Amy Larson Rhodes

Amy Rhodes is a low­-temperature environmental geochemist who teaches aqueous geochemistry in addition to a number of introductory geology courses. Prior to being a low-temperature geochemist, Rhodes studied the geochemistry of the El Laco magnetite deposits in northern Chile, advised by Naomi Oreskes.

Rhodes and her students investigate questions related to how human activities and environmental change affect the geochemistry of soils, surface water and groundwater. Recent projects include effects of forest succession on the geochemistry and nitrogen cycling of soils, with emphasis on the succession of Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) to Black Birch (Betula lenta) forest at the MacLeish Field Station. She is also helping to establish baseline water chemistry for residential drinking water wells located in northeastern Pennsylvania in advance of possible shale gas development.

Other projects have investigated the hydrogeochemistry of bogs and fens affected by road salt pollution and relationships between land use and water quality in watersheds located in Massachusetts and Monteverde, Costa Rica.

Rhodes is a steering committee member of Smith's Environmental Science and Policy Program and an environmental fellow with Smith's Center for the Environment, Ecological Design and Sustainability (CEEDS). She helped establish the MacLeish Field Station and chairs its advisory board.