Biography
Dr. Carmichael is a geochemist who specializes in fluid-rock reactions in both ancient and modern environments. Her current research explores the paleogeographic controls on Late Devonian mass extinctions, fluid-rock reactions in carbonates, the geomicrobiology of cave mineral deposits and acid mine drainage sites, and the role of microbes in manganese ore formation.
Dr. Carmichael is also a member of the Appalachian Studies Faculty and teaches introductory, interdisciplinary, and advanced undergraduate classes and is the faculty mentor for first generation students in the GES department. She recently won a Board of Governors Teaching Award in 2020. In addition, she became a National Geographic Explorer in 2018 and in 2022 was named one of the Explorers Club 50 - fifty people changing the world who the world needs to know about.
Education
- B.A. Smith College
- M.A. Johns Hopkins University
- Ph.D. Johns Hopkins University
Research Interests
- geomicrobiology of caves
- manganese mineralogy
- geochemistry of mass extinctions
- Late Devonian paleogeography and paleoenvironments
- fluid-rock reactions in carbonates
Courses Taught
- GES 1101 - Introduction to Physical Geology
- GES 2301 - Energy Extraction in Appalachia - Past, Present, and Future (cross-listed with Appalachian Studies)
- GLY 2750 - Preparation for Careers in the Earth and Environmental Sciences
- GES 2751 - Geology Field Methods
- GES 3715 - Petrology & Petrography
- GES 5500 - Geomicrobiology Research Methods
Website(s) and CV
- Dr. Carmichael's website
- DAGGER (Devonian Anoxia, Geochemistry, Geochronology, and Extinction Research) Team website
- Geomicrobiology group website
- Curriculum Vitae
Selected Recent Publications (* denotes student advisee)
Visit Dr. Carmichael's profile on Google Scholar.
- Ariuntogos, M., Königshof, P., Hartenfels, S., Jansen, U., Nazik, A., Carmichael, S. K., Waters, J. A., Sersmaa, G., Crônier, C., Ariunchimeg, Y., *Paschall, O. C., and *Dombrowski, A., 2020, The Hushoot Shiveetiin gol section (Baruunhuurai Terrane): Sedimentology and facies from a Late Devonian island arc setting. Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments (special issue: The Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB) during Late Devonian: new insights from southern Mongolia) (DOI: 10.1007/s12549-020-00445-0)
- Carmichael, S. K., Waters, J. A., Königsof, P., Suttner, T. J., & Kido, E. (2019). Paleogeography and paleoenvironments of the Late Devonian Kellwasser event: A review of its sedimentological and geochemical expression. Global and Planetary Change, 102984.
- *Paschall, O., Carmichael, S. K., Königshof, P., Waters, J. A., Ta, P. H., Komatsu, T., & *Dombrowski, A. (2019). The Devonian-Carboniferous boundary in Vietnam: Sustained ocean anoxia with a volcanic trigger for the Hangenberg Crisis?. Global and Planetary Change, 175, 64-81.
- Carmichael, S. K., Doctor, D. H., Wilson, C. G., *Feierstein, J., & McAleer, R. J. (2017). New insight into the origin of manganese oxide ore deposits in the Appalachian Valley and Ridge of northeastern Tennessee and northern Virginia, USA. GSA Bulletin, 129(9-10), 1158-1180.
- *Mara LC Cloutier, Sarah K Carmichael, Michael A Carson, Michael D Madrich, and Suzanna Bräuer, 2017, Carbon quantity and quality drives variation in cave microbial communities and regulates Mn(II) oxidation, Biogeochemistry, v. 134, p. 77–94

Title: Professor: Fluid-Rock Geochemistry and Biomineralogy, (she/her/hers)
Department: Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences
Email address: Email me
Phone: (828) 262-8471