About this Research Topic
The Earth's surface is an interface between the lithosphere, the hydrosphere, the atmosphere, and the biosphere. The interactions between different geospheres determine the climate and landform of the Earth. The Earth’s surface processes are active, perplexing, and essential to all life on our planet, and they are thus important for scientific, engineering, environmental, and economic reasons.
The rapid development of novel isotope tracers, including stable (e.g., Li, Mg, K, Si, Ca, Zn, Mo, Ni etc.) and uranium-series isotopic systems have been accelerating the studies of the Earth’s surface processes, such as weathering, erosion, soil formation, seafloor alteration and biogeochemical activities.
This Research Topic aims to provide a platform for sharing the latest research related to novel stable isotopes, subsequently leading to research advances in the Earth’s surface processes and many subdisciplines of Earth sciences.
We welcome studies addressing the development of high precision isotope analyses, principal mechanisms of isotope fractionation in biogeochemical reactions, as well as their applications in improving our understanding of the Earth’s surface processes and planet habitability. This Research Topic will address themes related, but not limited to:
• Behaviour and mechanisms of isotope fractionation during Earth surface processes;
• High precision novel isotope analyses;
• Weathering and erosion;
• Climate change;
• Chemical cycle in the oceans and atmosphere;
• Critical zone processes;
• Biogeochemical cycles;
• Co-evolution between life and environments;
• Environmental geochemistry and human health; and
• Anthropogenic contamination and natural geochemical processes.
This Research Topic has been realized in collaboration with Dr. Ximing Chen, Postdoc Researcher at Florida State University.
The rapid development of novel isotope tracers, including stable (e.g., Li, Mg, K, Si, Ca, Zn, Mo, Ni etc.) and uranium-series isotopic systems have been accelerating the studies of the Earth’s surface processes, such as weathering, erosion, soil formation, seafloor alteration and biogeochemical activities.
This Research Topic aims to provide a platform for sharing the latest research related to novel stable isotopes, subsequently leading to research advances in the Earth’s surface processes and many subdisciplines of Earth sciences.
We welcome studies addressing the development of high precision isotope analyses, principal mechanisms of isotope fractionation in biogeochemical reactions, as well as their applications in improving our understanding of the Earth’s surface processes and planet habitability. This Research Topic will address themes related, but not limited to:
• Behaviour and mechanisms of isotope fractionation during Earth surface processes;
• High precision novel isotope analyses;
• Weathering and erosion;
• Climate change;
• Chemical cycle in the oceans and atmosphere;
• Critical zone processes;
• Biogeochemical cycles;
• Co-evolution between life and environments;
• Environmental geochemistry and human health; and
• Anthropogenic contamination and natural geochemical processes.
This Research Topic has been realized in collaboration with Dr. Ximing Chen, Postdoc Researcher at Florida State University.
Keywords: earth surface processes, isotope fractionation, chemical and physical processes, biogeochemical activities, analytical methods
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
