Using x-ray microtomography at the ALS, researchers identified and characterized the microscale factors affecting fluid flow through shale fractures propped open with sand or ceramic spheres. A better understanding of propped fractures can lead to safer and more efficient recovery of hard-to-reach oil and gas resources. Read more »
Can Minerals in the Earth’s Lower Mantle Store Water?
Earth is considered a watery planet, simply by virtue of the fact that 71% of its surface is covered by oceans. But researchers have discovered that, in the massive volume of material in Earth’s interior, minerals can serve as an important water reservoir, providing a new perspective on our planet’s water budget. Read more »
Argon: Not So Noble in Earth’s Core
Researchers demonstrated the synthesis of a thermodynamically stable compound of argon and nickel at temperatures and pressures representative of the Earth’s core. The ability of argon, a noble gas, to react with other elements under these conditions may help solve outstanding geological questions, including the “missing argon paradox.” Read more »
A High-Pressure Compound of Argon and Nickel: Noble Gas in the Earth’s Core?
Researchers demonstrated the synthesis of a thermodynamically stable compound of Ar and Ni at thermodynamic conditions representative of the Earth’s core. The results suggest that the abundance of Ar in the Earth’s core is beyond a simple solubility of Ar in molten Ni–Fe but in chemical reactions in nature. Read more »
Newly Discovered Minerals Reveal Anomalous Origins
Researchers characterized two highly unusual nickel-containing minerals, both unearthed in an ancient geological site in southern central Siberia. The findings extend our understanding of naturally occurring mineral species and varieties and provide useful insights into the environments leading to the formation of potentially valuable mineral ores. Read more » 
Clues to the Early Solar System Preserved in a Meteorite
Scientists analyzing a tiny carbon-rich pocket inside a meteorite found unexpected chemical signatures. Their findings are the first direct evidence that material from the outer solar system may have traveled inward long before planets formed, providing insight into the early solar system. Read more »
Study Concludes Glassy Menagerie of Particles in Beach Sands Near Hiroshima is Fallout Debris from A-Bomb Blast
Mario Wannier was methodically sorting through particles in samples of beach sand from Japan’s Motoujina Peninsula when he spotted something unexpected: a number of tiny, glassy spheres and other unusual objects. X-ray studies have provided evidence that they are A-bomb fallout from the destroyed city of Hiroshima. Read more »
Salt in the Amazon Air Comes from Local Fungi
The abundant salt in the atmosphere above the Amazon basin has long been attributed to the Atlantic Ocean. But now, using the Advanced Light Source, scientists have found that much of it originates much more locally: fungal spores in the rainforest. Pinpointing the origin will improve climate models and understanding of rainforest ecosystems. Read more »
Meteorites Suggest Galvanic Origins for Martian Organic Carbon
Nanoscale analyses of Martian meteorites suggest that organic carbon on Mars may have been formed by electrochemical reactions between briny liquids and volcanic minerals, as might occur in a galvanic cell. The study has major implications for astrobiology and could also shed light on the reactions that led to life on the early Earth. Read more »
Clues to the Solar System’s Original “Bricks and Mortar”
In comet dust, researchers discovered composite organic-inorganic mineral grains that are likely to be the original “bricks and mortar” of the solar system. “Forensic” samples preserved from the birth of the solar system allow investigations into the nature of the atomic and molecular ancestry of the terrestrial planets and life on Earth. Read more »