The geochemistry of basalt millstones and mixers from the city of Volubilis suggests a local origin—and that rocks were picked for specific purposes, from crushing olives to mixing dough.
Geochemistry
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Cosmic Dust May Be Key Source of Phosphorus for Life on Earth
When tiny particles enter Earth’s atmosphere, a newly described series of chemical reactions may lead to production of phosphorus-containing molecules that are essential for biological processes.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Shedding Light on Microbial Communities in Deep Aquifers
Researchers use a packer system to study the microbial communities living in waters sampled from deep, uncontaminated peridotite aquifers.
Posted inNews
Lasers Have the Makings of a 21st-Century Geoscience Tool
Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy is a versatile geochemical tool being used in a wide range of applications, from Mars rovers to earthly rock identification.
Posted inNews
Better Together: Perovskites Boost Silicon Solar Cell Efficiency
Scientists engineer a way to layer materials to boost efficiency without interrupting manufacturing processes.
Posted inNews
State-of-the-Art Technology, Serendipity, and Secrets of Stonehenge
The first comprehensive analysis of what the sarsen stones are made of came about with new technology—and good old-fashioned luck.
Posted inNews
Predictive Forensics Helps Determine Where Soil Samples Came From
Researchers deploy geochemical analyses to narrow down the search area for a soil sample’s site of origin—an approach that could prove useful to law enforcement.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Carbonate Standards Ensure Better Paleothermometers
A community effort finds that carbonate standards eliminate the interlaboratory differences plaguing carbonate clumped-isotope thermometry studies.
Posted inNews
Superlasers Shed Light on Super-Earth Mantles
By compressing iron oxide to pressures expected inside a large and rocky exoplanet, scientists discovered that such mantles could layer, mix, and flow in ways very different from those inside our planet.
Posted inFeatures
¿Por Qué la Luz Solar es Importante para los Derrames de Petróleo en el Mar?
Una década de investigación desde el desastre de Deepwater Horizon ha revelado cómo la luz solar—su importancia subestimada durante mucho tiempo en la ciencia de derrames de petróleo—altera sustancialmente el petróleo que flota en la superficie del mar.