Professor Henry "Harry" ElderfieldFRS[6][7] (25 April 1943 – 19 April 2016), was Professor of Ocean Chemistry and Palaeochemistry at the
Godwin Laboratory in the
Department of Earth Sciences at the
University of Cambridge.[8][9] He made his name in ocean chemistry and palaeochemistry, using trace metals and isotopes in biogenic carbonate as palaeochemical tracers, and studying the chemistry of modern and ancient oceans - especially those of the glacial epoch and the Cenozoic.[3][10]
He was appointed a lecturer in the Department of Earth Sciences,
University of Leeds in 1969, a position he held until 1982. From 1982 until 1989 he held the post of assistant director in research in the
Department of Earth Sciences at the
University of Cambridge. He was awarded the degree of
Doctor of Science in 1989 and the same year, was appointed
reader in
geochemistry at Cambridge. Elderfield was appointed Professor of Ocean Geochemistry and Palaeochemistry in 1999.
Early career
His early career was focused on the behaviour of
trace metals in oceans and their sediments, and on fluid flow through the
oceanic crust and sediments under the influence of off-axis
hydrothermal circulation. He became one of the first low-temperature geochemists to appreciate how
radiogenic isotopes might be used to solve the problems of marine geochemistry, developing the seawater
strontium isotope curve for the
Cenozoic.[13]
He also worked on
iodine speciation in seawater and porewaters,[14] the separation of
cerium from other
rare earth elements in a classic example of
redox behaviour;[15] he has developed a precise
mass spectrometric analysis method – and made the first-ever measurements of oceanic profiles for – 10 rare earth elements. The rare earths are now widely used as tracers in sedimentary geochemistry and palaeoceanography.[16]
Later research
Elderfield's later research focused on ocean chemistry and paleochemistry, and his results have had a far-reaching impact on the academic geochemistry discipline. He contributed significantly to marine chemistry, most notably the fate of metals in hydrothermal processes, the formation of
manganese nodules,<[17] and the
biogeochemical cycles of elements including iodine and strontium.
His latter interests included defining
chemical proxies from biogenic carbonates and using them to understand the ancient ocean. He pioneered the development of
foraminiferalmagnesium thermometry, which has become accepted for the estimation of past ocean temperatures.[16]
Selected publications
Elderfield, H., Holland, D. & Turekian, K.K. (2003) Treatise on geochemistry. Elsevier Science, 646p[ISBN missing]
^
abWakefield, S. J.; Elderfield, H. (1985). "Interstitial water iodine enrichments in sediments from the eastern Pacific". Journal of Marine Research. 43 (4): 951–961.
doi:
10.1357/002224085788453912.
^
abGerman, Christopher R.; Elderfield, Henry (1990). "Application of the Ce anomaly as a paleoredox indicator: The ground rules". Paleoceanography. 5 (5): 823–833.
Bibcode:
1990PalOc...5..823G.
doi:
10.1029/PA005i005p00823.
^Elderfield, H.; Upstill-Goddard, R.; Sholkovitz, E.R. (1990). "The rare earth elements in rivers, estuaries, and coastal seas and their significance to the composition of ocean waters". Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. 54 (4): 971–991.
Bibcode:
1990GeCoA..54..971E.
doi:
10.1016/0016-7037(90)90432-K.