Entries by Laurence Yeung

G-Cubed: Bubble Coalescence and Percolation Threshold in Expanding Rhyolitic Magma

May 9, 2019 /0 Comments/in /by

Thomas Giachetti, Helge M. Gonnermann, James E. Gardner, Alain Burgisser, Sahand Hajimirza, Tobias C. Earley, Nathan Truong, and Pamela Toledo Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst. 20 (2019) 1054-1074. DOI: 10.1029/2018GC008006 Abstract Coalescence during bubble nucleation and growth in crystal‐free rhyolitic melt was experimentally investigated, and the percolation threshold, defined as the porosity at which the vesicular melt first becomes […]

JGR-Solid Earth: Predicting Homogeneous Bubble Nucleation in Rhyolite

May 9, 2019 /0 Comments/in /by

Sahand Hajimirza, Helge M. Gonnermann, James E. Gardner, and Thomas Giachetti J. Geophys. Res.-Solid Earth 124 (2019) 2395-2416. DOI: 10.1029/2018JB015891 Abstract Bubble nucleation is the critical first step during magma degassing. The resultant number density of bubbles provides a record of nucleation kinetics and underlying eruptive conditions. The rate of bubble nucleation is strongly dependent […]

Nature Geoscience: Seismic velocity reduction and accelerated recovery due to earthquakes on the Longmenshan fault

May 9, 2019 /0 Comments/in /by

Shunping Pei, Fenglin Niu, Yehuda Ben-Zion, Quan Sun, Yanbin Liu, Xiaotian Xue, Jinrong Su, and Zhigang Shao Nature Geosci. 12 (2019) 387-392. DOI: 10.1038/s41561-019-0347-1 Abstract Various studies report on temporal changes of seismic velocities in the crust and attempt to relate the observations to changes of stress and material properties around faults. Although there are […]

GRL: Precursory Stress Changes and Fault Dilation Lead to Fault Rupture: Insights From Discrete Element Simulations

May 9, 2019 /0 Comments/in /by

David G. Blank and Julia K. Morgan Geophys. Res. Lett. 46 (2019) 3180-3188. DOI: 10.1029/2018GL081007 Abstract We use the discrete element method to create numerical analogs to subduction megathrusts with natural roughness and heterogeneous fault friction. Boundary conditions simulate tectonic loading, inducing fault slip. Intermittently, slip develops into complex rupture events that include foreshocks, mainshocks, […]

Mark Torres wins Sloan Research Fellowship

April 4, 2019 /0 Comments/in /by

By Kendall Schoemann (staff writer in Rice University’s Office of Public Affairs) Two Rice University faculty members have been selected as 2019 Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellows. Mark Torres (Photo courtesy of Rice University) Mark Torres, assistant professor of Earth, environmental and planetary sciences, was honored for his work in the field of ocean sciences, […]

Environmental Science & Technology: In situ quantification of biological N2 production using naturally occurring 15N15N

April 4, 2019 /0 Comments/in /by

Laurence Y. Yeung, Joshua A. Haslun, Nathaniel E. Ostrom, Tao Sun, Edward D. Young, Maartje A. H. J. van Kessel, Sebastian Lücker, and Mike S. M. Jetten Abstract We describe an approach for determining biological N2 production in soils based on the proportions of naturally occurring 15N15N in N2. Laboratory incubation experiments reveal that biological […]

Marine Chemistry: Kinetic and equilibrium fractionation of O2 isotopologues during air-water gas transfer and implications for tracing oxygen cycling in the ocean

February 22, 2019 /0 Comments/in /by

Boda Li, Laurence Y. Yeung, Huanting Hu, and Jeanine L. Ash Abstract Oxygen isotopologues are useful tools for understanding biogeochemical processes and chemical budgets in the ocean. For example, the triple‑oxygen isotope composition of dissolved oxygen in the ocean mixed layer (i.e., its δ17O and δ18O values) is widely used to estimate gross oxygen productivity […]

RCMS: Scale distortion from pressure baselines as a source of inaccuracy in triple-isotope measurements

August 10, 2018 /0 Comments/in /by

Laurence Y. Yeung, Justin A. Hayles, Huanting Hu, Jeanine L. Ash, and Tao Sun Rapid Comm. Mass Spectrom. (2018) doi: 10.1002/rcm.8247 Rationale: Isotope ratio measurements have become extremely precise in recent years, with many approaching parts‐per‐million (ppm) levels of precision. However, seemingly innocuous errors in signal baselines, which exist only when gas enters the instrument, […]

EPSL: Low oxygen and argon in the Neoproterozoic atmosphere at 815 Ma

November 7, 2017 /0 Comments/in /by

Laurence Y. Yeung Abstract The evolution of Earth’s atmosphere on >106>106-yr timescales is tied to that of the deep Earth. Volcanic degassing, weathering, and burial of volatile elements regulates their abundance at the surface, setting a boundary condition for the biogeochemical cycles that modulate Earth’s atmosphere and climate. The atmosphere expresses this interaction through its […]