Nai-Chen ChenPost-doctoral researcher
About me
My research interests lie at the intersection of marine geochemistry and environmental science, with a particular focus on fluid dynamics —specifically submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) and cold seeps— and their environmental impacts. I am especially fascinated by the complex interactions between fluids and rock enclosures. My study approach integrates field measurements with modeling/simulation, utilizing dissolved ions/molecules concentrations, sediment leaching, isotope tracers, and advanced sensor technologies to constrain the carbon budget and understand abiotic and biotic processes, and further evaluate their influence on environment, which forms the core of my research.
I used to focus on investigation of migrations of deep fluids and their effect on biogeochemical processes in marine subsurface environment. The overall goal is to investigate sources and sinks of methane, water, and carbon dioxide and quantify fluxes for each process in accretionary prism. My current published study is about SGD at coastal Baltic Sea region. The well distributed marine terraces along Stockholm Archipelago, Gulf of Finland, and offshore south of Sweden have been hypothesized that its formation potentially links to submarine groundwater discharge. By using radio isotopes as tracers (14C and 222Rn), we found groundwater could infiltrate into glacial clay and even discharge into the Baltic Sea. Because groundwater hydrological gradient changes with time, the redox condition in coastal environment also varies, resulting in several biotic and abiotic processes occurring and accumulation of degraded and weathering products. In the following phase, I want to uncover the mechanisms that trigger alkalinity accumulation in glacial clay, which could potentially influence the CO2 absorption capability of the Baltic Sea through groundwater transportation.