THE MANY TRAITS OF SULFATE
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New Zealand
Sulfate is a common oxyanion on Earth. Chemists pay attention to sulfate’s concentration and its change. Geologists, who could not directly get the concentration data for the distant past, love to measure sulfate’s sulfur and oxygen isotope composition for their rich information on physical, chemical, and biological processes. Increasingly, new technologies have made it possible to measure multiple and high-dimensional isotope composition of sulfate. At least seven parameters can now be attached to sulfate to reveal reaction mechanisms at the molecular and atomic levels. The many parameters have opened new applications in Earth, planetary, environmental, and biological sciences.
Additional information: Dr. Alex WEBB, aagwebb@hku.hk