GeOCHemISTea

About GeOCHemISTea

Every geoscientist is capable of understanding and applying geochemical data, however, at GeocHemiSTea we understand that there is an incredible amount of nuance and accumulated knowledge. We are here to break down the impediments towards geoscientists learning more about this exciting field! Are you a student wanting to break into the field? Listen to each episode to see how reknown geochemists got to where they are today. Are you intrigued by integrating geochemistry, but don't know how? Stay tuned! Lastly are you looking for some Tea/good gossip? We got it.

Publisher

Sam Scher

Category

science

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

18 Apr 2022

Latest episode

23 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

58 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   23 Sept 2026

   What If We Treated Waste Like Ore with Anita Parbhakar-Fox

   What if we treated mine waste with the same curiosity and rigor as the orebody itself? This month on GeOCHemISTea, Sam sits down with Dr. Anita Parbhakar-Fox to talk about rethinking mine waste across the life of mine. From environmental geometallurgy and waste characterization to valorization, closure planning, and the push toward net-zero mine waste, Anita challenges us to stop seeing waste as an afterthought. Plus, over tea, we dig into the geoscience skills shortage, the pressures facing educators, and why inspiring the next generation requires supporting the people teaching them. For this episode we read: Action Versus Reaction: How Geometallurgy Can Improve Mine Waste Management Across the Life-Of-Mine (Parbhakar-Fox and Baumgartner, 2023) (https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/msa/elements/article/19/6/371/632495/Action-Versus-Reaction-How-Geometallurgy-Can)War on mine waste (Parbhakar-Fox, 2023) (https://smi.uq.edu.au/blog/2023/08/war-on-mine-waste) MIWATCH Blog (https://smi.uq.edu.au/blog/miwatch-updates)

2. 

   2 Sept 2026

   From Hand Samples to Satellites: Geochemistry with Brenda Bowen

   In this episode of GeOCHemISTea, Sam talks with Dr. Brenda Bowen, Professor of Geology and Geophysics at the University of Utah, about using remote sensing to understand geochemistry at the scale of entire landscapes. Brenda traces her work from the Navajo Sandstone and ancient fluid-flow systems to modern salt flats, desert environments, and Mars analogs. We explore how multispectral and hyperspectral data can map mineralogy, how minerals preserve records of water and environmental change, and how surface halite can even provide clues about groundwater depth. We also talk about interdisciplinary science, unexpected career paths, fieldwork, and why some of the most interesting discoveries happen when geochemistry connects with hydrology, microbiology, ecology, and remote sensing.For this episode we read: Multispectral Surface Reflectance as an Indicator of Groundwater Depth for Salt Crust Systems: Insights From the Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah (Radwin et al., 2026) (https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2025EA004538) Bleaching of Jurassic Navajo Sandstone on Colorado Plateau Laramide highs: Evidence of exhumed hydrocarbon supergiants? (Beitler et al., 2003) (https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/geology/article-abstract/31/12/1041/29170/Bleaching-of-Jurassic-Navajo-Sandstone-on-Colorado?redirectedFrom=fulltext) Southwestern Australia Acid-Saline Mineralogy: Observations From Reflectance Spectroscopy (Radwin et al., 2023) (https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10119550) Fracture-focused fluid flow in an acid and redox-influenced system: diagenetic controls on cement mineralogy and geomorphology in the Navajo Sandstone (Bell and Bowen, 2014) (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/gfl.12075) Decadal‐Scale Trajectories of Land Cover Change Along the Colorado and San Juan Rivers in Response to Declining Water Storage in Lake Powell Reservoir (Kasprak et al., 2026) (https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2025JG009355) Mapping mineralogy in evaporite basins through time using multispectral Landsat data: Examples from the Bonneville basin, Utah, USA (Radwin and Bowen, 2020) (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/348962730_Mapping_mineralogy_in_evaporite_basins_through_time_using_multispectral_Landsat_data_Examples_from_the_Bonneville_basin_Utah_USA) Shrinking salt crusts of the Bonneville Basin, Utah: Observations from multispectral remote sensing (2025) (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169555X25003691)

3. 

   21 Jul 2026

   The Fallacy of the Deep with Mark Arundell

   Is the next generation of mineral discoveries really hiding at extreme depths, or have we overlooked opportunities much closer to the surface? In this episode, Sam sits down with returning guest Mark Arundell, geoscientist and geochemical consultant, to challenge one of exploration's most widely accepted assumptions: that bigger discoveries require deeper drilling. Together they explore the "fallacy of the deep," discuss why statistics matter when interpreting exploration success, and examine how integrating geology, geochemistry, geophysics, and modern analytical techniques can unlock value from legacy datasets. They also share insights from consulting, near-miss exploration, and why asking better questions often leads to better discoveries. In this episode: Why the "deeper is better" narrative became so influential Average vs. median discovery depths and why the difference matters The untapped potential of the first 100 metres Using modern multi-element geochemistry to reinterpret historic data How legacy drill core and pulps can create new exploration opportunities The psychology of exploration and why expensive targets often seem more attractive When deep drilling is justified—and when it is not Practical advice for designing smarter exploration programs As always, we bridge our intro and geochem sections with Tea Time, where Mark shares a memorable airport security story and Sam offers one of her favorite travel hacks.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

376

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

3 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

20 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 40 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

20

Social presence

0

YouTube

66

Engagement

85

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Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.