What is the chemical composition of the Earth’s interior? Because it is impossible to drill more than about ten kilometres deep into the Earth, volcanic rocks formed by melting Earth’s deep interior ...

Continental clues: Modern continental rocks carry chemical signatures from the very start of our planet’s history, challenging current theories about plate tectonics. Researchers have made a new ...

Earth's crust today has a surprisingly similar composition to the planet's first outer shell, or "protocrust," new research finds. This early rocky shell featured chemical signatures previously ...

There are 17 rare earth elements (REEs) in all — 15 lanthanides plus yttrium and scandium. It's a fairly diverse group, with each rare earth mineral having different applications, pricing and ...

Earth’s surface environment hosts large reservoirs of hydrogen (H, mainly in the form of water, H2O), nitrogen (in atmospheric N2) and carbon (mainly in carbonate rocks). H, N and C are sometimes ...

“To see a world in a grain of sand,” the opening sentence of the poem by William Blake, is an oft-used phrase that also captures some of what geologists do. We observe the composition of mineral ...

Oceanic island hotspots — Hawaii and Iceland — are the final destinations of elemental isotopes from the beginnings of Earth, in concentrations found nowhere else on Earth’s crust. Until now, it was ...

Rare earth minerals are the naturally occurring minerals that contain one or more rare earth elements in it. The rare earth elements are a group of 17 metallic elements that are chemically similar and ...

Rare earth elements are critical to many industries—used in electric motors, medical imaging and diagnostics, oil and gas refining, and computer and phone screens. The 17 rare earth elements all have ...

This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them. Rare earth elements are essential for modern military and ...