Research

Fluid flow and geologic processes; the physical and chemical evolution of natural fluid flow systems at large scales (sedimentary basins) and small scales (coastal settings); sedimentary diagenesis; controls on the rate and distribution of chemical reactions in the subsurface; transient, variable-density fluid flow; reactive-transport modeling.

Knowledge of flow and transport in the subsurface is critical for understanding problems as diverse as sedimentary diagenesis, carbon sequestration in deep sedimentary basins, acute dieback in coastal salt marshes, and nutrient export to the coastal ocean. Current projects include groundwater dynamics and ecohydrology in a salt marshes (North Inlet) and coastal islands (Sapelo Island), large-scale coastal flow systems, including the continental shelf (US Southeast Atlantic coastline, Gulf of Mexico), and brine migration in the Alberta Basin, Canada

Classes

GEOL 205 Earth Resources (Fall, even-numbered years)

GEOL 315 Surface and Near-Surface Processes (Spring, even years)

GEOL 570 Environmental Hydrogeology (Fall, odd-numbered years)

GEOL 774 Solute Transport in Geologic Media (Spring, odd-numbered years)

Publications

Wilson, A. M., and Carolyn Ruppel (2007) Salt tectonics and shallow subseafloor fluid convection: models of coupled fluid-heat-salt transport. Geofluids (available online 7/2007).

Thornton, M. M. and Alicia M. Wilson (2007) Topography-driven flow versus buoyancy-driven flow in the U.S. mid-continent: implications for the residence time of brines, Geofluids, 7, 69-78.

Gardner, Leonard R., and Alicia M Wilson (2006) Comparison of four numerical models for simulating seepage from salt marsh sediments. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 69, 427-437.

Wilson, A. M., and L. R. Gardner (2006), Tidally driven groundwater flow and solute exchange in a marsh: Numerical simulations, Water Resour. Res., 42, W01405, doi:10.1029/2005WR004302

Wilson A. M., and L. R. Gardner (2005), Comment on “Subsurface flow and vegetation patterns in tidal environments” by Nadia Ursino, Sonia Silvestri, and Marco Marani, Water Resour. Res., 41, W07021, doi:10.1029/2004WR003554.

Moore, Willard S., and Alicia M. Wilson (2005) Advective flow through the upper continental shelf driven by storms, buoyancy, and submarine groundwater discharge. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Volume 235, Issues 3-4, 15 July 2005, 564-576.

Wilson, Alicia M. (2005), Fresh and saline groundwater discharge to the ocean: A regional perspective. Water Resources Research, v. 41, W02016, doi:10.1029/2004WR003399.

Hoffman, J, S.A. Leake, D.L. Galloway, and A.M. Wilson (2003) MODFLOW-2000 ground-water model – User guide to the Subsidence and Aquifer-System Compaction (SUB) Package. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 03-233, 44 p.

Wilson, Alicia M. (2003), The occurrence and chemical implications of geothermal convection in continental shelves: Geophysical Research Letters, v. 30, no. 21, 2127, doi:10.1029/2003GL018499

Wilson, Alicia M., Thomas Fenstemaker, and John M. Sharp, Jr. (2003) Abnormally-pressured beds as barriers to diffusive mass transport in sedimentary basins. Geofluids 3(3), p. 203-212.

Whitaker, Fiona F., Gareth Jones, Ward Sanford, Peter Smart, and Alicia M. Wilson (2002), Hydrology, geochemistry and diagenetic potential of saline groundwater: field results from the Bahamas and model studies: Special Publication of the Karst Waters Institute no. 7, p. 124-128.

Keller, Arturo A., Patricia Holden, and Alicia M. Wilson (2002) Modelling the seasonal variation in bioavailability of residual NAPL in the vadose zone, in Groundwater quality; natural and enhanced restoration of groundwater. S. F. Thornton and S. E. Oswald, eds., IAHS-AISH Publication vol. 275, p. 133-139.

Wilson, Alicia M., Ward Sanford, Fiona Whitaker, and Peter Smart (2001), Spatial patterns of diagenesis during geothermal convection in carbonate platforms: American Journal of Science, v. 301, p. 727-752.

Wilson, Alicia M., James R. Boles, and Grant Garven (2000), Calcium mass transport and diagenesis during compaction-driven flow in the San Joaquin Basin, California: GSA Bulletin, v. 112, no. 6, p. 845-856.

Wilson, Alicia M., Ward Sanford, Fiona Whitaker, and Peter Smart (2000), Geothermal convection: a mechanism for dolomitization at Enewetak Atoll?: Journal of Geochemical Exploration, v. 69-70, no. 1-3, p. 41-45.

Wilson, Alicia M., Grant Garven, and James R. Boles (1999), Paleohydrogeology of the San Joaquin Basin, California: GSA Bulletin, v. 111, No. 3, pp. 432-449.

Wilson, Alicia M., and Steven Gorelick (1996), The effects of pulsed pumping on land subsidence in the Santa Clara Valley, California: Journal of Hydrology, Vol. 184, No. 3-4, p. 375-396.