🚨 Paper alert!🚨 In a recent paper Chantal Schmidt et al. combine geomorphic mapping with cosmogenic measurements to quantify erosion within Gürbe, a pre-Alpine catchment. Read more⬇️

📢 Paper alert! Recent work by Hoda Moradi, published in Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, highlights the key role of basaluminite in controlling Al(III) behaviour in acidic environments. See the link below to read more ⬇️ www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

🎓Congrats to Dr. Anna Zappatini, who successfully defended her #PhD thesis “From fireball monitoring to meteorite analysis: recovery and study of fresh falls”. Wishing you all the best in the future!

📢 Paper alert! Exciting new research led by Ignatius Argadestya here at the Institute of Geological Sciences investigates high-resolution orbital data from Mars, identifying evidence for historic high water levels within Valles Marineris. Read more below! ⬇️ www.nature.com/articles/s44...

📢 Paper alert! Anja Rubin et al. used surface exposure dating and runout modelling to elucidate the triggering mechanisms of the Sierre landslide, providing insights into landscape dynamics during the transition to the Holocene. Read more at ⬇️ sjg.pensoft.net/article/1803...

📢Paper alert! Catarina Dieleman et al. used cosmogenic 10Be and 26Al from glaciofluvial gravels, finding that Alpine glaciers and meltwater carved the Swiss foreland twice as fast during a major climate shift 1 Ma ago than they do today Read more at ⬇️ www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

📢Paper alert! Institute of Geology researcher Sebastian Schaller has explored the use of unsupervised machine learning to build stratigraphic models from standard petrophysical and geochemical wireline logging data. oap.unige.ch/journals/sdk...

📢Paper alert! Adrianus Damanik et al. detail climate-driven oxygenation changes in the water column of Lake Towuti, Indonesia 🇮🇩, over the last ~30ka BP through sedimentary Mo isotope compositions ⚛️ Read more at⬇️ www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

📢Paper alert! Catharina Dieleman et al. explore the formation and evolution of a well-preserved polygenetic cone Frébouge in the Italian Alps, using remote mapping, ¹⁰Be surface exposure dating, and modelling.🏔️🔍️ Read more at⬇️

📢Paper alert! Through a series of experiments Natalia Nevskaya et al. investigate the rheology of polymineralic fine-grained shear zones in the Earth’s middle to lower crust.🌋🌍👩‍🔬 Read more at⬇️

📢 New paper by Thorsten A. Markmann & Pierre Lanari. A coupled mechanical petrological model shows how dehydration reactions drive episodic fluid release, permeability pulses, and brittle failure in subduction zones. Open-source code: ThorPT Link: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1...

📢 Paper alert! A recently published study by Philip Ingold investigates water flow dynamics in bottom ash landfills, combining multi-site monitoring with process-based modelling to disentangle matrix flow and preferential transport mechanisms. See below! ⬇️ www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

📢 Paper alert! New research by Renee Tamblyn and others proposes that hydrated 💦 komatiites likely influenced Archean ocean–atmosphere chemistry ☁️ and the generation of early TTG continental crust 🌍 Find the link to the paper here to read more! ⬇️ doi.org/10.1016/j.li...

📢 Paper alert! Research by Institute for Geology researcher Coralie Vesin investigates oceanic serpentinisation processes using high-resolution geochemical indicators from the Samail ophiolites (Oman). Find the link to the paper here to read more! ⬇️ www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

📢Paper alert! In a recent study, Suzette Timmerman et al. demonstrate the importance of analysing the entirety of a 💎diamond inclusion, as the presence of fluid films can fractionate the isotopic composition of the mineral, and give eruption ages instead of formation ages ⏲️. 🔗

🕛 As we approach to the end of this year, let's take a moment to remember some of the events our staff participated on: 💭 conferences, field excursions, outreach activities and social events. 🎆 We wish you a wonderful end of 2025, and all the best in your personal and academic projects for 2026!🎉🎇

📢Paper alert! Bennet Schuster and colleagues developed a new workflow to automate clast-fabric analysis using 🖥️machine learning on X-ray computed tomography scanned drill-cores 🔗https://doi.org/10.1111/bor.70023

✨🎄The Institute of Geological Sciences wishes you Happy Holidays! ❄️Thank you for being part of our community and all your contributions throughout the year.

📢Paper alert! In their latest study, Piccoli et al. show how carbonates in ultramafic lithologies can efficiently return carbon to the deep mantle during subduction, in absence of external fluid infiltration. 🔗 doi.org/10.1186/s000...

💬 We are closing this year's activities with two MSc. talks on the topic of geological hazards🏔️. Well done both of you! 👏

Last weekend at SGM25, several ERCs were honored for their outstanding work: 🏅Paul Niggli Medal — Lisa Eberhard 🏅Best MSc Thesis (SGS) — Alessandro Del Re 🏅CHGeol Awards: BSc — Melanie Streit; MSc — Alexandre Liechti; PhD — Dr. Hoda Moradi 🏅Prix Schläfli — Dr. Simona Meiler Congratulations to all!👏

Over the weekend, the University of Bern hosted the 23rd Swiss Geoscience Meeting together with the 7th Swiss Geologists’ Day.⚒️ About 1000 participants joined a program of workshops, plenary talks, and symposia.📝 Thank you to everyone who took part, and to all who made the event possible!🙏🏼🥳

📢Paper alert! Pascal Kruttasch and Klaus Mezger use 53Mn-53Cr chronometry ⏰ to provide constraints on early protoplanetary disk evolution 🪐 click below to read more! ⬇️ www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

🎓Congrats to Dr. Nils Benjamin Gies, who successfully defended his #PhD thesis “H₂O incorporation into clinopyroxene and consequences for the deep water cycle” Wishing you all the best in the future!

📢Paper alert! Institute member Nils B Gies (Andrea Giuliani et al.) investigate hydrogen zoning in olivine from kimberlite samples, giving insight into the distribution of H2O within the lithospheric mantle and kimberlite melts. More info⬇️ academic.oup.com/petrology/ar...

This summer, members of the Sedimentary Geochemistry group traveled to Lake Poso, in Sulawesi, Indonesia.🌏To collect sediment cores for a SPIRIT SNSF project with Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency👩‍🔬 aiming to uncover past climate patterns, and environmental and geological changes.🌋🔍

⚠️ Have you already registered for the Swiss Geoscience Meeting 2025? ⏱️ This Friday (November 14th) is the last day for registering online Registrations on-site are possible as well, but please bear in mind that an additional fee of 40 CHF will be charged. 🔗 Programme & registration: buff.ly/ixlAg2T

📢 Paper alert! Sandro Truttmann et al. investigate how pre-existing fracture size distributions relate to earthquakes in the southwestern Swiss Alps🏔️ revealing depth-dependent differences in fracture reactivation.💥 More info⬇️

Advertisement for a German talk: Heute Abend gibt Prof. em. Larryn Diamond einen Vortrag im Rahmen des NGB-Jahresprograms "Tiefgründig" (buff.ly/6E8k2Ot): CO2-Sequestrierung im Untergrund - Eine Lösung für die Schweiz?

📢 Paper alert! A new review article by Mazurek and colleagues delves into the different techniques for porewater 💧extraction from clayrocks, and their suitability to the posterior analyses and characterization of their physio-chemical properties. doi.org/10.1016/j.cl...

📢 Paper alert! Sara Nerone and colleagues developed IntersecT 💻, a tool to statistically quantify isopleth thermobarometry, using the output files from Perple_X, improving the interpretation and allowing compositional uncertainties to be included in the models www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

📢 Paper alert! Nicolas Greber et al. measured Si isotopes in Archaean rocks to study land exposure on early Earth.🌋🌍 Their results show a sharp rise in granitoid values at 3.8 to 3.6 Ga, likely due to increased Si flux from emerging crust to oceans.🌊 Read more:

📢 Paper alert! Weija Zhan et al. 2025 studied the role of sheet silicates in fault zones, by conducting hydrothermal ring shear experiments.👩‍🔬 They found that mica enrichment in granitoid faults can lead to weaker upper crust and stronger middle crusts. Read more:

📢 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

📢 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:

📢 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.

📢 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...

📢 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...

📢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.

📢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

📢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...