Associate Professor Ilka Wallis

Ilka Wallis is a hydrogeologist with areas of expertise in quantitative hydrogeology and geochemistry. Ilka focuses on the development of reactive geochemical transport models which integrate fundamental processes that are normally studied in isolation (hydrogeological, mineralogical, geochemical and biochemical). Areas of specialisation include the assessment and prediction of the variability of the redox zonation in aquifers, the corresponding impact on the fate of pollutants (such as nitrate), water quality changes during managed aquifer recharge, incorporation of environmental tracer data into geochemical reaction networks (age indicators, such as Helium/Tritium), the mobilisation and remediation of metals (such as arsenic) and the quantifying of feedback mechanisms between chemical reactions and physical flow in aquifer systems.

Ilka obtained her MSc at Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, Germany and her PhD at Flinders University, specialising on the quantification of arsenic mobilisation and attenuation by coupled flow and multi-component reactive transport modelling. In the past, Ilka Wallis worked at the Geological Surveys of South Africa, Great Britain and Germany and at Aquaterra Simulations Pty, Australia and has lectured at Rhodes University and the University of Pretoria, South Africa.