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...

📢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

🎓Congrats to Dr. Mona Lüder, who successfully defended her #PhD thesis “H2O in rutile and the onset of cold subduction ”🌍💎 @unibern.bsky.social 🇨🇭Wishing you all the best for your future endeavours! @unibern.bsky.social

📅 In two weeks we will have a workshop on Sexual Harassment Awareness organized by our DEI group. 🔗 The registration is free and open to our staff and students, available in the QR code and link in the flyer.

Paper alert!📢Schmid et al. find new insights on lower crustal deformation during early rifting. Quantified XRCT-scanned model of block rotation during rift segment interaction reveals coupling processes between brittle and ductile deformation. More info:

In June-July of 2024 @icdpdrilling.bsky.social NamCore drilling project was carried out at an impressive altitude of 4700 meters on Lake NamCo, Tibet. Check out this video showcasing the project: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivaR... More information about the project: www.icdp-online.org/projects/by-...

Curious about the evolving landscape of Open Access in the geosciences? Join to the event hosted by the University Library Bern 📅 When: February 13, 13:00 - 18:15 📍 Where: UniS, Schanzeneckstrasse 1, 3012 Bern, Room A003 👉 Register here (free): www.ub.unibe.ch/service/open...

🏂 Winter Wonderland! ❄️ Last week and following the yearly tradition, members of the IfG enjoyed a day at the snowy slopes of Hasliberg ⛷️ finishing the day with a well deserved fondue 🧀

📢 Paper alert! Peverelli et al. estimated fluxes of reduced chemical species during their formation and exhumation, via fluid circulation 💧 mediated by jadeitites, which could explain the proliferation of subsurface microbial life in forearc regions in the Phanerozoic.

A freshly fallen meteorite☄️in the Oman desert was discovered by an Omani-Swiss team. The trajectory and location were determined using data from cameras that captured the fireball. #naturhistorischesmuseum @unibern.bsky.social More info: lnkd.in/dgG6rcj3

📢Paper alert! Our student Giacomina Bucher's MSc thesis has been published in the #SwissJournalofGeosciences, where fieldwork, #Sedimentary petrography, surface exposure dating with cosmogenic #36Cl, & advanced modeling are integrated. @unibern.bsky.social Info: doi.org/10.1186/s000...

The Rock-Water-Interaction group went on an excursion to Basel🇨🇭, where they toured the Birsfelden river power plant (#FlusskraftwerkBirsfelden) and received a specialized tour of the Langen Erlen drinking water treatment (#LangenErlen zur Trinkwasser-Aufbereitung). 🚰 @unibern.bsky.social

We had the pleasure to have Dr. Cindy Urueña, a Colombian postdoctoral researcher awarded with the Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship (ESKAS), working with Prof. Daniela Rubatto on 2023-2024 at the IfG. Learn more about her experience⬇️ www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmQU...