August 2014

High impact factor for Geochemical Perspectives

We are delighted to announce that our journal Geochemical Perspectives, launched in 2012, has received its first impact factor for 2013: 8.25. EAG especially thanks the editorial team who had the vision to create this journal and has tirelessly worked to solicit, edit and proof the volumes that you see today. This strong reception by the geochemistry community of a wholly community run journal is good news for Geochemistry and the launch of Geochemical Perspectives – Letters in 2015.

All articles are freely available online at geochemicalperspectives.org or via GeoScienceWorld.

Award nominations: recognize deserving scientists

If you know of scientists who merit recognition, please take a few minutes to nominate them for an EAG Award or for the EAG-GS Fellowship. The process is simple and the different awards recognize scientists at various stages of their career:

• Urey Award, recognizing scientific excellence over a career
• Werner Stumm Science Innovation Award for scientists between 35 and 55 in the field of low temperature and surface geochemistry
• Houtermans Award for scientists under 35 or within 6 years of their PhD
• EAG-GS Geochemical Fellowship, recognizing scientists who have made major contributions to the field of geochemistry.

Please send your nomination before 31 October for EAG-GS Fellows and before 15 November for all other awards.

EAG-GS Outreach Lecturer visiting Madagascar

Pierre Deschamps (Institut de Recherche pour le Développement & CEREGE) has been selected as the 2014 EAG-GS Outreach lecturer, and is currently at the University of Antanavarivo in Madagascar, giving a seminar on groundwater dating. Pierre will visit other African universities in the coming months. The Outreach Program aims to develop knowledge in geochemistry in under-represented regions of the world.

EAG Photo Contest: remember to cast your vote

The jury has selected the best 5 photos in each theme and we now invite you to vote for your favourite photos. Online voting will be open until 20 September.

Elements August issue: Unconventional Hydrocarbons Resources

Unconventional hydrocarbons, such as gas and oil shale, oil sands, and heavy oil, can now be exploited more effectively and economically. This has stimulated exploration and exploitation on a global scale and has led to a new economic and environmental landscape in energy matters. Exploiting unconventional hydrocarbons requires additional technology, energy, and capital compared to the industry standard. In this thematic issue, Guest editors David Cole and Michael Arthur address the geologic and geochemical nature of these resources and their impact on global socioeconomics and the environment. Find this issue online.

Elements is also thrilled to announce that its impact factor for 2013 rose to 4.5 from 3.1 in 2012.

The risk of an exploding glacier is heating up in Iceland

[EarthSky] Will lava soon hit glacier ice, unleashing an explosion that would spew ash and steam high in the atmosphere? The Icelandic Meteorology Office (IMO) thinks that the probability of such an event in their country has increased. Through August 16, 2014, the risk level had been at code green – a “background, non-eruptive state.” The IMO has upgraded the risk twice in the last two days... Read more

Rosetta: Comet probe gets down to work

[BBC News] A week after arriving at Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, Europe's Rosetta probe is busy acquiring the data needed to select a landing site. Scientists on the mission expect to meet in just over a week to begin the process of producing a "long list" of no more than five locations. These will then be whittled down to two - a primary and a back-up - to be announced in mid-September. The plan is to try touch down with the piggybacked Philae robot in November. Read more

Humans have tripled mercury levels in upper ocean

[Nature News] Mercury levels in the upper ocean have tripled since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, and human activities are to blame, researchers report today in Nature. Although several computer models have estimated the amount of marine mercury, the new analysis provides the first global measurements. Read more

Man-made quakes shake the ground less than natural ones

[Nature News] Seismic danger from oil and gas operations may be overestimated. Expanded oil and gas operations in the central and eastern United States have triggered earthquakes as large as magnitude 5.7, as drillers inject wastewater back into the ground. But seismologists now report a bit of good news... Read more

A humorous look at the world of science

Following "To the limits", the EAG Comic Strip series published last year, we persist in providing you with some comic relief because we all need some every now and then… Check the latest on the EAG website comic page and in Elements August issue.

Check the latest job opportunities

Receive job ads as they are posted: like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter (@EAG_). Post a position on the EAG job page (free of charge): send the details to EAG Office.

• PhD position in Earth Sciences ‘Study of abiotic hydrocarbons generation in CO2-rich sedimentary basins and CO2 valorisation by mineral storage’ - IPGP & IFPEN
• 4 PhD positions in Hydrogeology, Marine Sciences, Ecology, and Geosciences - Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Ecology
• MSc or PhD Position in Ecohydrology ‘Geophysical Signatures of Biogeochemical and Microbial Processes in the Soil Vadose Zones’- University of Waterloo
• PhD position in Atmospheric Geochemistry ‘Mineral dust particles as the seeds of ice in clouds’- University of Leeds
• PhD position in geo-/cosmochemistry ‘Extraterrestrial materials in ferromanganese crusts’ - ETH Zurich
• Postdoctoral Research Assistant in Geochemistry - University of Oxford
• Postdoctoral Research Assistant in Metagenomics of Arctic Soil - University of Bristol
• Postdoctoral Research Scholar in Geochemistry - University of California, Merced
• Postdoctoral Research Associate – Geochemistry - Oak Ridge National Laboratory
• Postdoctoral position in Environmental Biogeochemistry - ETH Zurich
• Postdoctorate position 2 years ‘Cryo-TEM study of intracellular biomineralization of calcium carbonates by cyanobacteria’ - IMPMC
• Lab Specialist in Geochemistry - The Petroleum Institute, Abu Dhabi
• Lectureship in Earth Sciences - University of St Andrews
• Electron Probe Micro-Analyzer (EPMA) Laboratory Manager/ Research Scientist Position - Rice University
• Organic Geochemist - University of California Santa Cruz
• Tenure-track faculty position in Geology - Johns Hopkins University

More jobs at www.eag.eu.com/jobs.

Thank you for your attention!