Geochemistry uses chemical and isotopic measurements to investigate Earth materials and the processes affecting them. Element abundances and isotope ratios help distinguish sources, reaction histories and mixing. A concentration change can arise from adding an element or from removing other material, so mass balance is essential.
Trace elements respond differently to melting and crystallization because minerals incorporate them unequally. Radioactive systems can constrain time, while isotope fractionation records some physical or chemical transformations. Several independent measurements are needed when alteration or mixing could reproduce the same pattern as the proposed original process.
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