Associate Professor Profile Image
Associate Professor Earth and Atmospheric Sciences rkettler1@unl.edu 402-472-0882 321 Bessey Hall

I am interested in the geochemistry iron, carbon, sulfur, and some simple organic molecules.

By measuring the thermodynamic properties of polyfunctional carboxylic acids we can supply fundamental data for geochemical modeling, better understand the biogeochemistry of thermoacidophilic microbes, provide constraints for the chemistry of meteorite parent bodies, and perhaps learn something about the origin of life. We can also learn some interesting things about the fundamental chemistry of organic acids in aqueous and organic solvents.

By examining the chemistry of Fe-C-S in rocks we can learn about sedimentary diagenesis, ocean chemistry, and how those factors control the distribution of certain types of important ore deposits.

Those students that have worked with me have made significant progress on their career goals. My students have had undergraduate degrees in Geology, Chemistry, and the Biological Sciences. If you want to attack interesting problems using geochemical approaches, we can teach you what you need to know.

Selected Publications

  • McAlister J.A. and Kettler R.M, 2008, Metastable equilibrium among dicarboxylic acids and the oxidation state during aqueous alteration on the CM2 chondrite parent body, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 72, 233-241, doi:10.1016/j.gca.2007.10.008.
  • Velázquez M.R., Palmer D.A. and Kettler R.M, 2006, Isopiestic determination of the osmotic coefficient of XH2SO4+(1-X)Fe2(SO4)3 aqueous solutions at 298.15 and 323.15 K, Journal of Solution Chemistry, 35, 1699-1730, doi:10.1007/s10953-006-9091-4.
  • Kettler R.M., 2000, Roles of organic matter in epigenetic and exhalative deposits, in Ore genesis and exploration: the roles of organic matter (edited by Giordano, T.H., Kettler, R.M., and Wood, S.A. (eds.)), 301-313.
  • Ridley M.K., Wesolowski D.J., Palmer D.A. and Kettler R.M., 1999, Association quotients of aluminum sulphate complexes in NaCl media from 50 to 125, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 63, 459-472, doi:10.1016/S0016-7037(99)00016-2.
  • Kettler R.M., Wesolowski D.J. and Palmer D.A., 1998, Dissociation quotients of oxalic acid in aqueous sodium chloride and sodium trifluoromethanesulfonate media to 175, Journal of Chemical and Engineering Data, 43, 337-350., doi:10.1021/je970195z.
  • Ridley M.K., Wesolowski D.J., Palmer D.A. and Kettler R.M., 1998, Potentiometric and solubility studies of association quotients of aluminum malonate complexation in NaCl media to 75, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta., 62, 2279-2291., doi:10.1016/S0016-7037(98)00143-4.
  • Ridley M.K., Wesolowski D.J., Palmer D.A., Bénézeth P. and Kettler R.M., 1997, Effect of sulphate on the release rate of Al3+ from gibbsite in low temperature acidic waters.