Nicole Fernandez

Nicole Fernandez is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Cornell University, where she joined in January 2022. She holds a B.A. in Earth Sciences from Boston University (2015) and a Ph.D. in Geology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2020). Prior to her faculty role, she was a Cornell Provost’s Faculty Postdoctoral Fellow and a visiting scientist at ENSEGID (Institut Polytechnique de Bordeaux in France). Her research focuses on low-temperature geochemistry, integrating experimental and numerical modeling to study fluid-rock interactions, global water cycles, and their responses to climate change and land use alterations.

Her work spans scales from mineral-water interfaces to regional river basins, leveraging stable isotopes and trace elements to trace biogeochemical and hydrologic processes. Key interests include silicate weathering dynamics, geochemical tracers in environmental systems, and planetary analog studies for Mars. Fernandez leads the Fernandez Research Group, advancing interdisciplinary approaches at the Cornell University Borehole Observatory (CUBO) and Sagehen Creek Basin, among other field sites.

Her recent publications emphasize coupled geophysical-geochemical modeling, wildfire impacts on critical zone biogeochemistry, and Mars analog environments. She actively promotes diversity in geosciences through outreach initiatives like the YouTube series "Every Rock Has A Story."

Research collaborations span global hydrology, subsurface carbon dynamics, and trace element cycling, reflecting her commitment to addressing Earth systems under climate change. Her work bridges laboratory experiments, field observations, and computational modeling to address pressing environmental questions.