Marion Louvel

I am an experimental geochemist.
My work focuses on developing a better understanding of geological fluids and their role in the formation of ore deposits.
Especially, I try to understand how the rock they originate from and the pressure and temperature at which they circulate may enable them to scavenge and transport metals (Cu, Au, Zn, Pb, REE), up to the point that they can no longer do it and precipitate metal-rich ore minerals.
Because geological fluids are extremely difficult to sample and analyse, I use different machines that enable us to reproduce the P-T conditions that prevail in the Earth's crust and magma chambers and study analog fluids directly in the laboratory. I conduct most of my analyses at synchrotron sources, which are large X-ray facilities that enable us to probe the behavior of metals in fluids, down to a molecular level.