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).
2026 SEES-FORCE Joint Meeting
SEES and FORCE invite you to attend our annual meeting to be held jointly at the University of Chicago on August 10-12, 2026.
Facility Status and Upcoming Proposal Deadlines
Events Calendar
Recent Publications
Enhanced Manganese Oxidation at the Biofilm–Fluid Interface Drives Pore-Scale Patterns in Mineral Precipitation. Eleanor C. Fadely, Gaitan Gehin, Sharon E. Bone, Samuel M. Webb, Verónica L. Morales, and Jasquelin Peña. Environmental Science & Technology 2026 60 (1), 654-663DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.5c11326 Link to article
Pardo, O. S., Palfey, W. R., Liu, Z., Goddard, W. A., III, Rossman, G. R., & Jackson, J. M. (2026). Geophysical impacts and spectroscopic identification of a hydrous iron sulfate on icy worlds. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 131, e2025JE009238. https://doi.org/10.1029/2025JE009238 Read More
Armstrong, K., Hamilton, S. G., Keane, J., Gombart, J. S., Kunz, M., Tolbert, S. H., and Williams, Q. “A simple wire-coil resistive heater for high temperature radial x-ray diffraction in a diamond anvil cell.” Review of Scientific Instruments 97 (2026): 013905. https://pubs.aip.org/aip/rsi/article-abstract/97/1/013905/3377348/A-simple-wire-coil-resistive-heater-for-high?redirectedFrom=fulltext
Noda, M., Gwanmesia, G. D., Whitaker, M. L., Chen, H., Inoue, T., Sakamoto, N., and Yurimoto, H. “Elasticity of β-Mg2SiO4 containing 1.2 wt% H2O to 10 GPa and 600 K by ultrasonic interferometry with synchrotron X-radiation.” American Mineralogist 111 (2026): 128137. https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/msa/ammin/article/111/1/128/654502/Elasticity-of-Mg2SiO4-containing-1-2-wt-H2O-to-10
Kang, K., Whelan, E. M., Bone, S., Rowley, M. C., Marcus, M. A., & Peña, J. (2025). Wildfire Produces Transient Minerals: Speciation, Reactivity, and Fate of Iron and Manganese in Surface Soils Post Wildfire. Environmental Science & Technology. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5c07438
Nie, Nicole X., Anat Shahar, Peng Ni, Richard W. Carlson, Steven B. Shirey, Corliss K. Sio, Justin Y. Hu et al. “Equilibrium Fe isotope fractionation between olivine, pyroxene, spinel and MORB glass: Implications for mantle partial melting to generate MORBs.” Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (2025). Read More
Science Highlights
Enhanced Manganese Oxidation at the Biofilm–Fluid Interface Drives Pore-Scale Patterns in Mineral Precipitation
Enhanced Manganese Oxidation at the Biofilm–Fluid Interface Drives Pore-Scale Patterns in Mineral Precipitation. Eleanor C. Fadely, Gaitan Gehin, Sharon E. Bone, Samuel M. Webb, Verónica L. Morales, and Jasquelin Peña. Environmental Science & Technology 2026 60 (1), 654-663DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.5c11326 Link to article
Geophysical Impacts and Spectroscopic Identification of a Hydrous Iron Sulfate on Icy Worlds
Pardo, O. S., Palfey, W. R., Liu, Z., Goddard, W. A., III, Rossman, G. R., & Jackson, J. M. (2026). Geophysical impacts and spectroscopic identification of a hydrous iron sulfate on icy worlds. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 131, e2025JE009238. https://doi.org/10.1029/2025JE009238 Read More
A simple wire-coil resistive heater for high temperature radial x-ray diffraction in a diamond anvil cell
Armstrong, K., Hamilton, S. G., Keane, J., Gombart, J. S., Kunz, M., Tolbert, S. H., and Williams, Q. “A simple wire-coil resistive heater for high temperature radial x-ray diffraction in a diamond anvil cell.” Review of Scientific Instruments 97 (2026): 013905. https://pubs.aip.org/aip/rsi/article-abstract/97/1/013905/3377348/A-simple-wire-coil-resistive-heater-for-high?redirectedFrom=fulltext
Elasticity of β-Mg2SiO4 containing 1.2 wt% H2O to 10 GPa and 600 K by ultrasonic interferometry with synchrotron X-radiation
Noda, M., Gwanmesia, G. D., Whitaker, M. L., Chen, H., Inoue, T., Sakamoto, N., and Yurimoto, H. “Elasticity of β-Mg2SiO4 containing 1.2 wt% H2O to 10 GPa and 600 K by ultrasonic interferometry with synchrotron X-radiation.” American Mineralogist 111 (2026): 128137. https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/msa/ammin/article/111/1/128/654502/Elasticity-of-Mg2SiO4-containing-1-2-wt-H2O-to-10
Wildfire Produces Transient Minerals: Speciation, Reactivity, and Fate of Iron and Manganese in Surface Soils Post Wildfire
Kang, K., Whelan, E. M., Bone, S., Rowley, M. C., Marcus, M. A., & Peña, J. (2025). Wildfire Produces Transient Minerals: Speciation, Reactivity, and Fate of Iron and Manganese in Surface Soils Post Wildfire. Environmental Science & Technology. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5c07438
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 fractionation between olivine, pyroxene, spinel and MORB glass: Implications for mantle partial melting to generate MORBs.” Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (2025). Read More
Workshops
2026 SEES Multigrain Single Crystal Workshop
We are excited to announce the first ever SEES Multigrain Single Crystal Workshop, to be held at the University of Chicago on August 8-9, 2026, in conjunction with the 2026 SEES-FORCE Joint Meeting. In this workshop, SEES beamline scientists Stella Chariton, Vitali Prakapenka, and Dongzhou Zhang will cover the principles of single- and multigrain
Events & Outreach
Congratulations to Vitali Prakapenka on 2026 Shenoy Award!
We’re excited to share that Vitali Prakapenka has received the 2026 Gopal K. Shenoy Excellence in Beamline Science Award. This award recognizes outstanding contributions by beamline scientists at the Advanced Photon Source in both research and support of the user community. Read more in the highlight from Argonne National Laboratory.
IR Microprobe Project at NSLS-II
The IR microprobe is about to take light! If you are interested in discussing opportunities for “technical and science commissioning” measurements for Earth and Environmental samples then please reach out to Tiffany Victor ([email protected]) or Ryan Tappero ([email protected]) in the NSLS-II Bioimaging Facility (https://www.bnl.gov/nsls2/techniques/bioimaging.php) or our NSF-SEES partners in residence — Zhenxian