Dominique Weis

• PhD, Habilitation
• Professor (Full) at University of British Columbia

The Hawaiian-Emperor chain, the surface expression of the Hawaiian mantle plume which has been active for at least 81 Ma, is divided into the Emperor Seamounts (81–47 Ma), Northwest Hawaiian Ridge (NWHR, 47–6 Ma), and Hawaiian Islands (< 6 Ma). Hawaiian volcanism evolves through four volcanic stages: alkalic preshield, tholeiitic shield (80–90% vol...

Advances in multi‐collector inductively coupled plasma‐mass spectrometry (MC‐ICP‐MS) have led to the widespread use of iron (Fe) isotopes to elucidate the (bio)geochemical history of a range of environments. To generate Fe isotope measurements, standard‐sample bracketing (SSB) is commonly used to correct for instrumental mass bias inherent to MC‐IC...

Kauaʻi shield‐stage lavas are central to understanding the origin of the distinct Kea and Loa Hawaiian geochemical trends in Hawaiian basalts. These trends reflect two geochemically distinct sides in the Hawaiian plume, with Loa to the southwest and Kea to the northeast. The geochemistry and Sr‐Nd‐Hf isotopic compositions of shield‐stage lavas from...

Mantle plumes originate at depths near the core−mantle boundary (~2,800 km). As such, they provide invaluable information about the composition of the deep mantle and insight into convection, crustal formation, and crustal recycling, as well as global heat and volatile budgets. In this Review, we discuss the effectiveness and challenges of using is...

Fourteen whole rock samples were analyzed for 40Ar/39Ar geochronology to determine the timing of an important transition in mantle source geochemistry that occurred on the island of Kaua‘i, located at the junction between the Northwest Hawaiian Ridge and the Hawaiian Islands. Kaua‘i’s shield-stage lavas have lead (Pb) isotopic compositions that cha...

International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 357 drilled 17 shallow sites distributed ~10 km in the spreading direction (from west to east) across the Atlantis Massif oceanic core complex (Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 30°N). Mantle exposed in the footwall of the Atlantis Massif oceanic core complex is predominantly nearly wholly serpentinized har...

Honeybees and their products are useful biomonitors of metal distribution in urban centres. This study investigates particulate sources that foraging honeybees encounter in Metro Vancouver. Metal concentrations and lead (Pb) isotope compositions were measured in topsoil (top 2 cm, n = 14) colocated with existing research hives and in particulate ma...

The Skaergaard intrusion of East Greenland is one of the best studied layered intrusions on Earth and preserves an exceptional rock record produced during low-pressure, closed-system crystallization of Fe-rich tholeiitic magma. The lead isotope compositions of plagioclase feldspar in cumulates and related igneous rocks of the Skaergaard intrusion w...

Hawaiian volcanoes record 6 Ma of potentially deep mantle chemistry and form two parallel volcanic chains that are geochemically unique, named Loa and Kea. Loa volcanoes erupt lavas with isotopically enriched compositions thought to reflect the presence of recycled material in the deep mantle source of the Hawaiian plume. Variations in stable thall...

High rates of oxide formation affect the magnitude and behaviour of instrumental mass bias for Nd isotopic measurements performed with multi‐collector‐inductively coupled plasma‐mass spectrometry (MC‐ICP‐MS) instruments, causing the traditional correction methods (e.g., internal and external normalisation) to fail. Here, we investigate the instrume...

The neodymium isotope composition (∊Nd) of authigenic phases in marine sediment is widely used to reconstruct the origin and mixing of water masses of overlying seawater through time. However, at some locations in the modern ocean, the ∊Nd of authigenic phases in surface sediment is not consistent with that of local seawater, raising concerns about...

Honey from Apis mellifera is a useful and inexpensive biomonitor for mapping metal distributions in urban centers. The sampling resolution of a biomonitoring survey (e.g., city versus global scale) determines which geochemical processes are reflected in the results. This study presents Pb isotopic compositions and metal concentrations in honey from...

The Paleoproterozoic Bushveld Complex, including the world’s largest layered intrusion and host to world-class stratiform chromium, platinum group element, and vanadium deposits, is a remarkable natural laboratory for investigating the timescales of magmatic processes in the Earth’s crust. A framework for the emplacement, crystallization, and cooli...

Hawaiian volcanoes belong to two geographically and geochemically distinct trends, the Loa and Kea trends. The cause of this dichotomy is still strongly debated. One of the prevailing hypotheses is that the two trends originate in the deep mantle where the Hawaiian mantle plume straddles two geophysically and geochemically distinct domains at the c...

The Galápagos and Hawai'i archipelagos are formed by mantle plumes originating at the large low shear velocity province (LLSVP) boundary. We report new high‐precision Pb, Sr, Nd, and Hf isotopic analyses on 83 Galápagos samples and compare them with those of Hawai'i. The data confirm that like Hawai'i, Galápagos is a bilaterally asymmetric plume wh...

Obsidian, or volcanic glass, is frequently found in archaeological sites in western North America. Researchers often investigate ancient Indigenous landscape use by comparing the trace element concentrations of archaeological obsidian objects to natural sources. However, the trace element compositions of obsidian sources are not necessarily unique,...

The fire at Notre-Dame cathedral, Paris, in April 2019 was an acute pollution event, releasing lead- (Pb-) rich dust into the city. To assess Pb distribution, honey samples (n = 36) were collected (in July 2019) from hives throughout the Île-de-France following the fire and were analyzed for a suite of metal concentrations and Pb isotopic compositi...

Assessing metal distributions in cities is an important aspect of urban environmental quality management. Western honeybees (Apis mellifera) and their products are biomonitors that can elucidate small-scale metal distribution within a city. We compare range and variations in trace element (TE) concentrations and lead (Pb) isotopic compositions of h...

The contemporary academic environment in Canada has undergone reorganization based on neoliberal principles, and has increased attention focused on the importance of supporting interdisciplinary initiatives to address complex problems affecting global society. The purpose of our study was to examine the experience of people participating in a speci...

Mineral-scale Pb isotopic variations in cumulates of the Kiglapait intrusion, the largest troctolitic intrusion of the Proterozoic Nain Plutonic Suite in Labrador (Canada), are evaluated directly in thin section by single spot LA-ICP-MS analysis of minerals with low Pb concentrations (e.g., plagioclase = 0.31–3.3 ppm, clinopyroxene = 0.06–1.1 ppm)...

Prognostic geochemistry attempts to identify prospective areas for economic deposits of a wide range of commodities, including non-traditional deposit-types. Although the geochemistry of panned heavy mineral concentrates (HMC) from stream sediments has been used elsewhere to discover economic metal deposits that were missed by conventional stream-s...

GeoFile 2020-04 is a poster presented at the annual AME BC Mineral Exploration Roundup Conference in 2020. Regional geochemical surveys support the societal resource base by identifying prospective areas for large-tonnage economic deposits of a wide range of commodities, including non-traditional deposit types in undeveloped and underexplored regio...

Indigenous oral history and archaeological evidence both support extensive long-distance trade and exchange networks in ancient North America. However, many Indigenous communities oppose the excavation, decontextualization, and analysis of their belongings (artifacts) and ancestral remains for documenting such activities for Rights and Title applic...

Industrial lead (Pb) emissions have changed oceanic Pb concentrations and isotopic compositions significantly over the last century. Asian industrial emissions are currently the dominant Pb sources in the northwest and central Pacific Ocean. This study investigated major Pb sources in the northeast Pacific Ocean (inland, coastal, and open ocean), w...

Archaeology and geology inherently intersect when attempting to determine the geographic origin of lithic materials manufactured into artifacts by ancient people. Obsidian, or volcanic glass, is frequently found in archaeological sites, and researchers commonly use the trace element characteristics of obsidian artifacts to identify their source. Ho...

Oceanic island basalts are targeted for geochemical study because they provide a direct window into mantle composition and a wealth of information on the dynamics and timescales associated with Earth mixing. Previous studies mainly focused on the shield volcanic stage of oceanic islands and the more fusible, enriched mantle components that are easi...

For ~82 million years, the Hawaiian‐Emperor chain volcanoes have sampled the Pacific mantle via the Hawaiian mantle plume, providing evidence that its composition varies on a range of temporal and spatial scales. Hawaiian volcanoes from 2 to 0 Ma are divided into southwestern (Loa) and northeastern (Kea) geographic and geochemical trends that are i...

The scientific analysis of material from Indigenous contexts raises key questions about researcher objectivity. Indigenous scholarship of their material heritage often invokes elements such as sentient landscapes and the intervention of spirit-beings in geological and human history. Some critical theorists propose that objectivity in any form is a...

Soil processes strongly govern silicon (Si) mobility in terrestrial environments and its relation to other global biogeochemical cycles. The nature of inherited soil clay minerals can be highly diverse given the variability of their weathering environment. The influence of Si isotope fractionation factor in the initial geochemical conditions of cla...

Molybdenum contamination is a concern in mining regions worldwide. Better understanding of processes controlling Mo mobility in mine wastes is critical for assessing potential impacts and developing water-quality management strategies associated to this element. Here, we used Mo stable isotope (δ98/95Mo) analyses to investigate geochemical controls...

Urban geochemistry is an emerging field in which key scientific and societal challenges, including rapid urbanization and population growth, compel investigation of readily accessible biomonitors to determine the source, transport and fate of heavy metal pollutants in cities. Lead isotopic analyses of honey have recently proven its efficacy as a bi...

The parent magma and mantle source of the Mesoproterozoic Kiglapait intrusion, the largest and youngest troctolitic intrusion in the Nain Plutonic Suite of coastal Labrador, Canada, are evaluated using an integrated Pb-Sr-Nd-Hf isotopic and trace element framework. The bowl-shaped Kiglapait intrusion crystallized mostly as a closed system, forming...

Laboratory batch experiments were conducted to study Mo isotope fractionation during the precipitation of powellite (CaMoO4) and wulfenite (PbMoO4). These minerals act as important sinks of dissolved Mo, especially in alkaline-pH mine drainage. Their precipitation might be traceable through Mo isotope analyses, provided that it induces Mo isotope f...

IODP Expedition 357 used two seabed drills to core 17 shallow holes at 9 sites across Atlantis Massif ocean core complex (Mid-Atlantic Ridge 30°N). The goals of this expedition were to investigate serpentinization processes and microbial activity in the shallow subsurface of highly altered ultramafic and mafic sequences that have been uplifted to t...

We present the first systematic characterization of the Fe isotope composition of magmatic pyrrhotite for the application of Fe isotopes to the origin and evolution of magmatic sulfide deposits. Iron isotopes provide constraints on redox, temperature, fluid exsolution, fractional crystallization, and intermineral diffusion at magmatic or subsolidus...

Serpentinized and metasomatized peridotites intruded by gabbros and dolerites have been drilled on the southern wall of the Atlantis Massif (Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 30°N) during International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 357. They occur in seven holes from five sites making up an east-west trending, spreading-parallel profile that crosscut...

The near-solidus crystallization history of the Paleoproterozoic Bushveld Complex, the world's largest layered intrusion, has been investigated using the in situ trace element geochemistry (LA-ICP-MS) of accessory minerals that crystallized from late, highly fractionated pockets of interstitial melt in layered cumulates and from granitic magmas in...

Rapid developments in the emerging field of urban geochemistry warrant the use of trace element and isotopic analyses on a number of key bioindicators to determine source apportionment, transport, and fate of (heavy) metal pollutants. Honey from the European honey bee (Apis mellifera) has long been used as a bioindicator to assess environmental exp...

Trace element characteristics of obsidian artifacts are often used to identify their geologic origin, informing archaeologists on past human use of the landscape. Establishing accurate artifact-source relationships is paramount for demonstrating past territorial occupation by First Nations (e.g., Rights and Title), which has legal and socio-cultura...

The Hawaiian-Emperor chain is the ∼6,000 km long surface expression of the deeply sourced Hawaiian mantle plume active over the past ∼81 Myr. The Hawaiian Islands (<∼6.5 Ma) present two geographically and geochemically distinct trends, Kea and Loa, while the Emperor Seamounts (>81–47 Ma) show only Kea compositions. New Sr-Nd-Hf isotope, trace and m...

The Eocene Skaergaard intrusion is the classic example of closed-system fractionation of basaltic magma and has strongly influenced the development of key concepts in petrology. Despite its impact, relatively few studies have used radiogenic isotopes to test the extent to which closed-system conditions applied during crystallization and the link be...

The Natkusiak continental flood basalts and Franklin sills of Victoria Island preserve an exceptional record of the ca. 716–723 Ma Franklin large igneous province and are synchronous with major climatic variations and breakup of the supercontinent Rodinia. The Natkusiak Formation basalts record an early phase of discontinuous rubbly flows (<100 m,...

This article is hosted at the following web address: http://www.largeigneousprovinces.org/18apr - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The Natkusiak continental flood basalts and Franklin sills of Victoria Island preserve an exceptional record of the ca. 716-723 Ma Franklin large igneous province (LIP) (Heaman et al., 1992), w...

Primitive, near-primary arc magmas occur as a volumetrically minor ≤100 m thick unit in the Canadian Cordillera of northwestern British Columbia, Canada. These primitive magmas formed an olivine-phyric, picritic tuff near the base of the Middle-Late Triassic Stuhini Group of the Stikine Terrane (Stikinia). A new ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age on hornblende from a c...

The Neoarchean Stillwater Complex, one of the world's largest known layered intrusions and host to a rich platinum-group element deposit known as the J-M Reef, represents one of the cornerstones for the study of magmatic processes in the Earth's crust. A complete framework for crystallization of the Stillwater Complex is presented based on the trac...

The Natkusiak continental flood basalts and Franklin sills of Victoria Island preserve an exceptional record of the ca. 716–723 Ma Franklin large igneous province and are synchronous with major climatic variations and breakup of the supercontinent Rodinia. The Natkusiak Formation basalts record an early phase of discontinuous rubbly flows (<100 m,...

Among the most significant challenges in maximizing the precision and accuracy of U-Pb zircon geochronology by LA-ICP-MS is minimizing the impact of downhole fractionation, the time-dependent evolution of Pb/U ratios caused mainly by complex differences in the volatility and chemical properties of elements as they are excavated from the ablation si...

Island arc volcanics record interaction between the “baseline” asthenospheric arc mantle and melts and fluids derived from subducted oceanic sediments, crust, and mantle. Contributions from sub-arc lithospheric mantle, which may be genetically unrelated to the ongoing arc process, and arc basement may add further complexity to the elemental and iso...

Measurements of molybdenum (Mo) stable isotopes (δ⁹⁸Mo) were applied along with conventional geochemical analyses of water and rock samples at a Mo mine in the USA to assess controls on Mo mobility in two unsaturated waste-rock storage facilities (WRSFs) that are differentiated by acidic and alkaline drainages. Unweathered waste rock, Mo ore, and m...

Cation replacement in the bioapatite crystal lattice occurs in- and ex-vivo, recording both life and death histories. Early diagenetic degradation of organic material causes the instability of bioapatite post-mortem, which results in elemental and isotopic exchange between a bone and its surrounding environment. Such processes overprint in-vivo che...

Prehistoric bones and teeth are extremely valuable resources for both life history (in-vivo) and diagenetic (ex-vivo) information. Taphonomy is the study of the ex-vivo processes and resulting alteration a biological organism undergoes from the time of its death until its discovery. Depositional and post-depositional taphonomic processes cause the...

Extreme gradients in topography related to variations in magma supply are observed on the Southern Explorer Ridge (SER), part of the northern Juan de Fuca ridge system. We report radiogenic isotope (Pb, Sr, Nd, Hf) and geochemical data for twenty-four basalt whole-rock and glass samples collected from the length of the SER and from Explorer Deep, a...

At many prehistoric sites, erosional processes rework and mix materials of different ages into the same sedimentary facies, producing time-averaged deposits. Archaeologists and palaeontologists must, therefore, consider and correct for this reworking when using natural stratigraphy to situate artifacts and remains in time. At Scladina Cave, a Neand...

The ~56 Ma Skaergaard intrusion is one of a number of mafic layered intrusions that are related to formation of the East Greenland flood basalt province and opening of the North Atlantic Ocean. The Skaergaard intrusion, the model example for evaluating crystallization processes and Fe-enrichment in a closed-system layered intrusion, provides valuab...

New developments for the study of cremated bone in archaeological contexts.