Nicolas Spycher

Biography

Nic Spycher has over twenty years of applied research experience in aqueous geochemistry and water/rock/gas interactions, including the development and application of multicomponent geochemical and reactive transport models. His current research activities focus on developing biogeochemical conceptual and numerical models to understand water/gas/rock/sediment interactions in various types of subsurface environments.

Research Interests

Nic Spycher's specific research areas include water/rock interactions in geothermal systems and geothermal exploration, the impact of CO₂ geological sequestration on groundwater quality, U(VI) transport and reactive chemistry at contaminated DOE sites, metal cycling in contaminated lake sediments, and the study of coupled thermal, hydrological, and chemical processes related to nuclear waste geologic storage. He has also been working on the development of chemical geothermometry software (GeoT), gas solubility correlations for carbon dioxide sequestration and geothermal studies, and has developed and compiled thermodynamic data for use with geochemical models, including the aqueous speciation and surface complexation of various metals. He is part of the TOUGHREACT reactive transport simulator development team and has significantly contributed to the development of the CHILLER/SOLVEQ geochemical modeling codes. Besides his academic background, Nic has extensive experience in the field of environmental hydrogeology and hydrogeochemistry, including ten years of private-sector consulting experience dedicated to the remedial investigation of contaminated sites. His investigations included predicting the fate of metals, spilled fuels, and solvents in the subsurface using various field measurements and modeling techniques.