Choblet, G. Tobie, 2021. Short lifespans of serpentinzation in the rocky core of Enceladus : implications for hydrogen production. Icarus 364, 114461.

46. R. Hellmann, Y. Zhai, E. Robin, N. Findling, S. Mayanna, R. Wirth, A. Schreiber, M. Cabié, Q. Zeng, S. Liu, J. Liu, 2021. The hydrothermal alkaline alteration of potassium feldspar : a nanometer-scale investigation of the orthoclase interface. Chemical Geology 569, 120133.

45. Y. Zhai, R. Hellmann, A. Campos, N. Findling, S. Mayanna, R. Wirth, A. Schreiber, M. Cabié, Q. Zeng, S. Liu, J. Liu, 2021, Fertilizer derived from alkaline hydrothermal alteration of K-feldspar : a micrometer to nanometer-scale investigation of K in secondary reaction products and the feldspar interface. Applied Geochemistry 126, 104828.

44. R. Hellmann, 2021, Mechanisms of glass corrosion by aqueous solutions. In Encyclopedia of Glass Science, Technology, History, and Culture, Vol I, First Edition (P. Richet, ed.), The American Ceramic Society. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, NJ USA, pp. 647-662. (invited article)

43. R. Hellmann, 2021, Corrosion of natural glasses in seawater. In Encyclopedia of Glass Science, Technology, History, and Culture, Vol II, First Edition (P. Richet, ed.), The American Ceramic Society. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, NJ USA, pp. 831-842. (invited article)

42. D.N. Leonard, R. Hellmann, 2017, Exploring dynamic surface processes during silicate mineral (wollastonite) dissolution with liquid cell TEM, Journal of Microscopy, 265, 358-371.

41. R. Hellmann, S. Cotte, E. Cadel, S. Malladi, L.S. Karlsson, S. Lozano-Perez, M. Cabié, A. Seyeux, 2015, Nanometre-scale evidence for interfacial dissolution-reprecipitation control of silicate glass dissolution.
Nature Materials, 14, 307-311. *(Web of Science trophy article- top 1% in field)

40. D. Tisserand, E. Pili, R. Hellmann, A.M. Boullier, L. Charlet, 2014, Geogenic arsenic in groundwaters in the western Alps. J. Hydrology, 518, 317-325.

39. D. Daval, R. Hellmann, I. Martinez, S. Gangloff, F. Guyot, 2013, Lizardite serpentine dissolution kinetics as a function of pH and temperature, including effects of elevated pCO2. Chem. Geol, 351, 245-256.

38. Daval D., Hellmann, R., Saldi G.D., Wirth R., Knauss K.G., 2013, Linking nm-scale measurements of silicate surfaces to macroscopic dissolution rate laws : new insights based on diopside. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 107,121-134.

37. Hellmann, R., Daval D., Wirth R., 2013. Formation of amorphous silica surface layers by dissolution-reprecipitation during chemical weathering : Implications for CO2 uptake. Procedia Earth Planetary Sci.

36. Hellmann, R., Wirth, R., Daval, D., Barnes, J.-P., Penisson, J.-M., Tisserand, D., Epicier, T., Florin, B., Hervig, R.L., 2012, Unifying natural and laboratory chemical weathering with interfacial dissolution-reprecipitation : A study based on the nanometer-scale chemistry of fluid-silicate interfaces. Chem. Geol., v. 294-295, 203-216.
*(Web of Science trophy article- top 1% in field)

35. Montes-Hernandez, G., Sarret, G., Hellmann, R., Menguy, N., Testemale, D., Charlet, L., Renard, F., 2011, Nanostructured calcite precipitated under hydrothermal conditions in the presence of organic and inorganic selenium, Chem. Geol. v. 290, 109-120.

34. Dunham-Cheatham. S., Rui, X., Bunker, B., Menguy, N., Hellmann R., and Fein, J., 2011, The effects of non-metabolizing bacterial cells on the precipitation of U, Pb and Ca phosphates, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, v. 75, 2828-2847.

33. Daval, D., Sissmann, O., Menguy, N., Saldi, G.D., Guyot, F., Martinez, I., Corvisier, J., Garcia, B., Machouk, I., Knauss, K.G., Hellmann, R., 2011, Influence of amorphous silica layer formation on the dissolution rate of olivine at 90 °C and elevated pCO2, Chemical Geology, v. 284, 193-209.
*(Web of Science trophy article- top 1% in field)

32. Hellmann, R., Wirth, R., Barnes, J.-P., 2010, Chemical weathering of silicate minerals : linking laboratory and natural alteration. In Water Rock Interaction (P. Birkle, I.S. Torres-Alvarado, eds.), Taylor & Francis Group, London, 27-30.

31. Daval, D., Sissmann, O., Corvisier, J., Garcia, B., Martinez, I., Guyot, F., Hellmann, R., 2010, The effect of silica coatings on the weathering rates of wollastonite (CaSiO3) and forsterite (Mg2SiO4) : an apparent paradox ? In Water Rock Interaction (P. Birkle, I.S. Torres-Alvarado, eds.), Taylor & Francis Group, London, 713-716.

30. Daval, D., Hellmann, R., Corvisier, J., Tisserand, D., Martinez, I., Guyot, F., 2010, Dissolution kinetics of diopside as a function of solution saturation state : Macroscopic measurements and implications for modeling of geological storage of CO2, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, v. 74, 2615-2633.

29. Hellmann, R., Daval D., Tisserand, D., 2010, The dependence of albite feldspar dissolution kinetics on fluid saturation state at acid and basic pH, Comptes rendus Geoscience 342, 676-684.

28. Daval, D., Martinez, I., Guigner, J.-M., Hellmann, R., Corvisier, J., Findling, N., Dominici, C., Goffé, B., Guyot, F. (2009) Mechanism of wollastonite carbonation deduced from micro- to nanometer length scale observations. Amer. Mineral. 94, 1707-1726.

27. Hellmann, R., Daval, D., Tisserand, D., Renard, F., 2007, Albite feldspar dissolution kinetics as a function of the Gibbs free energy at high pCO2, In Water Rock Interaction (T.D. Bullen, Y. Wang, eds.), Taylor & Francis, London, 591-595.

26. Le Guen, Y., Renard, F., Hellmann, R., Brosse, E., Collombet, M., Tisserand, D., and Gratier, J.-P., 2007, Enhanced deformation of limestone and sandstone in the presence of high pCO2 fluids. J. Geophys. Res. 112, B05421, doi:10.1029/2006JB004637.

25. Lee M.R., Brown D.J., Smith C.L., Hodson M.E., MacKenzie M., and Hellmann R., 2007, Characterization of mineral surfaces using FIB and TEM : A case study of naturally-weathered alkali feldspars. Amer. Mineral. 92, 1383-1394.

24. Hellmann, R. and Tisserand, D., 2006, Dissolution kinetics as a function of the Gibbs free energy of reaction : an experimental study based on albite feldspar. Geochimica Cosmo. Acta 70, 364-383.
*(cited by Elsevier as a “Top 50 most cited article published in Geochimica Cosmochimica Acta for 2006-2011”)

23. Renard, F., Gundersen, E., Hellmann, R., Collombet, M., and Le Guen, Y. (2005), Numerical modeling of the effect of carbon dioxide sequestration on the rate of pressure solution creep in limestone : preliminary results. Oil Gas Sci. Tech. 60, 381-399.

22. Hellmann, R., Penisson, J.-M., Hervig, R.L., Thomassin, J.-H., and Abrioux, M.F. (2004), Chemical alteration of feldspar : a comparative study using SIMS and HRTEM/EFTEM. In Water Rock Interaction (R.B. Wanty, R.R. Seal II, eds.), A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, pp. 753-756.

21. Hellmann, R., Penisson, J.-M., Hervig, R.L., Thomassin, J.-H., and Abrioux, M.F. (2003), An EFTEM/HRTEM high resolution study of the near surface of labradorite feldspar altered at acid pH : evidence for interfacial dissolution-reprecipitation. Physics Chem. Minerals, 30, pp. 192-197.

20. Hellmann, R., Gaviglio, P., Renders, P.J.N., Gratier, J.-P., Békri, S., and Adler, P. (2002b), Experimental pressure solution compaction of chalk in aqueous solutions. Part 2. Deformation examined by SEM, porosimetry, synthetic permeability, and X-ray computerized tomography. In Water-Rock Interactions, Ore Deposits, and Environmental Geochemistry : A tribute to David A. Crerar (R. Hellmann and S.A. Wood, eds.), Geochemical Society, pp. 153-178.

19. Hellmann, R., Renders, P.J.N., Gratier, J.-P., and Guiguet, R. (2002a), Experimental pressure solution compaction of chalk in aqueous solutions. Part 1. Deformation behavior and chemistry. In Water-Rock Interactions, Ore Deposits, and Environmental Geochemistry : A tribute to David A. Crerar (R. Hellmann and S.A. Wood, eds.), Geochemical Society, pp. 129-152.

18. Hellmann, R., 1999, The dissolution behavior of albite feldspar at elevated temperatures and pressures : the role of surface charge and speciation, Mitt. Österr. Miner. Ges., 144, pp. 69-100.

17. Hellmann, R., 1999, "Stoichiometry" In Encyclopedia of Geochemistry (C.P. Marshall and R.W. Fairbridge, eds.), Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht.

16. Hellmann, R., Gratier, J.P., Chen, T, 1998, Mineral-water interactions and stress : pressure solution of halite aggregates, Water-Rock Interaction WRI-9 (G. B. Arehart and J.R. Hulston, eds.), A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, pp. 777-780.

15. Hellmann, R., 1997, The albite-water system Part IV. Diffusion modeling of leached and H-enriched layers, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta., 61, 1595-1611.

14. Hellmann, R., Dran, J.-C., Della Mea, G., 1997, The albite-water system Part III. Characterization of leached and H-enriched layers formed at 300°C using MeV ion beam techniques, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta., 61, 1575-1594.

13. Hellmann, R., 1995, The albite-water system Part II. The time evolution of the stoichiometry of dissolution as a function of pH at 100, 200 and 300°C, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta., 59, 1669-1697.

12. Hellmann, R., 1994, The albite-water system Part I. The kinetics of dissolution as a function of pH at 100, 200 and 300°C, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 58, 595-611.

11. Gratier J.-P., Chen T., and Hellmann R.,1994, Pressure solution as a mechanism for crack sealing around faults : Natural and experimental evidence. In USGS Red-Book : The Mechanical Involvement of Fluids in Faulting (eds. M.L. Jacobson, S. H. Hickman, R.H. Sibson, and R.L. Bruhn) ; pp. 279-300. U.S.G.S.- Menlo Park.

10. Hellmann, R., Drake, B. and Kjoller, K., 1992, Using atomic force microscopy to study the structure, topography and dissolution of albite surfaces, Water-Rock Interaction WRI-7 (Y.K. Kharaka and A.S. Maest, eds.), pp.149-152, A.A. Balkema.

9. Drake, B., Hellmann, R., Sikes, C.S., Occelli, M.L., 1992, Atomic scale imaging of albite feldspar, calcium carbonate, rectorite, and bentonite using atomic force microscopy, in Scanning Probe Microscopies vol. 1639, 151-159, SPIE.

8. Drake, B. and Hellmann, R., 1991, Atomic force microscopy imaging of the albite (010) surface, American Mineralogist, 76, 1773-1776.

7. Hellmann, R., Eggleston, C.M., Hochella, M.F. Jr. and Crerar, D.A., 1990, The formation of leached layers on albite surfaces during dissolution under hydrothermal conditions. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 54, 1267-1281.

6. Hellmann, R. , Eggleston, C.M., Hochella, M.F. Jr. and Crerar, D.A., 1989, Altered layers on dissolving albite - 1. Results. In Water-Rock Interaction WRI-6 (ed. D.L. Miles), A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, pp. 215-218.

5. Eggleston, C.M. and Hellmann, R., 1989, Altered layers on dissolving albite -2. Model. In Water-Rock Interaction WRI-6 (ed. D.L. Miles), A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, pp. 293-296.

4. Hellmann, R., Crerar, D.A. and Zhang, R., 1989, Albite feldspar hydrolysis to 300°C. Solid State Ionics 32/33, 314-329.

3. Posey-Dowty, J., Crerar, D.A., Hellmann, R. and Chang, C.D., 1986, Kinetics of mineral-water reactions : theory, design and application of circulating hydrothermal equipment. Amer. Mineral. 71, 85-94.

2. Brantley, S.L., Crane, S.R., Crerar, D.A., Hellmann, R. and Stallard, R.F., 1986, Dissolution at dislocation etch pits in quartz. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 50, 2349-2361.

1. Brantley, S.L., Crane, S.R., Crerar, D.A., Hellmann, R. and Stallard, R.F., 1986, Dislocation etch pits in quartz, in Geochemical Processes at Mineral Surfaces (eds. J.A. Davis and K.F. Hayes) American Chemical Society Symposium Series No. 323, p.635-649.