DAVID BISH

Professor of Geology
Department of Geological Sciences, Indiana University
1001 E. 10th St., Bloomington IN 47405
Phone: 812-855-2039; fax: 812-855-7899
bish@indiana.edu

Research Interests:

Dehydration/rehydration behavior of hydrous silicate and sulfate/chloride salt minerals under simulated Martian surface conditions.
Experimental measurement of the thermodynamics of water in hydrous minerals
Experimental determination of the surface properties of clay minerals
Importance of clay and zeolite minerals in radioactive waste applications.
Determination of mineral crystal structures using X-ray and neutron powder diffraction methods

Representative Papers:

D. L. Bish, J. W. Carey, D. T. Vaniman, S. J. Chipera  (2003) Stability of hydrous minerals on the martian surface.  Icarus, 164, 96-103.

W. C. Feldman, T. H. Prettyman, S. Maurice, J. J. Plaut, D. L. Bish, D. T. Vaniman, M. T. Mellon, A. E. Metzger, S. W. Squyres, S. Karunatillake, W. V. Boynton, R. C. Elphic, H. O. Funsten, D. J. Lawrence, and R. L. Tokar (2003) Global distribution of near-surface hydrogen on Mars.  J. Geophys. Res., 109, E09006, 13 pp.

D. T. Vaniman, D. L. Bish, S. J. Chipera, C. I. Fialips, J. W. Carey, and W. Feldman (2004) Magnesium sulphate salts and the history of water on Mars.  Nature, 431, 663-665.

T. Tokano and D. L. Bish (2005) Hydration state and abundance of zeolites on Mars and the water cycle.  J. Geophys. Res., 110, E12S08, doi:10.1029/2005JE002410.

Recent Projects: 

1. Development of a miniaturized X-ray diffraction/X-ray fluorescence instrument for exploration of Mars (CHEMIN). 
2. Quantification of the surface properties of clay minerals and implications for their use in environmental applications. 
3. Use of X-ray powder diffraction to determine quantitative mineralogic abundances in complex mixtures.  
4. Experimental determination of the hydration and dehydration behavior of potential Martian surface hydrous minerals.