Dr. Chris Ballentine is the chair of
geochemistry and head of the
Department of Earth Sciences at the
University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. He uses properties of the noble gases to understand the origin and evolution of
Earth's atmosphere and
mantle
A mantle is a piece of clothing, a type of cloak. Several other meanings are derived from that.
Mantle may refer to:
*Mantle (clothing), a cloak-like garment worn mainly by women as fashionable outerwear
**Mantle (vesture), an Eastern Orthodox ve ...
.
Career
Ballentine earned his Ph.D. at the
University of Cambridge in 1992. He went on to hold research positions at the
Paul Scherrer Institut, Switzerland, the
University of Michigan, and
ETH Zurich
(colloquially)
, former_name = eidgenössische polytechnische Schule
, image = ETHZ.JPG
, image_size =
, established =
, type = Public
, budget = CHF 1.896 billion (2021)
, rector = Günther Dissertori
, president = Joël Mesot
, ac ...
, Switzerland. From 2001 to 2013, he held positions at the
University of Manchester before joining the faculty at the
University of Oxford.
Ballentine has held the vice president, president, and past president positions with the
European Association of Geochemistry The European Association of Geochemistry (EAG) is a pan-European organization founded to promotes geochemical research. The EAG organizes conferences, meetings and educational courses for geochemists in Europe, including the Goldschmidt Conference w ...
. He is a member of the Board of Governors of the
Oxford Museum of Natural History and the
American Geophysical Union, as well as a former scientific steering committee member for the
Deep Carbon Observatory
The Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO) is a global research program designed to transform understanding of carbon's role in Earth. DCO is a community of scientists, including biologists, physicists, geoscientists and chemists, whose work crosses sever ...
. In 2008, he won the
Geological Society of London Bigsby medal for significant contributions to geology. The AGU chose Ballentine as a Fellow in 2013, and in 2016, he won the
Eni Award
The Eni Award is a prize awarded by the Italian oil and gas company Eni with the aim of encouraging better use of energy sources and increased environmental research. The strict award guidelines and the notable names on the selection committee (in ...
, given to researchers who make advanced scientific breakthroughs in the field of energy, for "New Frontiers of Hydrocarbons".
Research initiatives
Ballentine has shown that by measuring
noble gas isotopes, he can identify and quantify the processes controlling the origin, migration, and interaction of subsurface water, hydrocarbons, and fluids.
He has applied noble gas tools and principles to understand how natural gas fields form inside Earth, the role of groundwater in forming hydrocarbon reservoirs, and the origins of different gases on the planet. Ballentine also has developed quantitative techniques to understand how carbon dioxide behaves in the subsurface, including its role in the crustal carbon cycle, and how carbon-rich fluids have supported subsurface life over geological timescales.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballentine, Chris
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Geochemists
Fellows of St Hugh's College, Oxford