The mission of SEES (Synchrotron Earth and Environmental Science) is to advance research and education in synchrotron-based Earth and environmental science to better understand our planet from the atmosphere to the core, to address societally relevant problems, and to train the next generation of scientists. SEES is responsible for the management, operation, and development of multiple user facilities hosted at four DOE-operated US synchrotrons: Advanced Photon Source (APS), Advanced Light Source (ALS), National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II), and Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL).
2025 SEES-ISRD Joint Meeting
SEES and ISRD invite you to attend our annual meeting to be held jointly at the University of Chicago on August 11-13, 2025. Keynote speakers will discuss topics in rock and mineral deformation and rheological properties in Earth, and there will be a poster session with a broad scientific focus. All SEES and ISRD researchers are welcome and encouraged to attend. Click here to learn more.
Recent Publications
X-Ray Microtomography Measurements of Coevolving Particle Size and Shape
Li, Yang, Shubjot Singh, and Giuseppe Buscarnera. “X-Ray Microtomography Measurements of Coevolving Particle Size and Shape.” Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering 151, no. 10 (2025): 04025110.
Intermediate oxidation products from pyrrhotite grains in natural waste rock: A synchrotron study using Fe K-edge XANES
Smith, Lianna JD, Dogan Paktunc, and David W. Blowes. “Intermediate oxidation products from pyrrhotite grains in natural waste rock: A synchrotron study using Fe K-edge XANES.” Applied Geochemistry (2025): 106501.
Applying EQTransformer to laboratory earthquakes: detecting and picking acoustic emissions with machine learning
Sheehan, J., Zhai, Q., Chuang, L.Y. Officer, T., Wang, Y., Zhu, L., Peng, Z., Applying EQTransformer to laboratory earthquakes: detecting and picking acoustic emissions with machine learning. Earth Planets Space 77, 116 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40623-025-02237-2
Unraveling the Complex Features of the Seismic Scatterersin the Mid‐Lower Mantle Through Phase Transition of (Al, H)‐Bearing Stishovite
Yu, Y., Zhang, Y., Li, L., Zhang, X., Wang, D., Mao, Z., et al. (2025). Unraveling the complex features of the seismic scatterers in the mid‐lower mantle through phase transition of (Al, H)‐bearing stishovite. Geophysical Research Letters, 52, e2024GL114146. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL114146
Efficient up-conversion in CsPbBr3 nanocrystals via phonon-driven exciton-polaron formation
Abbas, A.S., Li, B.C., Schaller, R.D. et al. Efficient up-conversion in CsPbBr3 nanocrystals via phonon-driven exciton-polaron formation. Nat Commun 16, 5803 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-60992-y
Structural mechanisms of pressure-induced isosymmetric second-order phase transitions
Zhong, Qifa, Jingui Xu, Dongzhou Zhang, Shanrong Zhang, Mengzeng Wu, Hailing Gu, Yi Zhou, and Dawei Fan. “Structural mechanisms of pressure-induced isosymmetric second-order phase transitions.” American Mineralogist 110, no. 7 (2025): 1072-1081.https://doi.org/10.2138/am-2024-9497
Science Highlights
Plagioclase under compression: A path to diaplectic glass and maskelynite
Xie, Tianqi, Sean R. Shieh, Stella Chariton, Mauritz van Zyl, Ricardo D. Rodriguez, Vitali B. Prakapenka, and Dongzhou Zhang. “Plagioclase under compression: A path to diaplectic glass and maskelynite.” Science Advances 11, no. 25 (2025): eadv8231.
Equilibrium Fe isotope fractionation between olivine, pyroxene, spinel and MORB glass: Implications for mantle partial melting to generate MORBs
Nie, Nicole X., Anat Shahar, Peng Ni, Richard W. Carlson, Steven B. Shirey, Corliss K. Sio, Justin Y. Hu et al. "Equilibrium Fe isotope...
Magma sources, crustal storage depths, and degassing of alkalic, CO2-rich magmas at Nyiragongo and Nyamulagira Volcanoes, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Connors, Lissie, Paul J. Wallace, Kenneth WW Sims, D. Matthew Sublett Jr, and Robert J. Bodnar. “Magma sources, crustal storage depths, and degassing of alkalic, CO2-rich magmas at Nyiragongo and Nyamulagira Volcanoes, Democratic Republic of the Congo.” Earth and Planetary Science Letters 665 (2025): 119477.
Atomistic mechanism of Al substitution effects on the post-stishovite transition by high-pressure single-crystal X-ray diffraction
Zhang, Yanyao, Stella Chariton, Vitali B. Prakapenka, Takuo Okuchi, and Jung-Fu Lin. “Atomistic mechanism of Al substitution effects on the post-stishovite transition by high-pressure single-crystal X-ray diffraction.” American Mineralogist 110, no. 6 (2025): 856-865.
Contrasting land-uses affect chemical composition of organic matter in tropical soils: A case study via osmium staining and infrared spectroscopy
Dor, Maoz, Ricardo de Oliveira Bordonal, Andrey K. Guber, Mark L. Rivers, and Alexandra N. Kravchenko. “Contrasting land-uses affect chemical composition of organic matter in tropical soils: A case study via osmium staining and infrared spectroscopy.” Journal of Environmental Management 388 (2025): 126067.
Resiliency, morphology, and entropic transformations in high-entropy oxide nanoribbons
Hessam Shahbazi et al., Resiliency, morphology, and entropic transformations in high-entropy oxide nanoribbons. Science 388, 950-956...
Latest Happenings
Infrared Microscope Project at NSLS-II
I. Continuum Infrared Microscope at NSLS-II: BIC project updateThe BioImaging Core (BIC) of the...
GSECARS congratulates Andy Campbell, SEES Director, for his award of the Arthur L. Kelly Faculty Prize for Exceptional Service in the Physical Sciences Division, University of Chicago
As announced by Ka Yee C. Lee, Interim Dean, Physical Sciences Division, The University of Chicago...
Students from Northeastern Illinois University participated in the eBERlight project at 13 IDE, March 2025, investigating copper toxicity in sugar beet plants.
