People – Kristina Butler
I am a sedimentary geologist working on critical minerals, the tectonic evolution of mountains and sedimentary basins, and terrestrial climate proxy records. I study brine- and sediment-hosted critical mineral resources in sedimentary basins around the world. Currently I am working on lithium brine systems in the Salar de Atacama, Chile and Clayton Valley, Nevada as well as several new projects in oil field lithium-rich brines and lithium rich clays around North and South America. I also use the sedimentary record to understand how mountains and their basins formed through time. Currently I am working on the surface elevation history and uplift mechanisms of the Central Andes (Atacama Desert) and the earliest phase of Cretaceous Andean mountain building in Patagonia. I also study hydroclimate records from terrestrial proxies where I use sedimentary materials to reconstruct past surface environment conditions such a temperature, water chemistry, depositional systems, and elevation.
Kristina Butler, PhD
ROC 2.301K
Email: Kristina.Butler@utdallas.edu