Fingerprinting rare earth elements from the air

01 July 2016

Vital to many modern technologies yet mined in few  places, the ‘rare earth elements’ are in fact not that rare – they are just difficult to find in concentrations that make them economic to mine. Researchers from Cambridge University and the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) are investigating whether the remarkable properties of these materials can be used to track them down from the air.

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Thin section of igneous rock photographed under a polarising microscope

Magma arta

06 May 2014

Study of a unique rock collection – and its astonishingly beautiful microscopic crystal structures – could change our understanding of how the Earth works.

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CO2 fingers - Strong chemical reactions between dissolved carbon dioxide and porous rock (top) may stop CO2 fingers from spreading from the top throughout an aquifer’s depth, in contrast to systems with no reaction (bottom).

Chemistry curbs spreading of carbon dioxide

06 May 2011

The presence of even a simple chemical reaction can delay or prevent the spreading of stored carbon dioxide in underground aquifers, new research from the University of Cambridge has revealed.

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