Geologic map of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Region, Tennessee and North Carolina. Available at: http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2005/1225/USGS
A recent paper provides insight into the chemical reactions that occur during weathering of Nickel (Ni)-rich rock, and the stable isotope fractionation that results from this process. Ni is an essential trace metal for life as we know it, and Ni stable isotope compositions vary on Earth across terrestrial and marine minerals. The study was performed using samples from different horizons of a laterite in North Carolina, USA. The results could be relevant to understanding Ni isotope distribution near the surface of the Earth following the oxygenation of the planet’s atmosphere. Prior to oxygenation, biogeochemical cycling of Ni isotopes was likely different.
The paper, “Nickel isotope fractionation during continental weathering,” was published in the journal Chemical Geology. The work was supported by NASA Astrobiology through the Exobiology & Evolutionary Biology Program.