Dr Ian B. Butler

ECOSSE Research Fellow in Experimental Geoscience. e-mail(ibutler@staffmail.ed.ac.uk) Phone: +44 (0) 131 650 5885 Fax: +44 (0) 131 668 3184 Qualifications: 1995 PhD Geochemistry "Framboid Formation". University of Wales, Cardiff 1990 BSc(Hons) Upper Second Class, Geochemistry. University of Reading Career: 2006 - present: Honorary Fellow, Institute of Petroleum Engineering, Heriot Watt University 2006 - present: ECOSSE Research Fellow, School of Geoscience, University of Edinburgh 2002 - 2005: Research Fellow in Geochemistry, School of Earth Science, Cardiff University 2000 - 2002: Leverhulme Special Research Fellow, School of Earth Science, Cardiff University 1998 - 2000: Postdoctoral Research Associate, School of Earth Science, Cardiff University 1996 - 1997: Postdoctoral Research Assistant, School of Ocean and Earth Science, Southampton University 1995 - 1996: Geology Research Fellow, School of Ocean and Earth Science, Southampton University 1993 - 1993: Visiting Researcher, School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, SUNY Stony-Brook, NY, USA.

Research Interests in Environmental Aqueous Geochemistry Experimental geoscience including the design and implementation of novel experimental and analytical equipment. Isotope geochemistry, including S, Fe and Cu isotope chemistry in anoxic environments Metal sulfide chemistry and mineralogy in low temperature anoxic aqueous environments Hydrothermal mineralisation at mid-ocean ridges and geothermal environments Experimental studies of fluid rock reaction processes. Prebiotic geochemistry and the origins of life on the early Earth.

Research Funding 2009 - 2012 Euro2.9M “Co2Solstock - biobased geological CO2 sequestration”. EU Framework 7 Future Emerging Technologies Network. Co-Investigator. 2008 - 2012 Euro440K “IMVUL - Towards improved aquifer vulnerability assessement”. EU Framework 7 MARIE CURIE Initial Training Network. Co-Investigator. 2008 - 2009 £13400 “Sulfur speciation and pyrite formation in Black Sea sediments”. NERC Isotope facility support. Principal Investigator 2008 - 2011 £100K “Validation and verification of discrete fracture flow models for fractured carbonate rocks” EPSRC/Exxonmobil Case studentship (as co-investigator) 2007 - 2008 £16,560 “Voltammetry and Spectroscopic equipment“ ERP Equipment Support via ECOSSE 2007 - 2010 £520,000 “Anoxic Transition Metal Isotope Geochemistry” NERC Standard Grant Principal Investigator 2006 - 2007 £2125 “High Pressure Nanomaterials” University of Edinburgh Small Project Grant Principal Investigator 2005 - 2006 £5300 Daresbury Synchrotron Radiation Source Beamtime " NiS mineralogy and FeS fast precipitation kinetics using X-ray diffraction and X-ray absorption spectroscopy" Co-Investigator 2000 - 2005 £751,000 “Experimental Sulfide Geochemistry” NERC Long Term Grant. Researcher Co-Investigator 2000 - 2002 £28,000 “FeS and the Early Development of Life” Leverhulme Special Research Fellowship. Prinicipal Investigator 1999 £1100 Royal Society Conference Travel Grant.

Research Associates and students:

Dr Marek Pekala 2007 - present. NERC pdra "Experimental Cu and Fe isotope geochemistry"
Romain Guilbaud 2007 - present. ECOSSE research student "Experimental Fe isotope fractionation and pyrite diagenesis"
Claudia Fricke (Heriot Watt University) 2008 - present. EPSRC/ExxonMobil research student in "Validation and verification of discrete fracture flow models for fractured carbonate rocks". (As co-supervisor)
Hanna Kurlanda 2009 - present. EU Marie Curie PhD student "Transport of metals in bioclogged porous media".
Dr Suyin Yang 2009 - present. Eu Marie Curie Research Associate "Novel applications of sensors to transport studies in porous media".

Other Academic Activities:

2008 - Geochemistry Editor, Central European Journal of Geoscience.
2008 - 2009 Invited member of the European Science Foundation Peer Review Pool.
2006 - 2009 Member of the committee of the Geochemistry Group of the Geological Society, London and the Mineralogical Society.
Aug 2006 External PhD Examiner, School of Engineering, University of Southampton.
Aug 2003 Co-convenor of the Geological Societies Fermor Flagship Meeting on "World Class Mineral Deposits and Earth Evolution" at Cardiff University and the National Galleries and Museum of Wales, Cardiff.
March 2003 External PhD Examiner, Faculty of Geosciences, University of Utrecht, Netherlands.
Aug - Oct 1994 Sulfide Petrologist, British-Russian Atlantic Vents Expedition, 1994 (BRAVEX94). RV Akademik Mstislav Keldysh.

Publications:

Books:

I. McDonald, A. Boyce, I.B. Butler, D. Polya and R. Herrington (Editors) 2005. World class mineral deposits and Earth evolution. Geological Society Special Publication, 248. pp263.

Peer Reviewed Journals:

Channing A. and Butler I.B. (2007) Cryogenic Silica Precipitation at Yellowstone Hot Springs, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 257, 121-131. pdf.

Rickard D., Grimes S.T. , Butler I.B., Oldroyd A. and Davies K.L. (2007) Botanical Constraints on Pyrite Formation. Chemical Geology. 236, 228-246

Wolthers M., Butler I.B. and Rickard D (2007) Influence of arsenic on iron sulfide transformations. Chemical Geology. 236, 217-227

Rickard D., Griffith A., Oldroyd A., Butler I.B., Lopez-Capel E., Manning D.A.C. and Apperley D.C. (2006) The composition of nanoparticulate mackinawite, tetragonal iron(II) monosulfide. Chemical Geology, 235(3-4), 286-298

Butler I.B., Archer C., Vance D., Oldroyd A., and Rickard D. (2005) Fe isotope fractionation on FeS formation in ambient aqueous solution. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 236(1-2), 430-442.

Wolthers M., Butler I.B., Rickard D., and Mason P. R. D. (2005) Arsenic uptake by pyrite at ambient environmental conditions: A continuous-flow experiment. In Advances in Arsenic Research, American Chemical Society Symposium Publication Vol. 915, pp. 60-76.

Butler I.B., Bottcher M.E., Rickard D. and Oldroyd A. (2004) Sulphur isotope partitioning during pyrite formation: implications for the interpretation of sedimentary and hydrothermal pyrite sulfur isotope compositions. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 228, 495-509.

Erlich S., Butler I.B., L.Halicz, D.Rickard, A.Oldroyd and A.Matthews. (2004) Experimental study of the copper isotope fractionation between aqueous Cu(II) and covellite, CuS. Chemical Geology, 209, 259- 269.

Grimes S.T., Davies K.L., Butler I.B., Brock F., Edwards D., Rickard R., Briggs D.E.G. and Parkes R.J. (2002) Fossil plants from the Eocene London Clay: the use of pyrite textures to determine the mechanism of pyritisation, Journal of the Geological Society 159 493-501

Rickard D., Butler I.B. and A. Oldroyd (2001) A novel iron sulphide mineral switch and its implications for Earth and planetary science, Earth and Planetary Science Letters 189 85-91

Pike J., Bernhard J.M., Moreton S.G. and Butler I.B. (2001) Microbioirrigation of marine sediments in dysoxic environments: implications for early sediment fabric formation and diagenetic processes, Geology, 29, 923-926

Butler I.B. and Rickard D. (2000) Framboidal pyrite formation via the oxidation of iron (II) monosulphide by hydrogen sulphide, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 64 2665-2672

Butler I.B. & Nesbitt R.W. (1999) Trace element distributions in the chalcopyrite wall of a young black smoker chimney: insights from laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, Earth and Planetary Science Letters 167 335-345. pdf

Butler I.B., Fallick A.E. & Nesbitt R.W. (1998) Mineralogy, Sulphur Isotope Geochemistry and the Development of Sulphide Structures at the Broken Spur Hydrothermal Vent Site, 29°10’N Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Journal of the Geological Society London 155 773-785. pdf

Nesbitt R.W., Hirata T., Butler I.B. & J.A. Milton (1998) UV laser ablation ICPMS; some applications in the Earth Sciences. Geostandards Newsletter 20 231-243.

Butler I.B., Schoonen M. A. A., and Rickard D. T. (1994) Removal of Dissolved-Oxygen from Water - a Comparison of 4 Common Techniques. Talanta 41(2), 211-215.

Other Publications:

Butler, I.B. and Nesbitt, R.W. Hydrothermal sulphides from the Broken Spur Vent Field, 29o10'N, Mid-Atlantic Ridge, BRIDGE Newsletter, 9, 1995, 24-28.

Butler, I.B. and Nesbitt, R.W. Trace metal distributions in Broken Spur sulphides revealed by laser ablation ICPMS techniques, BRIDGE Newsletter, No. 11, 1996, 40-44.

Recent Conference Abstracts:

Rapp J., Klemme S. and Butler I.B. (2007) Experimental Studies on Rutile Solubility. AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts

Asael D., Butler I.B., Matthews A., Rickard D. Bar-Matthews M. and Halicz L. (2006) 65Cu/63Cu fractionation during copper sulphide formation from iron sulphides in aqueous solution. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 70 (18, Suppl.1), A23

Butler I.B., Archer C., Erlich S., Vance D., Matthews A & Rickard D. (2004) Transition metal isotope fractionation on sulfide mineral precipitation. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 68, A219.

Butler I.B. & Rickard D. (2003) An anoxic chemostat for controlled sulfide mineral synthesis, Applied Earth Science (Trans. Inst. Min. Metall. B) 112, 181-182

Butler I.B., Archer C., Rickard D., Vance D. & Oldroyd A. (2003) Fe isotope fractionation during Fe(II) monosulfide precipitation from aqueous solutions at ambient temperatures, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 67, A51

Butler I.B., Bottcher M.E., Rickard D. & Oldroyd A. (2003) Sulfur Isotope Partitioning during pyrite formation, Abstr. Pap. Am. Chem. Soc. 225 GEOC12

Butler I.B., Rickard D., Grimes S.T. & Oldroyd A. (2003) Nucleation and growth of pyrite on pyrite seeds, Abstr. Pap. Am. Chem. Soc. 225 GEOC11

Butler I.B., Rickard D. & Oldroyd A. (2001) The effect of aldehydic carbonyls on iron sulfide biomineral formation, EOS Transactions of the American Geophysical Union 82(47) (2001) Abstract B22D-0177

Leisure Interests
Hill walking in the Lake District and Wales, landscape photography, the incomparable game of cricket (supporting Kent and England), rugby union (supporting Harlequins and England), real ale (card carrying CAMRA member), single malt and decent tucker.