Geochemistry

Steel slag rocks in Ohio capture CO2, turning waste into a climate fix.

Lidya Tarhan received the Greer Prize for groundbreaking research on sedimentary records, exploring evolution and ancient oceans.

New study suggests asteroid impacts could trigger global glaciation in ancient times, potentially explaining “Snowball Earth” events.

Bing-Jie Ni researches anaerobic digestion challenges posed by plastics in wastewater, impacting methane production and emissions.

Yale study links Earth’s banded iron formations to fundamental geophysical processes, revealing their role in volcanic activity and planet evolution.

BBVA Foundation honors leaders in climate change research, showing pivotal contributions to understanding and mitigating global environmental issues.

On Nov. 5, planetary scientists joyously greeted the first Webb images of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon.

Dr. John Wettlaufer, Nobel Committee member, discusses 2021 Physics laureates’ impacts, complex system modeling, and his Nobel experience.

Global warming-induced jet stream waviness intensifies weather events like Kentucky floods, Yale study in PNAS explains.

Congratulations, Ruth! Your outstanding contributions to fostering inclusion and belonging in the FAS and beyond, particularly in STEM, are great!

Congratulations to Lidya for receiving the GSA Geobiology and Geomicrobiology Award, recognizing her excellence in research, mentoring, service.

Yale-led study links oxygen in arc magmas to oxidized sediments on subducting ocean plates, impacting volcanic activity and climate.

Yale and AMNH researchers named Syllipsimopodi bideni after President Biden. It’s a 328-million-year-old vampyropod, reshaping cephalopod evolution.

Yale and Caltech propose a theory on Earth’s early transformation using magnesium-rich rocks for rapid carbon sequestration, aiding habitability.

McGill University finds ironstone clues to early Earth oxygen levels, vital for understanding evolution and detecting life on exoplanets.

Planavsky and his Yale lab are pioneering efforts to unravel Earth’s CO2 history and its environmental impact, crucial for climate change mitigation.

Kelsey will collaborate with the Peabody Museum to ensure inclusive displays. The IDEA committee supports her proposal for this project.

Yale and Harvard researchers discovered well-preserved eye structures in a 95-million-year-old crab fossil, suggesting it was a predator.

Yale: Ancient oceans were likely 7.5% salt, reshaping understanding of early Earth chemistry and evolution.

Yale-led study confirms climate models predicting Pacific Ocean current changes with warming, highlighting ocean acidity as a crucial variable.

Basalt tested as limestone alternative in farming for lower greenhouse gases shows promise in yield and carbon sequestration, but cost is a concern.

Maureen Long appointed Bruce D. Alexander ’65 Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Yale, renowned for deep Earth seismology & mantle dynamics.

Lightning strikes likely provided essential phosphorus for early Earth life, sparking biomolecule formation, per Yale and University of Leeds study.

FedEx’s $100M gift to Yale funds the Center for Natural Carbon Capture, accelerating interdisciplinary research for sustainability & carbon neutrality

Study in Nature Communications shows carbon exits Earth’s mantle at 50-60 km depths via subduction, impacting long-term global carbon cycles.

Yale study proposes mineral grain deformation over millions of years initiates subduction, a pivotal geological process shaping Earth’s dynamics.

Habitability extends beyond surface water. Yale EPS study explores global water circulation and a mantle mechanism stabilizing ocean mass.

Yale study suggests volcanic islands provided conditions akin to Darwin’s “warm little ponds” for early life, supported by Earth’s past geology.

Yale and AMNH researchers found early dinosaur eggs had soft shells, not hard ones as previously believed.

Kaolinite clay helps preserve ancient fossils, biasing records toward regions with this mineral. This aids in finding ancient life on Earth & Mars.

Yale geophysicists discovered Earth’s tectonic plates were active over 4 billion years ago, using atmospheric argon to trace early continental growth.

Yale’s study finds dinosaurs were warm-blooded, using eggshell chemistry. Their body temperatures were consistently higher than their environment.

Meng Guo and Emily Stuart received Outstanding Student Presentation Awards at AGU 2019 for their research on crust growth and slab decarbonation.

Yale’s Department of Geology & Geophysics has been renamed the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, aligning with its broader research scope.

Seismic data show old slabs deform in the mantle. Yale’s experiments reveal new ringwoodite is weaker at low temperatures, resolving the paradox.

The award was presented at the 2019 Annual Meeting, which was held in Valencia, Spain.

Scientists found the world’s oldest “comma” shrimp, Eobodotria muisca, from 90 million years ago, filling a major gap in crustacean evolution.

During Snowball Earth (720-635 Mya), oxygen-rich oases beneath ice sheets may have helped life survive extreme glaciation, says a Yale-led study.

A Yale-led study finds that the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction caused a sharp rise in ocean acidity, impacting marine life significantly.

Brian Skinner, Yale geology professor and pioneer in mineralogy, passed away on August 21 at 90. His influence on geology and education was immense.

Only 0.1% of AGU’s 60,000 members are elected Fellows yearly. John will join 5 other department Fellows and receive the honor in December.

Early oceans weren’t as hot as thought. New research suggests changes in oxygen isotopes reflect water composition, not temperature.

Scientists discovered a 165-million-year-old mammal ancestor with advanced neck bones for chewing and swallowing, similar to modern mammals.

By 2034, Yale’s Juan Lora will use NASA’s Dragonfly to explore Titan’s climate and its parallels to early Earth.

George Veronis, Yale Professor Emeritus and a pioneer in oceanography, died on June 30 at 93. His impact on the field was profound.

The PECASE, the top U.S. honor for emerging scientists, celebrates exceptional promise in STEM and community service. Established in 1996.

The International Geobiology Society presents the Pemberton Award to early career scientists for significant achievements in geobiology.

Yale-led study finds molten iron alloys in Earth’s core can separate into distinct liquids, aiding our understanding of the magnetic field’s behavior.

Yale’s Shun Karato’s study refines the giant impact theory, using new insights and simulations to address Moon-Earth isotopic discrepancies.

Yale’s Jun Korenaga will join NASA’s $9M Earth First Origins project to study early Earth conditions and life’s origins, led by RPI with many partners

Yale-led study reveals early mammals had a “rolling jaw” for flexible chewing and efficient food grinding, using 3D X-ray technology.

Sarah’s presentation on “Fe-Si-O liquid immiscibility at deep Earth pressures” won an OSPA award, highlighting the top 3-5% of student presentations.

Evans studies ancient continents, showing past connections and helping us understand Earth’s history and mineral resources through paleomagnetism.

A Yale-led study reveals that chemicals in burnt toast and dinosaur bones help preserve proteins, explaining how soft tissues last millions of years.

El Niño events may be due to warming in the North Atlantic and stronger Pacific winds. Future El Niño activity could intensify as trends reverse.

Yale researchers found Earth’s early warmth was due to high CO2 levels, maintained by reverse weathering in silica-rich oceans.

A new study argues earthquakes enable plate tectonics by weakening plates. This may explain why Venus lacks tectonic activity.

A 1.4 billion-year-old oxygen sample from Ontario shows Earth’s early atmosphere had much lower oxygen levels, indicating a less productive biosphere.

Burrowing animals evolved slowly compared to others before the Cambrian explosion, reports Yale’s Lidya Tarhan.

 Yale’s Whalen and Briggs find that nekton evolution in the Paleozoic was gradual, not a sudden “Devonian Nekton Revolution.”

Field, Lyson, and Gauthier show that tree-dwelling birds didn’t survive the end-Cretaceous extinction; their ancestors lived on the ground.

A study shows oceanic oxygen levels rose to near-modern levels ~200 million years ago, following a major increase ~400 million years ago.

Sarah’s second award supports her research on sulfur in extreme conditions, relevant to Jupiter’s moon Io and other sulfur-rich worlds.

Dave Bercovici has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences for his exceptional research in geology and geophysics.

Sydney P. Clark, Jr. (1929–2016), Yale geophysicist and author, passed away. Known for his work on mineral chemistry and planetary formation.

The Clarke Award honors an early-career geochemist for a standout contribution in geochemistry or cosmochemistry, presented at Goldschmidt.

Liz’s presentation on brittle stars won the 2018 Best Student Oral Presentation Award from the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology.

Annie’s fellowship supports her research on early life origins with her proposal on the Lomagundi-Jatuli Excursion’s impact on early life.