With this project we aim to elucidate the relationship between bedrock and human health in Oklahoma.

Historically, populations settled in areas with productive soils for agriculture and suitable land for urban development. This suitability of soils and land for settlement is, among other things, a function of the physical and chemical characteristics of the bedrock and regolith. Just as settlement is not random across space, it is also not random across society. Through the processes of racism, colonialism, and classism, oppressed peoples have been pushed onto land with less desirable qualities such as poor bedrock, infertile soils with low crop yields, and high susceptibility to disasters, among others.  Thus, the type of bedrock and regolith different populations reside upon in the present day—which is not random and a product of historical and present-day social forces—is likely a key determinant of water quality and health equity at a population level. 

I am currently recruiting undergraduate and graduate assistants to assist with the field and laboratory work associated with this project.