Geochemistry articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    The cause of the end-Triassic extinction remains controversial. Here, the authors present U-Pb age data showing that magmatic activity occurred 100 kyr before the earliest known eruptions, which links to changes in climate and biotic records indicating the importance of understanding the intrusive record.

    • J.H.F.L. Davies
    • , A. Marzoli
    •  & U. Schaltegger

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Constraining the timing of crustal processes and impact events remains challenging. Here, the authors show that atom probe tomography can produce highly accurate U-Pb isotopic age constraints in baddeleyite crystals, which is a common phase in terrestrial, Martian, Lunar and asteroidal materials.

    • L. F. White
    • , J. R. Darling
    •  & I. Martin

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The influence of tectonics, continental weathering, and seafloor weathering in the geological carbon cycle remain unclear. Here, the authors develop a new carbon cycle model and, through comparison with proxy data, critically evaluate the influence of these components on carbon fluxes since 100 Ma.

    • Joshua Krissansen-Totton
    •  & David C. Catling

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The composition of the early Earth’s atmosphere remains unclear. Here, the authors using fluid inclusions trapped within quartz crystals show that at 3.3 Ga the atmosphere had a lower129Xe excess than today, and suggest that comets may have brought xenon to the Earth’s atmosphere during terrestrial accretion.

    • Guillaume Avice
    • , Bernard Marty
    •  & Ray Burgess

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The damming of rivers has large impacts on the balance of riverine carbon (C) processes and fluxes to the oceans. Here, the authors use decadal riverine organic C loads and model C transformations to quantify in-reservoir organic C burial, mineralization and assess decreases in riverine exports to the oceans.

    • Taylor Maavara
    • , Ronny Lauerwald
    •  & Philippe Van Cappellen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Toba Caldera in Indonesia had one of the largest volcanic eruptions over the last 100 kyr and has since undergone periods of resurgence. Here, the authors present zircon and sediment age data showing resurgence started after the climactic eruption and lasted until 2.7 ka, advancing west and south.

    • Adonara E. Mucek
    • , Martin Danišík
    •  & Matthew A. Coble

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Electron transfer reactions govern most biogeochemical processes, yet we have a limited knowledge of the electrochemistry of pyrogenic carbon, a major component of organic matter. Here, the authors quantify electron transfers between pyrogenic carbon and mineral phases under different pyrolysis temperatures.

    • Tianran Sun
    • , Barnaby D. A. Levin
    •  & Johannes Lehmann

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Alteration of ultramafic rocks plays a role in hydrocarbon production, but little is known about this process at depth. Here, the authors provide evidence that alteration of carbonated ultramafic rocks at high-pressures are an important source of abiotic methanogenesis with implications for deep C mobility.

    • Alberto Vitale Brovarone
    • , Isabelle Martinez
    •  & Imène Esteve

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Heavy rare earth elements (HREE) are an important global resource for many industries. Here, Xuet al. have discovered new REE minerals, which represent oxidized REE-rich fluids that metasomatized granites resulting in an enrichment of HREE, therefore contributing to our knowledge of global REE resources.

    • Cheng Xu
    • , Jindřich Kynický
    •  & Wenlei Song

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Terrestrial basalts have a unique iron isotopic signature taken as fingerprints of core formation. Here, high pressure studies show that force constants of iron bonds increase with pressure similarly for silicate and metals suggesting interplanetary isotopic variability is not due to core formation.

    • Jin Liu
    • , Nicolas Dauphas
    •  & Jung-Fu Lin

  • Article
    | Open Access

    It is unclear why atmospheric O2 remained at low levels for >1.5 billion years following the Great Oxidation Event. Here, the authors show that tectonic recycling of previously accumulated sedimentary organic carbon, and oxygen sensitivity of its oxidative weathering stabilized O2at ∼1–10% of present levels.

    • Stuart J. Daines
    • , Benjamin J. W. Mills
    •  & Timothy M. Lenton

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Glacial runoff often has relatively low dissolved silica concentrations and therefore ice sheets have been thought insignificant in the global silicon cycle. Here, the authors show that ice sheets likely play an important role in the production and export of dissolved and dissolvable amorphous silica downstream.

    • Jon R. Hawkings
    • , Jemma L. Wadham
    •  & Rob Raiswell

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The Earth’s core has lower density than pure iron and many studies have looked into which light elements may be present. The authors here carry outin situhigh pressure and temperature neutron experiments indicating that hydrogen may have been the first light element to dissolve into the iron core.

    • Riko Iizuka-Oku
    • , Takehiko Yagi
    •  & Asami Sano-Furukawa

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Melting dynamics are affected by the amount of carbon in the Earth’s mantle. Le Voyeret al. report undegassed carbon concentrations from olivine-hosted melt inclusions from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge finding that carbon content varies by two orders of magnitude thus introducing heterogeneity into the upper mantle.

    • M. Le Voyer
    • , K.A. Kelley
    •  & E.H. Hauri

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Magmas may migrate through hydrothermal fluids, but magma-hydrothermal interactions are poorly understood. Here, Chiodini et al. use physical and volatile models showing that at a critical degassing pressure the release of magmatic gases can heat hydrothermal fluids triggering deformation leading to eruption.

    • Giovanni Chiodini
    • , Antonio Paonita
    •  & Jean Vandemeulebrouck

  • Article
    | Open Access

    During subduction, fluids are released into the mantle wedge, but the exact compositions of these fluids are unclear. Ponset al. by analysing zinc isotopes from serpentinite provide evidence that oxidized, sulphate rich fluids are released to the mantle wedge during subduction.

    • Marie-Laure Pons
    • , Baptiste Debret
    •  & Helen Williams

  • Article
    | Open Access

    As shale and tight gas basins are increasingly used to extract natural gas, understanding how gas migrates is important. Wood and Sanei find that secondary migration in a tight-gas basin leads to up-dip transmission of enriched methane into surficial strata which may leak into groundwater and the atmosphere.

    • James M. Wood
    •  & Hamed Sanei

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Large igneous intrusions layering is thought to represent an upward-aggrading crystal pile. However, Mungallet al.show that the Rustenburg Layered Suite of the Bushveld Complex, South Africa was created by the injection of a series of thin sheet-like intrusions that cooled and solidified as separate bodies.

    • James E. Mungall
    • , Sandra L. Kamo
    •  & Stewart McQuade

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Large igneous provinces may record pulses mantle plume upwellings and their relationship with deep-rooted mantle sources. Madrigal et al. present a new petrological model of the Pacific Ocean Large Igneous Province finding that mantle plume pulses were separated by 10–20 Ma.

    • Pilar Madrigal
    • , Esteban Gazel
    •  & Brian Jicha

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Precambrian rocks host a deep hydrosphere, but where dissolved sulfate, crucial for microbial life, comes from is unclear. At 2.4 km depth in the Canadian shield, Li et al. find that oxidation of sulfides in the host rocks creates sulfate thus providing a long-term mechanism for the deep biosphere sulfate.

    • L. Li
    • , B. A. Wing
    •  & B. Sherwood Lollar

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Megacities rely on groundwater from aquifers that may be over-exploited and be at risk of contamination. Khan et al. evaluate the complex aquifers supplying Dhaka, Bangladesh and show that extensive groundwater pumping could lead to unpredictable future arsenic contamination in deep aquifers outside the city.

    • Mahfuzur R. Khan
    • , Mohammad Koneshloo
    •  & Holly A. Michael

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Diamonds provide a window into deep Earth processes and can be used to understand the deep carbon cycle. Here, Jacob et al. show that diamond precipitation can be triggered by the oxidation of pyrrhotite to magnetite at the base of a cratonic lithosphere, providing insight into diamond formation.

    • Dorrit E. Jacob
    • , Sandra Piazolo
    •  & Patrick Trimby

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The quantitative understanding of how gypsum nucleates and grows from aqueous solutions is limited. Here, the authors demonstrate how, by using truly in situ and fast time-resolved small-angle X-ray scattering, the four-stage solution-based nucleation and growth of this mineral can be quantified.

    • Tomasz M. Stawski
    • , Alexander E.S. van Driessche
    •  & Liane G. Benning

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Distinguishing between authigenic carbonate and primary marine carbonate is fundamental to our understanding of Earth’s carbon, oxygen and calcium cycles. Here, the authors show that a combination of uranium concentration and carbon isotope composition is able to distinguish between the two carbonate sinks.

    • Ming-Yu Zhao
    • , Yong-Fei Zheng
    •  & Yan-Yan Zhao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Pb/U ratios and trace element distributions within zircon grains are used to determine a rock's age and geological processes, but the degree of element immobility and diffusion is uncertain. Here, the authors use atom probe tomography to reveal sub-micron scale mechanisms of trace element mobility.

    • Sandra Piazolo
    • , Alexandre La Fontaine
    •  & Julie M. Cairney

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The cause of diamond precipitation has previously been attributed to poorly understood redox changes at depth. Here, the authors propose that a drop in pH during water–rock interactions leads to diamond formation as a consequence of the migration of reactive fluids at elevated temperatures and pressures.

    • Dimitri A. Sverjensky
    •  & Fang Huang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Striped geochemical zonation has been observed along parts of hotspot tracks, although its origin is not well-understood. Here, the authors present Sr–Nd–Pb–Hf isotope data and present a model that can explain the evolution of zonation in both Tristan-Gough and Hawaiian hotspots, reflecting two end members.

    • Kaj Hoernle
    • , Joana Rohde
    •  & Jason P. Morgan

  • Article |

    The Earth’s mantle transition zone may play a key role in large-scale intraplate magmatism and plate tectonics. Here, the authors provide evidence for the origin of continental flood basalts in this zone, by combining oxygen isotope and geochemical evidence from the late Cenozoic Chifeng volcanics of East Asia.

    • Xuan-Ce Wang
    • , Simon A. Wilde
    •  & Ya-Nan Yang

  • Article |

    Carbonate melt is one of the most important materials involved in the carbon cycle of the Earth’s interior; however, its mobility is poorly understood. Here, the authors suggest that carbonate melts possess much lower viscosities than previously thought, which in turn suggest very high mobility.

    • Yoshio Kono
    • , Curtis Kenney-Benson
    •  & Craig E. Manning

  • Article |

    Selenium deficiency is a major health problem, particularly in the selenium-poor belt in China, yet its distribution in the terrestrial environment is poorly understood. Here, the authors combine geochemical and palaeoclimate data and show that selenium distribution in China may be related to East Asian monsoon rainfall.

    • Tim Blazina
    • , Youbin Sun
    •  & Lenny H.E. Winkel

  • Article |

    Some minerals, such as gypsum, hold water in their crystalline structure. Palacio et al. show that shallow-rooted plants growing on gypsum are able to make use of this crystallization water, suggesting an alternative water source for plants under conditions of severe drought.

    • Sara Palacio
    • , José Azorín
    •  & Juan Pedro Ferrio

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Studies have suggested amphibole to be a major phase in the lower crust based on trace element geochemistry of volcanic suites, although the formation of these lithologies remains cryptic. Here, the author suggests a reaction-replacement mechanism to explain how this cryptic fractionation may occur.

    • Daniel J. Smith

  • Article |

    The first-reported natural quasicrystal, found in the meteorite Khatyrka, has posed many questions regarding the extraterrestrial processes that led to its formation. Here, the authors suggest how the metallic Al- and Cu-bearing phases formed and report the discovery of other new minerals.

    • Lincoln S. Hollister
    • , Luca Bindi
    •  & Paul J. Steinhardt

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