Pilar Lecumberri-Sanchez

GMPV Geochemistry, Mineralogy, Petrology & Volcanology

The 2020 Division Outstanding Early Career Scientist Award is awarded to Pilar Lecumberri-Sanchez for groundbreaking research in the field of hydrothermal processes in the geosciences.

Lecumberri-Sanchez is an emerging expert on hydrothermal processes in the geosciences. She has made transformative contributions to our understanding of the key role played by salt in hydrothermal systems created by cooling bodies of magma trapped in the Earth’s crust. By elegantly linking thermodynamics, numerical simulations and independent estimates of porphyry ore formation depths, Lecumberri-Sanchez has shown how brines can strongly influence the creation of ore deposits in these hydrothermal systems and control how fluids move through the crust by the localised deposition of salt.

Lecumberri-Sanchez’s innovative and imaginative contributions on hydrothermal systems have been game-changers in the way we view fluid-rock reactions and have given her a well-deserved international reputation for rigorous and impactful studies that truly advance our understanding.