Elements: Organic Cement and Concrete: From the Romans to Mars
February 08, 2023
Portland cement represents an essential commodity in a developing and quickly urbanizing world. However, the downside of its popularity is a massive ecological footprint, in terms of global warming potential and consumption of mineral and water resources. Therefore, the development of sustainable alternatives to ordinary Portland cement constitutes a fundamental technological and societal challenge. In this context, mineralogy and geochemistry play an important role in assessing primary and secondary resources for a new generation of cement and concrete that has a reduced ecological footprint, drawing from the knowledge of both ancient and modern binders. Mineralogical and geochemical tools are also essential to establishing a link between the basic physical and chemical processes that occur during the production, hardening, service life, and degradation of concrete.
Current Geochemical Society members can access this issue now via the Elements website using your email address (UserID) and member number (Password).
Elements: Cascadia Subduction Zone
January 02, 2023
The canonical Cascadia subduction zone runs along the west coast of North America from Canada to northern California. The issue will emphasize the region as a historically important location for the development of ideas in subduction zone science, a place for understanding the compound hazards of a subduction zone in a populous region, and as a location where science is now moving beyond the traditional disciplinary confines to embrace multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches. The Cascadia subduction zone is a natural laboratory for exploring ideas related to evolving subduction zone geometry and seismicity, melt transport, and the controls on eruptions. This issue will describe our current understanding of the combined tectonic and magmatic systems in this important subduction system.
Current Geochemical Society members can access this issue now via the Elements website using your email address (UserID) and member number (Password).
Elements: Organic Biomarkers
November 17, 2022
Biomarkers are molecular fossils that are preserved in a wide range of environmental archives (e.g., soils, sediments, sedimentary rocks, and petroleum systems). This issue introduces biomarkers and their compoundspecific stable isotope compositions to study fundamental biogeochemical processes and their application as proxies for environmental and climate reconstructions. Molecular biosignatures can be used to study the evolution of life, transitions in ocean plankton over time, the microbiota of extreme environments such as hydrothermal systems and the deep crustal biosphere, and to search for signs of life beyond Earth. Important new discoveries are typically the result of the development and deployment of improved instrumental techniques, multidisciplinary research approaches, and the combination of organic biogeochemistry with the new tools of molecular biology.
Current Geochemical Society members can access this issue now via the Elements website using your email address (UserID) and member number (Password).
Elements: Halogens: From Planetary Surfaces to Interiors
October 06, 2022
The halogen-group elements (F, Cl, Br, and I) are common in the terrestrial inventory, though often present in trace amounts in many Earth and planetary materials. The halogens play a key role in a variety of geologic environments and processes, from mineralization to their influence on the composition of Earth's atmosphere when released as oceanic, volcanogenic, and anthropogenic emissions. Halogens act as "fingerprints" of fluidmediated processes on Earth and other planetary bodies. These "bioessential" elements are also critically important to human health. In this issue of Elements, we explore the role that the halogens play in shaping diverse planetary systems, from the surface of planets to their interiors. We also review the techniques that are suitable for the analysis of halogen elements and of isotopes of Cl and Br in terrestrial and extraterrestrial materials.
Current Geochemical Society members can access this issue now via the Elements website using your email address (UserID) and member number (Password).
Recent Articles and Blog Posts from the GS/EAG DEI Writing Teams
May 03, 2022
- Strengthening Geochemistry Through Community Action and Wider Influence: http://www.elementsmagazine.org/archives/e17_4/e17_4_soc_EAG.pdf
- Professional Culture: Let’s talk tackling of inequity, injustice, and absent talent: https://blog.eag.eu.com/news/professional-culture-lets-talk-tackling-of-inequity-injustice-and-absent-talent/
- Pourret et al. 2021. Diversity, Equity, and inclusion: Tackling under-representation and recognition of talents in geochemistry and cosmochemistry. GCA 310, pp 363-371. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2021.05.054
- Pourret et al. 2021. Diversity among editorial boards of Elements and other selected geochemistry, cosmochemistry, mineralogy, and petrology journals. Elements, June 2021. http://elementsmagazine.org/2021/06/01/diversity-among-editorial-boards/
- Check out the EAG DEI blog for more: https://blog.eag.eu.com/categories/diversity-equity-and-inclusion/
Stuart Wakeham Receives Treibs Award from OGD
April 27, 2022
Prof. Stuart Wakeham, Emeritus Professor of the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, was recently named the 2021 recipient of 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. Prof. Wakeham is recognized for pioneering work on fluxes and compositional changes of marine organic matter at the molecular level, on microbial biomarkers in marine oxygen-deficient zones, and on molecular proxies.
GS Statement on Ukraine Crisis
March 10, 2022
The Geochemical Society condemns the war, violence, and the loss of civilian life in Ukraine. We stand by the country's citizens and our Ukranian colleagues and their families who are affected. Our greatest desire is for peace and an end to the suffering and displacement caused by this crisis.
While issues of survival are taking precedence for many people, the work of science also continues, so we offer these resources as a small contribution to cooperation and goodwill. To the extent it is possible for scientists in Ukraine to participate in a conference, the EAG and GS will offer free participation for them at the upcoming 2022 Goldschmidt Conference.
A growing list of research institutions in Europe and elsewhere are offering to host refugee scientists through a community initiative. Learn more
Heavy Stable Isotopes: From Crystals to Planets
March 03, 2022
Stable isotopes are formidable tracers of physicochemical processes at all scales. Steady advances in mass spectrometry have allowed isotopic inquiries to move from the so-called “traditional” systems (i.e., H, C, N, O, and S) to heavier “nontraditional” systems (e.g., Fe, Mo, Ti, Zr, U) whose diverse geochemical characteristics are providing novel and complementary insights. Moving from micron-size systems (single crystals) to planetary-size bodies, the articles in this issue explore the enormous range of temporal and physical scales over which heavy stable isotopes have provided paradigm-shifting insights into the evolution of our planet and solar system. Also highlighted are new frontiers where novel stable isotope systematics appear particularly promising for unraveling long-standing questions. Current Geochemical Society members can access this issue now via the Elements website using your email address (UserID) and member number (Password).
Marilyn L. Fogel Named 2022 V. M. Goldschmidt Medalist
February 14, 2022
Marilyn L. Fogel, Professor Emerita at the University of California, Riverside (USA), will receive the 2022 Victor M. Goldschmidt Award. The Goldschmidt Award is the society's highest honor, presented annually for major achievements in geochemistry over a career. Dr. Fogel revolutionized the use of stable isotopes in ecology, geochemistry, and cosmochemistry. Her research ranges from stable isotope fractionation in photosynthesis, to tracking the anthropogenic impact of the colonization of Australia, to the understanding of cosmochemical processes in meteorites.
Yige Zhang Named 2022 F.W. Clarke Medalist
February 14, 2022
Yige Zhang, Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University (USA), will receive the 2022 F.W. Clarke Award this July. The Clarke Award recognizes an early-career scientist for a single outstanding contribution to geochemistry or cosmochemistry published either as a single paper or a series of papers on a single topic. Dr. Zhang is recognized for his contributions to the application and refinement of lipid biomarker proxies for paleotemperature and atmospheric CO2 reconstructions, including development of the "Methane Index" and "Ring Index".