Institute of Geological Sciences, Uni Bern

📢 Paper alert! Vasileios Mavromatis et al. investigated how sulfate (SO₄²⁻) impacts Mg isotope fractionation in low-Mg calcite 💧🪨 — with big implications for interpreting natural carbonate records.

👉 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

#Geochemistry #IsotopeGeochemistry #MgIsotopes #Carbonates

Lake sediments on the Adamawa Plateau (Central Cameroon) as archives of climate change and the Bantu impact during the last 4000 years BP - Journal of Paleolimnology This study investigates Late Holocene environmental changes in Central Cameroon induced by the combined effects of climate and human impact. For this purpose, sediments from lakes Dang, Massote,…

📢 Paper alert!

A multiproxy study from Alexandrine N’nanga et al. 2025 studied four lakes in Central Cameroon to investigate past environmental changes induced by climate variations and human impact.

Read more:

Source-to-sink patterns of grain size along the Yamuna River in the Indian Himalaya Material supply, water transport, and river engineering structures such as dams and barrages potentially disrupt and alter the downstream grain size p…

📢 Paper alert! Narendra Patel et al., using drone data, aimed to explain source-to-sink patterns of #coarse-grained #sediment transport in braided streams of the Indian #Himalaya 🏔️ .
More info:

📍 #Goldschmidt2025
Researchers from the #UniversityofBern attended this year’s Goldschmidt Conference, contributing to discussions on current developments in #geochemistry, presenting their work, and engaging with the #internationalscientificcommunity.

MinPlotX: A powerful tool for formula recalculation,... MinPlotX is an open-source software for mineral formula recalculation and compositional plotting providing an easy-to-use stand-alone graphical...

📢 New tool for #geoscientists! Walters & Gies present MinPlotX—an #opensource program for mineral formula recalculation + compositional plotting. GUI for easy use, API for advanced users. Great for #microprobe data + large datasets.

Open Access paper: doi.org/10.2478/mipo...

Ultra-fast metamorphic reaction during regional metamorphism Constraining the timescales of metamorphic processes is critical to understanding geodynamics on Earth. It is generally accepted that the rates of met…

📢 Paper alert! Liu et al. show ultra-fast #metamorphic reactions (8 days to <1 yr) during regional #metamorphism. Trace element #diffusion in garnet reveals melt-assisted corona growth at rates previously thought exclusive to contact metamorphism or lab settings.

doi.org/10.1016/j.gc...

Chemical and Isotopic Exchanges in Serpentinites during Hydration and Dehydration Events in the Erro-Tobbio Massif (Italy): from Ocean to Subduction Abstract. Subducted serpentinites are important for recycling water and fluid mobile elements into the deep Earth. Here we present a texturally controlled

📢Paper alert!

Vesin et al. use δ¹⁸O and trace element data from Erro-Tobbio serpentinites to reveal variable oceanic serpentinisation and dehydration pathways

Their findings suggest internal fluid control with minimal external slab fluid input

Read more: doi.org/10.1093/petr...

🎓Congrats to Dr. Hoda Moradi, who successfully defended her #PhD thesis “Mobilization of aluminum and other toxic elements under changing alpine climatic conditions” Wishing you all the best in the future!
@unibern.bsky.social

📢Paper alert! Chatterjee et al. find evidence for alteration of Earth's mantle 🌍 by recycled ocean materials over 3.4 billion years ago in India's Singhbhum Craton. This early recycling is thought to have helped build the planet’s first stable continents:

doi.org/10.1016/j.ep...

@unibe.ch

🥾 On last weekend, second semester Geography students visited the surroundings of Blatten bei Natters for their introductory course in geology 🏔️. Gneisses, amphibolites and glacial geomorphology were among the topics covered in this excursion led by members of our Institute.

Redirecting

📢Paper alert! The Cr, Ti and O isotopic composition of different ureilites 🌠, a group of achondrite meteorites, reveal the heterogeneity of their parent body. Kruttasch et al. conclude that they derive from an isolated sub-reservoir within the protoplanetary disk.

🔗Read more

The Aare main overdeepening on the northern margin of the European Alps: basins, riegels, and slot canyons Abstract. This work summarizes the results of an interdisciplinary project where we aimed to explore the origin of overdeepenings through a combination of a gravimetry survey, drillings, and dating. T...

📢Paper alert! Schlunegger et al. showed the results of an interdisciplinary project focused in Bern, Switzerland, which explored the origin of overdeepenings through a combination of a gravimetry survey, drillings, and dating.

🔗Read more following the link below
doi.org/10.5194/esur...

Last week, second semester students from the bachelor course 👨‍🎓 completed their first fieldwork campaign in Ausserberg, Valais 🗻 They learnt the techniques of recording field notes, mapping, and measuring structural data #unibern #geology

🏅 Dr. Renée Tamblyn received the prestigious “Outstanding Early Career Scientist Award of the GMPV Division” at #EGU25 for her groundbreaking work in 🕐petrochronology of subduction processes, 💧komatiite hydration and H2 production and ⏲the development of a new in-situ method for Lu-Hf geochronology️

🧪 Flavio Anselmetti in Action at Pestalozzi School Camp 🌍

On April 3, Anselmetti visited the School Camp in Trogen (Appenzell), inspiring kids with his lake research. His interactive session sparked curiosity — maybe even in a future scientist!

📸 Photos by Ketty Bertossi

PhD students Ainhoa Val Pascua and Neal Mathes recently represented IfG at Karst Records 10 in South Africa.🌍 In addition to presenting their own research, they explored the Cradle of Humankind, visited the West Coast Fossil Park,🦴 and attended a speleothem petrography workshop.👩‍🔬🐧

Paper alert! 📢

Do Prado et al. investigate how grain size sorting affects surface roughness in gravel-bed rivers. Using a stochastic model and field data, they show that poorly sorted sediments create spatial roughness variations, forming meter-scale patches. 🌊🏞️
More info:🔗 doi.org/10.1016/j.ge...

Major-Element Geochemistry and Fe3+/ΣFe of Metabasites Abstract. Metabasites (metamorphosed mafic rocks) are crucial for understanding metamorphic and tectonic processes. Their preservation in exhumed orogenic

📢Paper alert! Forshaw et al. present a new global database of 6,186 metabasite major-element compositions to shed light on metamorphic trends 📈 The database highlights volatile decrease with grade and encourages work on Fe3+ distribution in minerals @unibe.ch
more info: doi.org/10.1093/petr...

Best wishes to Prof. Guido Schreurs from the Structural Geology group who starts his well-deserved retirement 🤠 Guido's fascinating geological and archaeological career is recorded in his work from Madagascar and analogue modelling 😀 Thanks to Guido and we wish him all the best in his retirement! 🎉🥳

On April 3rd, IfG will host a Career Evening 👩‍🔬 providing students the chance to connect with professionals from diverse fields of geology 🌋💎☢️. The event will feature a speed networking session, followed by an apero. Be sure to register by March 31st!

🏫 As every year, our Institute participated in the TecDays, organized by the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences (SATW). Members of the Isotope Geology group visited the Gymnasium Neufeld, and showed the effects of viscosity on the eruption modes and volcanic products.

🔗 More info buff.ly/DL6tCBs

Last Saturday the Swiss Society of Quaternary Research held its annual meeting at the Institute of Geological Sciences in Bern.🐻 PhD student Ainhoa Val Pascua received the award for best poster. Congratulations!🎉

🎓Congrats to Dr. Pascal Kruttasch, who successfully defended his #PhD thesis “Evolution of the ureilite and proto-Earth reservoirs: 53Mn-53Cr chronometry and Cr-Ti-O isotope anomalies” Wishing you all the best in the future!
@unibern.bsky.social

On Saturday, researchers from the IfG attended the 31st Annual SwissSed Meeting in Fribourg. Of the PhDs, Arga (pictured) received the best oral presentation award and Martin with the best poster; Aliisa and Siro ranked equal second for posters. Impressive work from IfG members!

Are you a Bachelor's student interested in geosciences? On March 19th the Bern-Fribourg Master’s programme in Earth Sciences will have an info event. Registration for the event is through the university website, untill 16th of March buff.ly/3SVyTVj

📢Paper alert! Mona Lüder et al., used LA-ICP-MS mapping of rutile to study intra-grain variabilities of trace elements in rutile. This approach shows complex & variable zoning patterns that open up new possibilities for future research. @unibern.bsky.social
More info:
doi.org/10.1016/j.ch...

📢Paper alert! Using insitu δ11B result of high-pressure serpentinite Ulrich et al suggest that serpentinite dehydration under brucite-out reaction conditions don't produce significant B isotopic fractionation between antigorite & metamorphic olivine @unibern.bsky.social
Info: doi.org/10.7185/geoc...

🎓Congrats to Dr. Sebastian Schaller, who successfully defended his #PhD “ICDP Project DOVE: Investigating erosion and infilling of overdeepened Alpine valleys by combining scientific drilling with geophysical exploration”.
Wishing you all the best for your future endeavours!
@unibern.bsky.social

Glad to anounce one-week scientific exchange sebatical of Prof. Naki Akçar in China, with the support of Swissnex. @unibern.bsky.social

🎓Congrats to Dr. Anita Katheras, who successfully defended her #PhD thesis “Atomic scale characterization of Tc and Pu uptake by magnetite based on atomistic simulations and X‐ray absorption spectroscopy” @unibern.bsky.social Wishing you all the best for your future endeavours! @unibern.bsky.social