John M. Eiler
Robert P. Sharp Professor of Geology and Geochemistry; Ted and Ginger Jenkins Leadership Chair, Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences
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The 13C-18O carbonate paleothermometer: The hottest thing off our presses is a carbonate paleothermometer based on the ordering of 13C and 18O into bonds with each other in the carbonate mineral lattice. This differs in important ways from Urey's classic carbonate-water oxygen isotope thermometer (or similar ones based on other sets of phases. Most significantly, the 13C-18O thermometer is based on a homogeneous equilibrium (an exchange reaction involving only components of a single phase). Therefore, it rigorously constrains temperature without needing to know the oxygen isotope composition of water, or anything else besides carbonate). This property of the 13C-18O thermometer promises to resolve many long-standing problems in paleoclimate research and paleothermometry. Our first application focused on determining the growth temperatures of soil carbonates from the Altiplano, which can be compared to the 'surface lapse rate' to constrain its uplift history. Ongoing applications include the thermal histories of aqueously altered meteorites, marine paleoclimate studies in 'deep' geologic history (the mesozoic, paleozoic and late pre-cambrian), and the body temperatures of the dinosaurs (roar!). These applications are anticipated to be the tip of a large iceberg. This is an ideal program for an ambitious new student or postdoc to join...
Multiply-substituted isotopologues of CO2 in air: The same set of instruments used to study 13C-18O ordering in carbonates can be used to measure the abundances of the rare carbon dioxide isotopologue, 13C18O16O, in air and other natural gases. This molecule has several interesting and exotic properties, and as a result it can provide unique constraints on the origins of CO2 and the budget of atmospheric CO2. For example, the concentration of this isotopologue is sensitive to whether or not CO2 comes from high temperature sources (car exhaust or forest fires) vs. low-temperature sources (e.g., respiration), independent of the ∂13C of that CO2. We are applying this measurement to understand the atmospheric budget of CO2 and the mechanisms of its production and consumption in model systems. In the near future, we will begin similar studies of multiply-substituted isotopologues of other atmospheric gases.
Earth's atmospheric H2 budget: Molecular hydrogen (H2) is the tenth most abundant molecule in earth's atmosphere, and the second most abundant reduced gas, after methane. It participates in or indirectly influences photochemical cycles of OH, methane and ozone, and has a poorly understood role in the microbiology of soils. The budget and environmental chemistry of H2 is not well known, and this ignorance poses a significant problem for predicting the possible consequences of anthropogenic emissions of H2 that might be associated with the transition to a 'hydrogen economy'. We have been examining
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Publications
- Hagbi, Ravid;Goren, Liran et al. (2024) Inferring relative sediment fluxes and landscape evolution trends from C, O and clumped isotopes and mineral composition in detrital carbonateEarth and Planetary Science Letters
- Ryb, U.;Ponton, C. et al. (2024) Late Miocene Uplift and Exhumation of the Lesser Himalaya Recorded by Clumped Isotope Compositions of Detrital CarbonateGeophysical Research Letters
- Mueller, Elliott P.;Panehal, Juliann et al. (2024) Isotopic evidence of acetate turnover in Precambrian continental fracture fluidsNature Communications
- Farley, Kenneth A.;Treffkorn, J. et al. (2024) The δ¹⁸O contrast between bulk goethite and water extracted from it does not reliably reveal goethite growth temperatureChemical Geology
- Bhattacharjee, Surjyendu;Eiler, John M. (2024) Oxygen isotope equilibria of O-bearing organic compounds based on first principle quantum mechanical models, and implications for their use in the study of extraterrestrial organicsGeochimica et Cosmochimica Acta
- Xie, Hao;Formolo, Michael J. et al. (2024) Theoretical and experimental constraints on hydrogen isotope equilibrium in C1-C5 alkanesGeochimica et Cosmochimica Acta
- Takano, Yoshinori;Naraoka, Hiroshi et al. (2024) Primordial aqueous alteration recorded in water-soluble organic molecules from the carbonaceous asteroid (162173) RyuguNature Communications
- Wang, Renée Z.;Lonergan, Zachery R. et al. (2024) Widespread detoxifying NO reductases impart a distinct isotopic fingerprint on N₂O under anoxiaProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- de Kleer, Katherine;Hughes, Ery C. et al. (2024) Isotopic evidence of long-lived volcanism on IoScience
- Furusho, Aogu;Ishii, Chiharu et al. (2024) Enantioselective three-dimensional high-performance liquid chromatographic determination of amino acids in the Hayabusa2 returned samples from the asteroid RyuguJournal of Chromatography Open
- Wang, Xinchu;Chen, Biying et al. (2024) Microbial contribution estimated by clumped isotopologues (¹³CH₃D and ¹²CH₂D₂) characteristics in a CO₂ enhanced coal bed methane reservoirScience of The Total Environment
- Zeichner, Sarah S.;Fischer, Woodward W. et al. (2024) The Carbon Isotopic Composition of Archean Kerogen and Its Resilience Through the Rock CycleAmerican Journal of Science
- Hughes, Ery C.;de Kleer, Katherine et al. (2024) Using Io's Sulfur Isotope Cycle to Understand the History of Tidal HeatingJournal of Geophysical Research: Planets
- Chimiak, Laura;Eiler, John (2024) Prebiotic synthesis on meteorite parent bodies: Insights from hydrogen and carbon isotope modelsChemical Geology
- Csernica, Timothy;Sessions, Alex L. et al. (2023) High-dimensional isotomics, part 2: Observations of over 100 constraints on methionine's isotomeChemical Geology
- Zeichner, Sarah S.;Aponte, José C. et al. (2023) Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in samples of Ryugu formed in the interstellar mediumScience
- Kew, William;Boiteau, Rene M. et al. (2023) Natural Abundance Isotope Ratio Measurements of Organic Molecules Using 21 T FTICR MSAnalytical Chemistry
- Haghnegahdar, Mojhgan A.;Sun, Jiayang et al. (2023) Tracing sources of atmospheric methane using clumped isotopesProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Weiss, Gabriella M.;Sessions, Alex L. et al. (2023) Analysis of intramolecular carbon isotope distributions in alanine by electrospray ionization Orbitrap mass spectrometryInternational Journal of Mass Spectrometry
- Schmitt-Kopplin, Philippe;Hertkorn, Norbert et al. (2023) Soluble organic matter Molecular atlas of Ryugu reveals cold hydrothermalism on C-type asteroid parent bodyNature Communications
- Wang, Renée Z.;Lonergan, Zachery R. et al. (2023) Widespread detoxifying NO reductases impart a distinct isotopic fingerprint on N₂O under anoxia
- Yoshimura, Toshihiro;Takano, Yoshinori et al. (2023) Chemical evolution of primordial salts and organic sulfur molecules in the asteroid 162173 RyuguNature Communications
- Scheller, Eva L.;Ingalls, Miquela et al. (2023) The mechanisms and stable isotope effects of transforming hydrated carbonate into calcite pseudomorphsGeochimica et Cosmochimica Acta
- Csernica, Timothy;Bhattacharjee, Surjyendu et al. (2023) Accuracy and precision of ESI-Orbitrap-IRMS observations of hours to tens of hours via reservoir injectionInternational Journal of Mass Spectrometry
- Zeichner, Sarah S.;Chimiak, Laura et al. (2023) Position-specific carbon isotopes of Murchison amino acids elucidate extraterrestrial abiotic organic synthesis networksGeochimica et Cosmochimica Acta
Instructor: Eiler
Instructor: Eiler
Instructor: Eiler
Instructor: Eiler
Instructor: Eiler
Instructor: Eiler
Instructor: Eiler