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
Thermodynamic and Kinetic Mechanisms Governing the Synthesis of Nickel-Poor Cathodes
Tiffany L. Kinnibrugh, Pallab Barai, Juan C. Garcia, Xiaoping Wang, Ozgenur Kahvecioglu, Mark Wolfman, Timothy T. Fister, Hakim H. Iddir, and Venkat Srinivasan, Reaction-Induced Fracturing of Porous Carbonate Rocks during Volume-Increasing Replacement by Witherite, Chemistry of Materials, DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.5c01173.
Lithospheric origin of a diamond from the Rio Sorriso area, Mato Grosso State, Brazil
Angellotti, A., Giulia Marras, M. Morana, S. Chariton, V. Stopponi, L. Medeghini, C. Romano et al. “Lithospheric Origin for a Diamond from the Rio Sorriso area, Mato Grosso State, Brazil.” Frontiers in Geochemistry 3 (2025): 1607472.
The effect of pressure on sulfur valence state in mafic silicate melts
Muth, Michelle J., and Elizabeth Cottrell. “The effect of pressure on sulfur valence state in mafic silicate melts.” Earth and Planetary Science Letters 668 (2025): 119562.
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
Science Highlights
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...
Direct observations of transient weakening during phase transformations in quartz and olivine
Cross, A.J., Goddard, R.M., Kumamoto, K.M. et al. Direct observations of transient weakening during phase transformations in quartz and...
Photochemically Induced Co-oxidation of Aqueous Manganese and Cobalt and the Formation of Cobalt-Incorporated Manganese Oxides
Zhenwei Gao, Gwan Yeong Jung, Ping-I Chou, Olaf J. Borkiewicz, Matthew Newville, Rohan Mishra, and Young-Shin Jun, Photochemically Induced Co-oxidation of Aqueous Manganese and Cobalt and the Formation of Cobalt-Incorporated Manganese Oxides, Environmental Science & Technology Article ASAP
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.
