Annual Report to Our Members
June 09, 2025
The GS is pleased to present this report summarizing the annual activities of the society for 2024. It is designed to present important facts about the programs and finances of the society in a concise format. We welcome your comments on the report by contacting the business office.
Elements: Greenalite
June 05, 2025
Greenalite [Fe3Si2O5(OH)4] is an Fe(II)-serpentine mineral that was first identified in Lake Superior iron formations over 100 years ago, but its true extent is only now being recognized with the advent of in-situ nanoscale techniques. In the last decade, nanoparticulate greenalite has emerged as a prime candidate in the deposition of early Precambrian banded iron formations (BIFs). Together with experiments and modeling, new light is being shed on greenalite-forming conditions and environments, challenging long-held models that argue that BIFs were deposited from seawater as biologically oxidized phases of Fe. Greenalite–hisingerite minerals also occur as alteration products in meteorites, and recent in-situ and orbital data imply that Fe-serpentines are major products of serpentinization systems on early Mars, potentially recording widespread H2 production.
Geochemical Society members can access this issue now via the Elements website using your email address (UserID) and member number (Password).
Biomineral Geochemistry: Windows into Past Climates and Calcification
April 10, 2025
Marine calcium carbonate biominerals, especially the shells and skeletons produced by molluscs, corals, and the immeasurably numerous calcifying phytoplankton and zooplankton, are of both societal and environmental importance for two key reasons. Firstly, the mineralised remains of these organisms are one of the largest long-term sinks of carbon on Earth’s surface. Secondly, and perhaps more practically, the (trace) element and isotopic composition of these biominerals probably represents the most widely applied tool for quantitatively reconstructing past environmental conditions on timescales from days to millions of years. It has been known for some time that the processes of biomineralisation imprint on these ‘proxy’ systems, shifting their behaviour away from thermodynamic equilibrium, such that they typically require empirical calibration to an environmental variable of interest.
Special Lectures at Goldschmidt 2025
March 06, 2025
(Pictured, from left: Nathalie Goodkin, Ronnie Glud, Benjamin Mills)
The Geochemical Society is pleased to announce three special lectures to be given at the 2025 Goldschmidt Conference. The Earl Ingerson Lecture will be delivered by Nathalie Goodkin of the American Museum of Natural History. She is recognized for outstanding work developing coral geochemical proxies and generating paleo records that clarify the ocean's role in driving climate on decadal to centennial time scales.
The Endowed Biogeochemistry Lecture will be given by Ronnie Glud of the University of Southern Denmark. The selection honors his research around oxygen fluxes in aquatic systems and the role of hydrological, chemical and biological processes in oxygen diffusion and consumption.
The Robert Berner Lecture (a joint award with EAG) will be presented by Benjamin Mills of the University of Leeds. He has made fundamental advances in understanding the evolution of the Earth and its habitability through time. He is at the forefront of the paleo-biogeochemical modeling discipline, continuing to adapt and extend Berner's original modeling approach.
Ellen Hopmans Named 2025 Recipient of Alfred Treibs Award
March 04, 2025
Ellen C. Hopmans, Head of Analytical Laboratory at the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, will receive the 2025 the Alfred Treibs Award. Presented by the society's Organic Geochemistry Division, the award is given for major achievements, over a period of years, in organic geochemistry. Dr. Hopmans is recognized for significant contributions to organic geochemistry, particularly through pioneering analytical advances. She introduced liquid chromatography, enabling the detection of membrane-spanning lipids like GDGTs, revolutionizing paleoclimate research with the TEX86 proxy. Additionally, her teaching and mentoring have inspired and empowered the next generation of organic geochemists, especially women.
Birth and Growth of Minerals from Aqueous Solutions
February 25, 2025
The birth and growth of minerals from aqueous solutions is a ubiquitous process in both natural and engineered environments. This research field has recently experienced a paradigm shift due to the discovery of non-classical nucleation and growth processes. These insights have helped us to understand better the natural world and significantly impact various industrial and environmental applications, such as the development of more sustainable building materials, mineral processing, CO2 storage, and water treatment. Consequently, detailed knowledge of the mechanisms and kinetics underlying mineral nucleation and growth is vital in these areas. This issue provides a comprehensive overview of mineral formation by reviewing classical mechanisms and supplementing them with recent insights about the nucleation and growth of minerals, particularly those concerning non-classical crystallization pathways.
Current Geochemical Society members can access this issue now via the Elements website using your email address (UserID) and member number (Password).
The Geochemical Society is on Bluesky
February 21, 2025
The GS now has a Bluesky account. Follow us there to stay up to date with society news and connect with the community. Follow Us Now!
Chris Hawkesworth Named 2025 Recipient of V. M. Goldschmidt Award
February 11, 2025
Chris Hawkesworth, Professor Emeritus at the University of Bristol (UK) will receive the 2025 Victor M. Goldschmidt Award this July. The Goldschmidt Award is the society's highest honor, presented annually for major achievements in geochemistry over a career. Prof. Hawkesworth is recognized for exceptional scientific contributions, made through the application of advanced geochemical proxies, that have guided our understanding of the crust and lithosphere and their interactions with the convecting mantle. His work has helped transform geochemistry by emphasising its applicability to understanding the processes operating over the entirety of Earth's existence.
Avner Vengosh Named 2025 Recipient of Clair C. Patterson Award
February 11, 2025
Avner Vengosh, Distinguished Professor of Environmental Quality at Duke University (USA) will receive the 2025 Clair C. Patterson Award in July. The award is presented annually for an innovative breakthrough in environmental geochemistry of fundamental significance within the last decade, particularly in service to society. Prof. Vengosh is recognized for his work evaluating the impact of conventional and nonconventional energy development on environmental geochemistry, especially of water resources.
Suzanne Birner Named 2025 Recipient of F. W. Clarke Award
February 11, 2025
Suzanne K. Birner, Associate Professor of Geology/Earth Science at Berea College (USA) will receive the 2025 F. W. Clarke Award this July. The Clarke Award honors a single outstanding contribution to geochemistry or cosmochemistry by an early-career scientist. Prof. Birner is recognized for her series of papers that decipher and document the processes occurring in the Earth's mantle that have generated variations of several orders of magnitude in oxygen fugacity, with broad implications for the history of Earth's interior and atmosphere.