Member Registration for GSA and AGU
August 21, 2020
Geochemical Society members receive the discounted member registration rates for both the GSA 2020 Connects Online and the AGU Fall Meeting. Your GS member number/customer ID is required to receive the discounted rates. You can find your 6-digit number in your online profile. You can also contact the business office for assistance.
Elements: Lithium: Less is More
August 07, 2020
Lithium was created during the Big Bang at about 13.8 Ga. Lithium is concentrated in Earth's upper continental crust and in 124 mineral species, the greatest mineralogical diversity being found in pegmatites. Lithium occurs naturally in two isotopes, 6Li and 7Li, which are readily fractionated, thus becoming sensitive to geological and environmental processes. Closed-basin brines (58%) and pegmatites plus related granites (26%) constitute the main sources of exploitable lithium worldwide. Life as we know it at the start of the 21st century would not be possible without lithium as it is used in a myriad of applications ranging from lithium-ion batteries to medicine.
Current Geochemical Society members can access this issue now via the Elements website using your email address (UserID) and member number (Password).
Elements: Redox Engine of Earth
July 06, 2020
This issue of Elements reviews how redox chemistry is used to derive valuable information about the present and the past of our planet. A knowledge of redox states is essential to understanding the compositional makeup of our planet and the fundamental processes that occur from the core to the atmosphere, from magmatic systems to aquatic systems. And the social and economic impact of redox geochemistry is enormous because of the control it plays on metal mobility and availability, and because of its widespread use for environmental hazard assessment.
Current Geochemical Society members can access this issue now via the Elements website using your email address (UserID) and member number (Password).
Sam Savin Receives Distinguished Service Award
June 25, 2020
Sam Savin, the retired Provost of the New College of Florida (USA) will receive the Geochemical Society's Distinguished Service Award for 2020. Dr. Savin is recognized for his service as treasurer of the society from 2011-19. During his tenure, the society increased its reserve fund, moved to a fully electronic accounting system, and consistently received clean audit opinions. Dr. Savin also oversaw a shift toward socially responsible investing for the society's reserves. Before his election as treasurer, he served for three years as a director. The Distinguished Service Award recognizes outstanding service to the GS and/or the geochemical community that greatly exceeds the normal expectations of voluntary service.
GS-EAG Town Hall Discussion: Black Lives Matter-Promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Geochemistry
June 09, 2020
In these times of seismic events in human history, and national and indeed global awakening to a multitude of injustices, many societies and organizations are issuing statements to affirm their commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), and to end racism, discrimination, and violence against Blacks and other minority groups the world over. The Geochemical Society (GS) and the European Association of Geochemistry (EAG) know that more needs to be done to create a society that embraces the ideals of human decency, fairness, and social and economic justice. The aim of this town hall meeting is to listen to our community members and to hear their thoughts on how to fight racism, increase diversity and equity in our discipline, and make the GS, the EAG, and the Goldschmidt meeting safe and inclusive for all.
The meeting will be held this Friday, June 12 (noon PDT, 3 pm EDT, 9 pm CET) and is open to all. We propose to focus the discussion on recent events and hear the perspectives of participants. To allow wide and inclusive participation, we invite members to submit questions beforehand using the link below. Participants may also make brief comments or ask questions during the town hall. We seek to hear ideas on how our two societies can make real and lasting progress towards our DEI goals, and effectively communicate these measures to our membership and beyond.
Panelists include:
- Magali Ader, Inst. Physics du Globe, Paris
- Asmeret Asefaw Behre, UC Merced
- Emily Cooperdock, University of Southern California
- James W. Dottin III, University of Maryland
- Benjamin Keisling, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University
- Penny King, The Australian National University
- Jabrane Labidi, Inst. Physics du Globe, Paris
- Cin-Ty Lee, Rice University
- Samuel Mukasa, University of Minnesota
- Aradhna Tripati, UCLA
GS Response to the Minneapolis Tragedy
June 04, 2020
Dear Geochemical Society Members,
Recent events in the United States, including the violent death of George Floyd and other African Americans, highlight the systemic discrimination and racism persistent in the US and globally. We are shocked, deeply distressed and share in the sadness. Black lives matter and inappropriate use of police force must stop.
As a Society, the promotion of inclusivity and diversity in science is in our core mission. Striving to achieve this is a daily and continuing goal and is incorporated into all our Society's activities. This is reflected in our public stand on equity and diversity and our enforced code of conduct for members.
The horrific events of the past several months confront us with the depths of ongoing inequity, discrimination and bias. As a professional society we must and will redouble our on-going efforts to provide an inclusive and supportive professional environment free of discrimination and harassment. We will continue, proactively and intentionally, to work to be more inclusive, educate ourselves about institutional racism and unconscious bias, and strive to increase the diversity of our Society. This is done on behalf of all our members and because scientific advancement in service of society requires a thriving, globally diverse, and inclusive community of scholars.
We draw your attention to a long-planned, up-coming workshop on June 24 associated with our virtual Goldschmidt Conference: Diversity and Inclusion in the Geosciences – Pitfalls, Unconscious Bias and Practical Solutions, which will provide a timely forum to discuss these issues and ways we can make progress on our goals.
| Vickie Bennett President Canberra, Australia |
Sumit Chakraborty Vice President Bochum, Germany |
Roberta Rudnick Past President Santa Barbara, CA, USA |
Meet the Scientist: Angus Rogers
May 21, 2020
Name: Angus Rogers
Institution: Monash University
Place of Residence: Melbourne, Australia
What kind of science do you do?
I'm an igneous petrologist, and I use isotope geochemistry to investigate ocean island basalts. Sounds riveting, hey? Normally I try to think about it as "shooting laser beams at underwater volcanoes."
Elements Magazine Update
May 06, 2020
A subscription to Elements is a benefit of Geochemical Society membership. We have several updates to share about the magazine:
- The latest issue, Raman Spectroscopy in Earth and Planetary Sciences, is now available online. Members can access it with their email address and GS member ID. Email us if you need help locating your ID.
- A new digital version of the magazine now features active hyperlinks, animated page turning, interactive table of contents for ease of navigation, and controls to magnify the text/images.
- Mailing of the hard copy version of the April issue is delayed due to the pandemic. Current plans are to send it along with the June issue.
- Call for Proposals: the editorial team is currently accepting proposals for future thematic issues of Elements. The deadline for consideration is July 31, 2020.
Announcement about 2020 Goldschmidt Conference
April 03, 2020
Each year, the Goldschmidt Conference travels to a part of the world to bring together the geochemistry community to share the latest developments in the field as well as supporting, training and encouraging colleagues at the start their careers. Goldschmidt 2020 will be the 30th conference in the series.
The health and safety of our community is our highest priority. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the GS and EAG have determined that the conference cannot be held as scheduled in Honolulu. Instead, Goldschmidt 2020 will become the first virtual edition of the conference.
With travel costs and visa requirements removed, we hope that this year's conference will be accessible to more people than ever. The conference will continue to highlight the contributions to the field resulting from scientific observations made in Hawai'i and Oceania.
While a virtual meeting can never entirely replace the networking capacity of a standard meeting, there will be many opportunities to connect with your colleagues virtually, share and discuss new work, and get involved with the programs for early career researchers at the virtual event.
All those who have already registered for the standard meeting will be automatically registered for the virtual experience. You will be contacted directly with regards to reimbursement aligned with the new, reduced pricing structure. Social event, workshop, field trip, childcare and lunch box fees will be refunded automatically.
Details of how events will be presented are still to be confirmed and we will be in touch with colleagues affected when we can provide full instructions for the next steps. We appreciate your patience as we adapt to these very challenging times.
Meet the Scientist: Leye Adeboye
March 26, 2020
Name: Dr. Leye Adeboye
Institution: Oklahoma State University
Place of Residence: Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA
What kind of science do you do?
I am primarily interested in the origin and fate of sedimentary organic matter across various environments. Currently, I am investigating environmental conditions at time of deposition of the Mississippian Limestone interval within the Anadarko shelf of Oklahoma using multiproxy, geochemical techniques including stable isotope geochemistry, trace element geochemistry and biomarker geochemistry. My current work will also examine the source rock characteristics of the Mississippian Limestone interval within the Anadarko Shelf.