John Helms, assistant professor of chemistry, recently chaired a session and presented a paper at the 2015 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting in San Francisco, Calif.

John Helms, assistant professor of chemistry at Morningside College, recently chaired a session and presented a paper at the 2015 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting in San Francisco, Calif.

The American Geophysical Union is an organization developed to promote discovery in Earth and space science for the benefit of humanity.

Helms convened and chaired a session discussing how biological material in lakes, rivers and oceans can transition between the solid and dissolved phases, a process that can affect the amount of carbon that is released into the atmosphere. This process can impact climate and the formation of fossil fuels.

He also presented a paper exploring how sunlight limits the burial of organic carbon in sedimentary environments, which can potentially increase the rate that rivers release carbon dioxide.

Helms has taught chemistry and environmental science at Morningside College since the fall of 2014. He received his master’s degree and doctorate from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va.