Welcome to the Hodges Critical Zone Biogeochemistry Lab's website! We are critical zone scientists working at the interface of soil science and biogeochemistry; our lab pursues fundamental research into soil carbon cycle-weathering feedbacks, soil redox cycling, and the biogeochemical functioning of soils in the Anthropocene. We use the understandings gained from this fundamental work to address the challenges we face in a world of rapid environmental change. Specifically, our research addresses two of the grand challenges in the environmental sciences: the global C cycle and water quality.

My laboratory's research spans from mineral interactions at the micron scale across watersheds, linking soil to landscape processes. To pursue our research questions, we use both laboratory and field techniques, including traditional soil mineral extractions, field monitoring of elemental and nutrient fluxes, geophysical proximal sensing, and novel in situ sensor arrays. The diverse academic backgrounds of my collaborators and mentors have shaped my work, and our lab group continues to partner with ecologists, environmental engineers, geochemists, geographers, hydrologists, and electrochemists to pursue our research. These interdisciplinary approaches and interests lend themselves to an array of questions, both applied and fundamental, poised to address soil’s critical role of modulating element and nutrient fluxes across scales.

"Long before the University of Oklahoma was established, the land on which the University now resides was the traditional home of the “Hasinais” Caddo Nation and “Kirikirʔi:s” Wichita & Affiliated Tribes. We acknowledge this territory once also served as a hunting ground, trade exchange point, and migration route for the Apache, Comanche, Kiowa and Osage nations.
Today, 39 tribal nations dwell in the state of Oklahoma as a result of settler and colonial policies that were designed to assimilate Native people. The University of Oklahoma recognizes the historical connection our university has with its Indigenous community. We acknowledge, honor and respect the diverse Indigenous peoples connected to this land. We fully recognize, support and advocate for the sovereign rights of all of Oklahoma’s 39 tribal nations. This acknowledgement is aligned with our university’s core value of creating a diverse and inclusive community. It is an institutional responsibility to recognize and acknowledge the people, culture and history that make up our entire OU Community."

The Hodges lab recognizes that land acknowledgements are a bare minimum, and that allyship involves a life-long commitment to educating ourselves on how to disrupt systems of oppression and support the sovereignty of Native communities and Tribal Nations of Oklahoma.

See Whose Land You're On
Indigenous Ally Toolkit