Professor XU Yigang, a geochemist from the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry (GIG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) was elected a Geochemistry Fellow, according to an announcement by the Geochemical Society (GS) and the European Association of Geochemistry (EAG) on February 14.

XU is recognized for his outstanding contributions to international geochemistry including seminal work on the relationship between mantle plumes and the Emeishan flood basalt, the destruction of the North China Craton and the origins of the Cenozoic basalt in China.

XU Yigang works in a lab. (Image by GIG) 

With exceptional achievements in mantle dynamics and magma genesis, Professor XU has influenced a wide range of fields in geosciences, such as geology, geochemistry, petrology, tectonics, seismology, and mass extinction by global climate change.

He is a pioneer to challenge the paradigm that cratonic lithosphere lasts forever, by proving that an old craton was in fact destroyed in the case of the North China Craton. His work has also made Emeishan in southwestern China one of the best characterized large igneous provinces in the world.

Recently, XU's team has revealed a novel mechanism to generate intraplate basalts by fluid-fluxed melting within the Big Mantle Wedge based on their study in eastern China.

As one of the world’s top 2% most-cited scientists, XU has twice received the China's National Natural Science Award, and has been elected as a CAS Member, Fellow of the Geological Society of America (GSA), and Fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in recent years.

Established in 1996, the honorary title of Geochemistry Fellow is bestowed upon outstanding scientists who have made sustained and proven contributions that create a dynamic environment essential for scientific progress in the field of geochemistry. There are more than 300 recipients of the honor so far, including eight from the Chinese mainland.