Discovery of an isotopically distinct Zealandia

UW Department of Geology and Geophysics Professor Ken Sims and recent Ph.D. graduate Sean Scott are co-authors of an article, “An isotopically distinct Zealandia-Antarctic mantle domain in the Southern Ocean,” published by the scientific journal Nature Geoscience in January.

“The Australian-Antarctic Ridge is the remotest mid-ocean ridge in the world’s oceans and one of the last explored ridge segments, and, lo and behold, our isotope measurements of the samples we collected provided us with quite a surprise -- an entirely new domain in the Earth’s mantle,” Sims says.