= Geochemistry
<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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