Stable isotopes are my tool of choice for investigating biogeochemical processes from single cells to global biogeochemical cycles and from today's environment to Earth's geologic past. I am interested in how biologic networks influence their life environment and how external forcing affects biologic communities in their mode of function and biologic composition.

• Ph D in Biogeochemistry, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (2004)
• MS in Geology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (1999)

• Two modes of gypsum replacement by carbonate and native sulfur in the Lorca Basin, SE Spain Frontiers in Earth Science 11 (2023), Simon E. Rouwendaal, Daniel Birgel, Vincent Grossi, Giovanni Aloisi, Laetitia Guibourdenche, Amanda L. Labrado, Benjamin Brunner, Jean-Marie Rouchy, Jörn Peckmann.
• Hydrocarbon seepage in the mid-Cretaceous greenhouse world: A new perspective from southern Tibet Global and Planetary Change 208 (2022), Hanwei Yao, Xi Chen, Benjamin Brunner, Daniel Birgel, Yang Lu, Huifang Guo, Chengshan Wang, Jörn Peckmann.
• A novel authigenic magnetite source for sedimentary magnetization Geology (2021), Zhiyong Lin, Xiaoming Sun, Andrew P. Roberts, Harald Strauss, Yang Lu, Xin Yang, Junli Gong, Guanhua Li, Benjamin Brunner, Jörn Peckmann.
• Potential Bioavailability of Crystallization Water in Sulfate Minerals Under Water-Restricted ConditionsÑA Case Study of Gypsum Interdunes in the Tularosa Basin, New Mexico Brines in the Solar System: Modern Brines 2614 (2021), Jie (Gail) Xu, BN Lajoie, Benjamin Brunner, H Afrin, Richard P. Langford, O Fernandez Delgado, E Cantando, Gail Arnold.
• Potential Bioavailability of Crystallization Water in Sulfate Minerals Under Water-Restricted ConditionsÑA Case Study of Gypsum Interdunes in the Tularosa Basin, New Mexico Brines in the Solar System: Modern Brines 2614 (2021), Jie (Gail) Xu, BN Lajoie, Benjamin Brunner, H Afrin, Richard P. Langford, O Fernandez Delgado, E Cantando, Gail Arnold.
• Microbialite occurence and patterns in Holocene reefs of Bora Bora, Society Islands PALAIOS 35 6 (2020), Eberhard Gischler, Daniel Birgel, Benjamin Brunner, Jörn Peckmann.
• Assessing the application of trace metals as paleoproxies and a chemostratigraphic tool in carbonate systems: A case study from the “Mississippian Limestone” of the midcontinent, United States Marine and Petroleum Geology 112 (2020), J. W. Steinmann, G. M. Grammer, Benjamin Brunner, C. K. Jones, N. Riedinger.
• Considerations in the application of machine learning to aqueous geochemistry: Origin of produced waters in the northern U.S. Gulf Coast Basin Applied Computing and Geosciences 3-4 (2019), Mark Engle, Benjamin Brunner.
• Considerations in the application of machine learning to aqueous geochemistry: Origin of produced waters in the northern U.S. Gulf Coast Basin Applied Computing and Geosciences 3-4 (2019), Mark Engle, Benjamin Brunner.
• Characteristics and Evolution of sill-driven off-axis hydrothermalism in Guaymas Basin – the Ringvent site Scientific Reports 9 1 (2019), Andreas Teske, Luke J. McKay, Ana C. Ravelo, Ivano Aiello, Carlos Mortera, Fernando Núñez-Useche, Carles Canet, Jeffrey P. Chanton, Benjamin Brunner, Christian Hensen, Gustavo A. Ramírez, Ryan J. Sibert, Tiffany Turner, Dylan White, Christopher R. Chambers, Andrew Buckley, Samantha B. Joye, S. A. Soule, Daniel Lizarralde.
• Synthesizing Old Questions with New Developments in Caprock Research: Is it Time to Abandon Well-Trodden Paths? 2019 GCS-SEPM Perkins Conference; SALT TECTONICS, ASSOCIATED PROCESSES AND EXPLORATION POTENTIAL: REVISITED: 1989-2019 (2019), Benjamin Brunner, Amanda L. Labrado, Gail Arnold, Julia Astromovich, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Kate A. Giles.
• Synthesizing Old Questions with New Developments in Caprock Research: Is it Time to Abandon Well-Trodden Paths? 2019 GCS-SEPM Perkins Conference; SALT TECTONICS, ASSOCIATED PROCESSES AND EXPLORATION POTENTIAL: REVISITED: 1989-2019 (2019), Benjamin Brunner, Amanda L. Labrado, Gail Arnold, Julia Astromovich, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Kate A. Giles.
• CARBONATES ADJACENT TO GYPSUM IN THE PARADOX BASIN - OH CAPROCK, WHEREFORE ART THOU? Geological Society of America Annual Meeting 2019 (in press), Amanda Labrado, Benjamin Brunner, Kate A. Giles.
• IDENTIFICATION AND CLASSIFICATION OF LATERAL CARBONATE CAPROCK: GYPSUM VALLEY SALT WALL, PARADOX BASIN, COLORADO Geological Society of America Annual Meeting 2019 (2019), Piper Poe, Kate A. Giles, Benjamin Brunner, Rachelle Kernen.
• IDENTIFICATION AND CLASSIFICATION OF LATERAL CARBONATE CAPROCK: GYPSUM VALLEY SALT WALL, PARADOX BASIN, COLORADO Geological Society of America Annual Meeting 2019 (2019), PIPER L. Poe, Kate A. Giles, Benjamin Brunner, RACHELLE A. KERNEN.
• IDENTIFICATION AND CLASSIFICATION OF LATERAL CARBONATE CAPROCK: GYPSUM VALLEY SALT WALL, PARADOX BASIN, COLORADO Geological Society of America Annual Meeting 2019 (2019), PIPER L. Poe, Kate A. Giles, Benjamin Brunner, RAHELLE A. KERNEN.
• Formation of Large Native Sulfur Deposits Does Not Require Molecular Oxygen Frontiers in Microbiology 10 (2019), Amanda L. Labrado, Benjamin Brunner, Stefano M. Bernasconi, Jörn Peckmann.
• Cerium Levels in Coarse and Fine Airborne Particulate Matter in El Paso, Texas, U.S.A. Journal of Atmospheric Pollution (2019), Esenam A. Fumador, Maria A. Amaya, Benjamin Brunner, Juan W. Clague, Wen-Whai Li, Hector A. Olvera, Marianne Berwick, Scott W. Burchiel, Nicholas E. Pingitore.

• Geothermal Power & Direct Lithium Extraction (2023), Volume The University of Texas at El Paso, Benjamin Brunner, Hermann Lebit, Jose L. Banuelos, Eva M. Deemer, Mark Engle, Judith Hoyt, Natalya Kharitonova, Mya Valenzuela.
• Revealing The Rare Earth Element (REE) Inventory Of Caprock On Salt Diapirs (2023), Volume The University of Texas at El Paso, Antonio Arribas, Benjamin Brunner, Kate A. Giles, Evey Gannaway Dalton, Amanda L. Labrado, Gloria Ortiz Gamboa, Charles Igomu, Jose Franco Moraga, Rebecca Navarrette, Paola Salas Rivera, Mya Valenzuela, Madison Woelfel.
• Geothermal Power & Direct Lithium Extraction (2023), Volume Houston, Texas, Hermann Lebit, Benjamin Brunner.
• Carbon-neutral dreams in and for El Paso (2023), Volume Geological Sciences Building, UTEP, Benjamin Brunner.
• The many flavors of carbonates associated with salt diapirs (2022), Volume Las Cruzes, NM, Benjamin Brunner.
• Potential Bioavailability of Crystallization Water in Sulfate Minerals Under Water-Restricted Conditions — A Case Study of Gypsum Interdunes in the Tularosa Basin, New Mexico (2021), Volume Virtual, Jie Xu, Brandon N. Lajoie, Benjamin Brunner, Afrin H, Rip Langford, Fernandez-Delgado O, Cantando E, L. Arnold.
• Caprock in Gypsum Valley (2021), Volume Zoom, Benjamin Brunner, Amanda L. Labrado, Tricia Tellez.
• Authigenic nanoscale magnetite within methanic marine sediments (2021), Volume Virtual, Zhiyong Lin, Xiaoming Sun, Andrew Roberts, Harald Strauss, Benjamin Brunner, Jörn Peckmann.
• Dolostone Caprock in Gypsum Valley - The Paradox Deepens (2021), Volume UTEP El Paso, Benjamin Brunner, Amanda L. Labrado, Tricia Tellez.
• All Things Caprock (2020), Benjamin Brunner, Amanda Labrado, Valeria Molina, Trisia Tellez.
• Light and Dark in the Land of Caprock – News from Gypsum Valley, Colorado (2020), Benjamin Brunner, Amanda Labrado, Valeria Molina, Trisia Tellez, Stefano Bernasconi, Joern Peckmann.
• The Tale of Two Hydrocarbons – News from Damon Mound, Texas (2020), Amanda Labrado, Benjamin Brunner, Antoine Cremiere, Stefano Bernasconi, Joern Peckmann, Kate A. Giles.
• Cryptic carbon and sulfur cycling in sediments – a waste of energy that leaves no trace? (2020), Volume Galveston, Texas, Benjamin Brunner.
• Some like it hot: formation temperatures of carbonate caprock formation
 (2020), Volume Galveston, Texas, Amanda L. Labrado, Benjamin Brunner, Antoine Cremiere, Stefano M. Bernasconi, Kate A. Giles.
• Identification of microbially mediated formation of Carbonate Caprock at Salt Domes (2020), Volume Galveston, Texas, Amanda L. Labrado, Benjamin Brunner, Kate A. Giles.
• Synthesizing old questions with new developments in caprock research: is it time to abandon well-trodden paths? (2019), Volume Houston, Texas, Benjamin Brunner, , Gail Arnold, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Kate A. Giles.
• Thermochemical or bacterial sulfate reduction: determining the driver of native sulfur formation in the subsurface (2019), Volume San Francisco, CA, Amanda L. Labrado, Benjamin Brunner, Antoine Cremiere, Stefano M. Bernasconi, Kate A. Giles.
• Rocking it at the limits of life (2019), Volume Department of Geological Sciences, Benjamin Brunner.
• Geochemical fingerprints of anaerobic native sulfur formation in the subsurface (2019), Volume Seattle, WA, Amanda L. Labrado, Benjamin Brunner, Antoine Cremiere, Stefano M. Bernasconi, Kate A. Giles.
• Carbonate caprock as archive of fluid flow Part I: Genesis of native sulfur (2019), Volume Houston, Texas, Amanda L. Labrado, Benjamin Brunner.
• Carbonate caprock as archive of fluid flow Part II: Temperatures of caprock formation (2019), Volume Houston, Texas, Benjamin Brunner, Amanda L. Labrado.
• Carbonate caprock as archive of fluid flow: Temperatures of caprock formation (2019), Volume Houston, Texas, Benjamin Brunner, , .
• Carbonate caprock as archive of fluid flow: Temperatures of caprock formation (2019), Volume Houston, Texas, Benjamin Brunner, , .

• IMPLEMENTATION GRANT: COMMUNITY-DRIVEN INCLUSIVE EXCELLENCE AND LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES IN THE GEOSCIENCES (CIELO-G)
• Can Phototrophy-Driven Sulfur Cycling Make Crystallization Water of Gypsum Bioavailable? – Defining a New Habitability Index for Gypsum-Dominated Extreme Environments
• Salt-Sediment Interaction Research Consortium