THE GEOCHEMICAL NEWS Quarterly Newsletter of The Geochemical Society NUMBER 102 ISSN 0016-7010 JANUARY 2000 In this issue: From President Mike Hochella.......................3 Goldschmidt 2000 Farewell from Lee Mobley............................ 4 The Doings at GCA........................................6 Oxford, U. K. Gaia Research Center for Biogeology.............7 September 3-8, 2000 2nd Biennial SIMS Workshop Report...........9 A Conversation with Harold Helgeson.........10 http://www.campublic.co.uk/science/conference/Gold2000 PICO III Meeting Report..............................17 Meetings Calendar .........................................19 GS Special Publications..................................22 see page 8 for more information 2 The Geochemical News #102, January 2000 THE GEOCHEMICAL SOCIETY The Geochemical Society is a nonprofit scientific society founded to encourage the application of chemistry to the solution of geologi- cal and cosmological problems. Membership is international and diverse in background, encompassing such fields as organic geochem- istry, high and low-temperature geochemistry, petrology, meteorit- ics, fluid-rock interaction, and isotope geochemistry. The Society produces a Special Publications Series, The Geochemical News OFFICERS - 2000 (this quarterly newsletter), the Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochem- istry Series (jointly with the Mineralogical Association of America), PRESIDENT Michael F. Hochella, Jr., Virginia Polytechnic Institute and the journal Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (jointly with the Meteoritical Society); grants the V.M. Goldschmidt, F.W. Clarke VICE PRESIDENT and Clair C. Patterson Awards, and, jointly with the European Judith McKenzie, ETH, Zurich Association of Geochemistry, the Geochemistry Fellows title; spon- sors the V.M. Goldschmidt Conference, held in North American PAST PRESIDENT Michael J. Drake, University of Arizona in odd years and elsewhere in even years, jointly with the European Association of Geochemistry; and co-sponsors the Geological Soci- SECRETARY ety of America annual meeting and the American Geophysical Union David J. Wesolowski, Oak Ridge National Laboratory spring meeting. The Society honors the memory of our first Presi- dent, F. Earl Ingerson, and our first Goldschmidt Medalist, Paul INTERNATIONAL SECRETARY S. Ross Taylor, Australian National University W. Gast, with the Ingerson and Gast Lectures, held annually at the Geological Society of America Meeting and the V.M. Goldschmidt TREASURER Conference, respectively. The Geochemical Society is affiliated Rebecca Lange, University of Michigan with the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the International Union of Geological Sciences. CHAIR, ORGANIC GEOCHEMISTRY DIVISION Mike Engel, University of Oklahoma Members of the Organic Geochemistry Division are individu- als with interests in studies on the origin, nature, geochemical sig- SECRETARY, ORGANIC GEOCHEMISTRY DIVISION nificance, and behavior during diagenesis and catagenesis of natu- Peggy Ostrom, Michigan State University rally occurring organic substances in the Earth, and of extraterres- trial organic matter. GS members may choose to be affiliated with the OGD without any additional dues. The OGD presents the Alfred E. Treibs Award for major achievements in organic geochemistry, DIRECTORS and Best Paper awards (student and professional) in organic Thure Cerling, University of Utah geochemistry. Jochen Hoefs, Universität Göttingen Albrecht W. Hoffman, Max Planck Institut f. Chemie Alexandra Navrotsky, University of California - Davis Editor’s Corner R. Keith O’Nions, Oxford University K. Vala Ragnarsdottir, University of Bristol Happy New Millennium! Everett L. Shock, Washington University Neil C. Sturchio, Editor Phone: 630-252-3986 The Geochemical News Fax: 630-252-7415 Argonne National Laboratory Email: [email protected] 9700 South Cass Ave., ER-203 EDITORS Argonne, IL 60439-4843 U.S.A. GEOCHIMICA ET COSMOCHIMICA ACTA Frank Podosek, Washington University ASSOCIATE EDITORS David Cole, Oak Ridge National Laboratory GEOCHEMICAL NEWS Yoko Furukawa, Naval Research Laboratory Neil C. Sturchio, Argonne National Laboratory John M. Hanchar, University of Notre Dame Kenneth Johnson, Texas Tech University INTERNET COORDINATOR Bob Nichols, Washington University Mitch Schulte, NASA Ames Research Center Angelina W. M. G. Souren, Armadillo Research, Amsterdam SPECIAL PUBLICATIONS AND REVIEWS IN MINERALOGY AND GEOCHEMISTRY (CO-EDITOR) ASSISTANT EDITOR Scott Wood, University of Idaho Dolores Sturchio, Oswego, Illinois Newsletter of The Geochemical Society The Geochemical News #102, January 2000 3 From President Mike Hochella this GN issue), and the GS Business Office has moved on with our new GCA Executive Editor, Frank Podosek, to Washington University in St. Louis (see p. 4 for the new address). Greetings, thanks, and The new GS website – welcome - Our internet coordinator, Mark Bloom, has retired, and As the new Geochemical Society in his place is our new webmaster, Bob Nichols from Washing- President, it is a pleasure to be writ- ton University. Bob is in the process of building a new website ing to you for the first time. Allow for the Society, and although it is still under construction, it is me to start by welcoming you to functional and already highly useful. The former site is still on- the Geochemical Society of the line, but I recommend that you bookmark the new site and start new century (or the last year of the using it exclusively. The internet address is http://gs.wustl.edu old century if you want to be tech- nical). I hope that you enjoy a pro- ductive and profitable year ahead. Upcoming Goldschmidt Conferences – Next, I wish to extend my The Goldschmidt Conferences have become a tremen- warmest thanks to Mike Drake, dous international success for both the Geochemical Society and Past-President, Don Elthon, retired the European Association of Geochemistry. The next Treasurer, and Karl Turekian, retiring GCA Executive Editor. Goldschmidt will be held in Oxford, U.K., from September 3 to These gentlemen worked wisely and diligently for the Society 8, 2000. Mark the abstract deadline (May 15, 2000) and your and skillfully guided us through some fairly rough seas. We owe calendars now. For questions or inquires, visit the conference them a great deal for the time that they pulled from the rest of website at http://www.campublic.co.uk/science/conference/ their professional and personal lives to run this ship. In the same Gold2000/ breath, allow me to welcome Judith McKenzie of ETH, Zürich, Plans are already well underway for Goldschmidt 2001, Switzerland, the new Vice-President, Becky Lange of the Uni- to be held in Virginia, USA, from May 20 to 24, and Goldschmidt versity of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA, the new Treasurer, and 2002, to be held in Davos, Switzerland, from August 18 to 23. Frank Podosek of Washington University, St. Louis, USA, the The 2003 meeting has yet to be sited, although we will be glad to new GCA Executive Editor. All three are exceptionally capable review any proposals that you may have, and the GS and EAG and I am excited about what they will bring to the Society in the are considering holding the 2004 meeting in Japan at the invita- years to come. tion of the Geochemical Society of Japan. Membership renewals – Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry – If you haven’t renewed your membership for 2000, please Most of you are well acquainted with the exceptionally do so just as soon as possible. These renewals are absolutely successful Reviews in Mineralogy series, published by the Min- critical. Without a reasonably sized paying membership, we have eralogical Society of America. Now, after 26 years and several no Society. And why do we need it? GCA is better than ever and hundreds of thousands of volumes sold, Reviews in Mineralogy still by far the leading geochemical journal in the world (and on is coming to a close, to be replaced by Reviews in Mineralogy par with EPSL in terms of citation index strength), the quarterly and Geochemistry, a jointly sponsored series of MSA and the Geochemical News has become a respected and sophisticated GS. This is clearly an extraordinary opportunity for the GS in publication in its own right, the Goldschmidt conferences are ex- which we can help provide high quality, low cost research and ceptional events that have become the envy of several of our sis- review books to the communities we serve. Look for the first ter societies, and the medals that our Society bestows gain in world- RiM&G volume to appear later this year. If you are interested in wide prestige with every passing year. To do all this, we need a organizing a future RiM&G volume, contact the GS Series Editor solid and hopefully growing membership base. As such, renew- for RiM&G, Scott Wood, University of Idaho, USA als become the life blood of everything we do. So again, if you ([email protected]). haven’t already, please renew today. Membership application/renewal forms can be found Finally – within nearly every issue of GCA and The Geochemical News, or If you have ideas, observations, complaints, or anything you can contact the business office directly, which brings me to else we might be interested in, I’d be glad to hear from you and the next subject . will do my best to respond to everyone who writes. My e-mail is [email protected]. And to all of you, all the best! The new GS Business Office – Mike As you know, the Business Office of the GS has been in Columbus, Ohio, for a number of