Geology and Geophysics News

Scientists drilling beneath the Tyrrhenian Sea offshore Italy uncovered unexpected granite intrusions buried within Earth’s mantle, revealing new clues about how continents break apart and oceans begin to form. The study shows that these unusual rocks not only preserved a rare record of fault activity during the opening of a young ocean basin, but may also have helped keep the fault system active as deep mantle rocks rose toward the seafloor.

Louisiana’s coastline faces well-documented threats from sea-level rise, subsidence, and land loss. A 2024 study warned that up to 75% of wetlands could drown by 2070. New research from LSU-affiliated scientists adds nuance, showing that wetland loss varies by location. While some areas are deteriorating due to erosion, others can still build elevation when sediment is available. The findings highlight the need for site-specific restoration strategies, from marsh creation to sediment diversions, tailored to local conditions and processes shaping each landscape.

Only 30 of the 600 carbonatite formations worldwide contain rare earth elements (REEs), vital to electronics and defense systems, to make commercial production viable. Two confirmed locations lie in the United States, with exploration continuing. The U.S. must find new deposits of REE-containing minerals to secure its supply chain.. LSU has developed analytical procedures to identify, describe, and define REEs’ key physical, chemical, and structural properties, positioning the university as a potential service center for researchers and companies worldwide.

By studying samples collected by previous Apollo missions of lunar soil, as well as meteorites from the Moon, LSU geologist Matthew Loocke has been able to unlock new information about how the Moon formed, what it looked like in the past, and what previously unknown chemistries and critical minerals might exist there now.

Two faculty members from LSU’s Department of Geology and Geophysics played key leadership roles at the Fourth International Conference on Tourmaline, known as TUR2025, held July 18-23 in Antsirabe and surrounding regions of Madagascar, one of the world’s premier sources of gem-quality tourmaline.

On Pluto, clustered pits resembling gas pockmarks on Earth have been a mystery. LSU researchers compared the geomorphology of pits on Pluto to gas pockmarks on Earth and found strong evidence that the pits are sources of gas seeping from the dwarf planet’s subsurface.

LSU research shows a solar-inspired material, CsPbBr3, can power fiber-optic sensors that detect radiation, UV, and visible light across wide areas. The technology could enable real-time, distributed monitoring to improve nuclear power safety.

Groundbreaking research often requires tools that let scientists see beyond what the human eye can detect. At LSU, two professors in the Department of Geology and Geophysics, Assistant Professor Eirini Poulaki and Assistant Professor Brandon Shuck, are leading a transformative upgrade to the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) housed in the LSU Advanced Microscopy and Analytical Core (AMAC), giving researchers clearer, deeper views into the materials they study.