Dorothy J. Vesper is a Professor of Geology at West Virginia University. She has a B.S. degree (Geology) from Juniata College, and M.S. (Environmental Pollution Control) and Ph.D. (Geosciences) degrees from Penn State. She’s broadly trained as a geochemist and hydrogeologist with a focus on applied problems. Her perspective stems from a combination of geochemistry research and more than 10 years in the environmental consulting industry. Dr. Vesper’s current research is focused on aqueous and sediment geochemistry in both karst settings and coal mines. Active projects look at contaminant fate and transport in karst terrains, the geochemistry of cave sediments, temperature as a proxy for sustainability of spring waters, carbon and rare-earth element fluxes from coal mines, and springs in the Appalachian Valley and Ridge Province. Her previous involvement with KWI includes coordinating a focus group at the Frontiers of Karst Research workshop and co-leading the planning committee for the Karst, Groundwater Contamination & Public Health Conference. She is currently on the planning committee for an upcoming conference related to karst and sulfate weathering.
She never met a spring she didn’t like (and although she appreciates bright orange water flowing from a coal mine, she does NOT consider those locations to be springs).