Paul W. Volante
Paul Volante is a Physical Scientist with the USGS Geology, Energy & Minerals (GEM) Science Center in Reston, VA.
As a physical scientist at the U.S. Geological Survey, I currently work on a variety of projects involving mineral resource assessments, chemical analysis of rocks containing vanadium and graphite resources, and Raman spectroscopy of organic sedimentary materials. I have a background in stable isotope and radioactive isotope geochemistry.
During my graduate work, I applied traditional isotope-ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) and Orbitrap mass spectrometry to improve position-specific isotope analysis (PSIA) techniques for carbon-13 analysis. In undergrad, I studied radioactive isotopes from atomic weapon detonations in lake sediments, vegetation, and honey samples to create age-models of lake sediments and to track biogeochemical processes.