About

Steve Petsch is an Associate Professor and Associate Department Head for Curriculum in the Department of Earth, Geographic, and Climate Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. His research focuses on biogeochemistry, particularly the transport and transformations of elements such as carbon within sedimentary and earth surface environments. He investigates processes such as diagenesis, chemical decomposition, and the activity of microorganisms in extreme environments, aiming to understand how organic matter is preserved over millions of years in rocks. His work addresses what happens after the deposition of organic matter, exploring the degradation, dissolution, and utilization of ancient organic material in soils, aquatic systems, and the deep subsurface. Petsch's research also examines the long-term fate of fossil organic matter in the geologic carbon cycle, microbe-rock-water interactions in subsurface environments, and anaerobic biodegradation processes related to methanogenesis. His interests extend to the interactions between chemical, physical, microbiological, and human processes in sedimentary and earth surface environments, as well as the global biogeochemical cycles of carbon, sulfur, and oxygen. He employs various analytical techniques for characterizing natural organic matter in geologic materials.

Research topics

• Geology
• Environmental chemistry
• Computer Science
• Earth science
• Chemistry
• Philosophy
• Inorganic chemistry
• Geochemistry
• Radiochemistry
• Materials science

Selected publications

• Using rhenium, δ¹⁸⁷Re, and RPO-¹⁴C to trace the fate of rock organic carbon in the Critical Zone

  Goldschmidt Abstracts · 2022

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Geology
  • Geochemistry
  • Earth science
  DOI

• Using rhenium and δ¹⁸⁷Re to trace the fate of rock organic carbon in the Critical Zone

  Goldschmidt Abstracts · 2021

  • Computer Science
  • Geology
  • Geochemistry
  DOI

Recent grants

• Collaborative Research: Assessing the Variability and Modification of Age, Character and Reactivity of Organic Carbon Delivered by Rivers and Estuaries to an Ocean Margin

  NSF · $230k · 2004–2008

• SGER: Offshore mobilization of aged floodplain organic matter in response to Hurricane Katrina

  NSF · $40k · 2005–2007

Frequent coauthors

• Anna M. Martini

  7 shared

• Peter A. Raymond

  4 shared

• Nina F. Caraco

  4 shared

• Jonathan J. Cole

  Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies

  4 shared

• James E. Bauer

  The Ohio State University

  4 shared

• Klaus Nüsslein

  University of Massachusetts Amherst

  3 shared

• Jennifer C. McIntosh

  University of Arizona

  3 shared

• Mathieu Dellinger

  Territoires

  2 shared

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• Vincent Rotelloh-132
• Steve Granickh-99
• Andrew McCallumh-89
• Zhu Chenh-85