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
Oxybarometry of Reduced Silicate Glasses: Using Multivariate Methods to Constrain Cr Oxidation States with Application to Lunar Glasses
Molly C. McCanta, M. Darby Dyar, Stephen R. Sutton, Sarah E. Roberts, Cai R. Ytsma; Oxybarometry of Reduced Silicate Glasses: Using Multivariate Methods to Constrain Cr Oxidation States with Application to Lunar Glasses. American Mineralogist 2025; doi: https://doi.org/10.2138/am-2024-9602
The fate of nitrogen in deep magma oceans
Mallick, Ekanshu, Kelsey Prissel, Kevin Righter, and Colin RM Jackson. “The fate of nitrogen in deep magma oceans.” Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 394 (2025): 298-318.
Continuous Evolution of Eu2+/Eu3+ Mixed Valency Driven by Pressure and Temperature
Mingyu Xu, Greeshma C. Jose, Mouyang Cheng, Cheng Peng, Jose L. Gonzalez Jimenez, Wenli Bi, Mingda Li, and Weiwei Xie, Continuous Evolution of Eu2+/Eu3+ Mixed Valency Driven by Pressure and Temperature, The Journal of Physical Chemistry A 2025 129 (9), 2371-2377. DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.4c08660
Complex Adsorption Behavior of Neodymium and Ytterbium on Structurally-Distinct Alumina Surfaces
Fang, Yihang, Sang Soo Lee, Greg J. Ledingham, Joanne E. Stubbs, Peter J. Eng, and Jeffrey G. Catalano. “Complex Adsorption Behavior of Neodymium and Ytterbium on Structurally-Distinct Alumina Surfaces.” Environmental Science & Technology (2025).
Pressure-Driven Polar Orthorhombic to Tetragonal Phase Transition in Hafnia at Room Temperature
Janice L. Musfeldt, Sobhit Singh, Kevin A. Smith, Xianghan Xu, Sang-Wook Cheong, Zhenxian Liu, David Vanderbilt, Karin M. Rabe, Pressure-Driven...
Inhibition of Reaction Layer Formation on MgO(100) by Doping with Trace Amounts of Iron
Gabriela Camacho Meneses, Juliane Weber, Raphaël P. Hermann, Anna Wanhala, Joanne E. Stubbs, Peter J. Eng, Ke Yuan, Albina Y. Borisevich, Matthew G. Boebinger, Tingting Liu, Andrew G. Stack, and Jacquelyn N. Bracco, Inhibition of Reaction Layer Formation on MgO(100) by Doping with Trace Amounts of Iron, The Journal of Physical Chemistry C Article ASAP DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.4c06311
Science Highlights
Sound velocities and thermal equation of state of fcc-iron-nickel alloys at high pressure and high temperature: Implications for the cores of Moon and several planets
Siheng Wang, Sibo Chen, Man Xu, Tony Yu, Yanbin Wang, Baosheng Li, Sound velocities and thermal equation of state of fcc-iron-nickel alloys at high pressure and high temperature: Implications for the cores of Moon and several planets, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Volume 649, 2025, 119118, ISSN 0012-821X, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2024.119118.
U and Th zonation in apatite observed by synchrotron X-ray fluorescence tomography and implications for the (U–Th) ∕ He system
U and Th zonation in apatite observed by synchrotron X–ray fluorescence tomography and implications for the (U–Th)/He system...
Phase transition kinetics of superionic H2O ice phases revealed by Megahertz X-ray free-electron laser-heating experiments
Husband, R.J., Liermann, H.P., McHardy, J.D. et al. Phase transition kinetics of superionic H2O ice phases revealed by Megahertz X-ray free-electron laser-heating experiments. Nat Commun 15, 8256 (2024).
Structure and transport properties of FeS at planetary core conditions
E. Edmund, T. Bi, Z.M. Geballe, K. Brugman, J.-F. Lin, S. Chariton, V.B. Prakapenka, J. Minár, R.E. Cohen, A.F. Goncharov, Structure and transport properties of FeS at planetary core conditions, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Volume 646, 2024, 118959, ISSN 0012-821X
Compressional and shear wave velocities of Fe-bearing silicate post-perovskite in Earth’s lowermost mantle
Jing Yang, Suyu Fu, Jin Liu, Jung-Fu Lin, Compressional and shear wave velocities of Fe-bearing silicate post-perovskite in Earth’s lowermost mantle, Geoscience Frontiers, 2024, 101915, ISSN 1674-9871
Volatiles and Redox Along the East African Rift
Brounce, M., Scoggins, S., Fischer, T. P., Ford, H., & Byrnes, J. (2024). Volatiles and redox along the East African Rift. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 25, e2024GC011657.
Latest Happenings

SEES Town Hall at AGU
SEES Principal Investigator Andy Campbell and members of the Executive Committee shared updates...

SEES Booth at AGU Conference
SEES will have an exhibition booth at the AGU conference in Washington, DC. If you are planning to...

SEES Town Hall 2024
SEES Town Hall on FAIR Data Sharing Policies and Updates on APS and ALS upgradesDate &...

Andy Campbell talks at “New Opportunities and Developments in SEES”.
https://uic.zoom.us/j/99098590328?pwd=Qkxia2ROdXVvSHRNUGdNaHN1Wjlodz09