Research Focus
Data-driven perspectives on mantle geochemistry
At the broadest scale, I am fascinated by Earth’s crust-mantle system and how variations in the processes and rates of mass cycling between Earth’s surface and interior have shaped its evolution over time. As a mantle geochemist, I study how magmatism and crustal recycling—the major drivers of element cycling between the mantle and crust—manifest as chemical and physical heterogeneity in the mantle. I use the elemental and isotopic compositions of mantle-derived basalts to indirectly sample this heterogeneity. My research integrates large geochemical databases with multivariate statistics and machine learning to quantitatively test process-based hypotheses for the origin of mantle heterogeneity—locally and globally—and to link geochemical signals with geophysical observables. I complement this approach with laboratory-based methods development, applying novel geochemical tools such as stable isotopes to probe these same processes.
CV
Academic Education
- PhD in Earth and Planetary Sciences | Harvard University
- BSc in Geological Sciences | Michigan State University
Positions
- Akademischer Rat auf Zeit (Equivalent to fixed-term Assistant Professor) | Universität Münster
- Postdoctoral Fellow | Universität Münster
- Research Associate | Harvard University
Research Articles (Journals)
- Neumann, E.R., Callegaro, S., Jacobsen, S.B., Hyung, E., Svensen, H.H., Larsen, B.T., and Eriksen, Z.T. . “Geodynamic evolution of the first basaltic volcanism (B1) in the Oslo Rift (Southeast Norway).” Lithos 512-513 108133.
- Eriksen, Zachary T., and Stracke, Andreas. . “Disentangling Partial Melting and Crustal Recycling Signatures in Ocean Island Basalts With Multivariate Statistics.” Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 26 (9) e2025GC012390. doi: 10.1029/2025GC012390.
- Eriksen, Zachary T., Jacobsen, Stein B., Day, James M. D., and White, William M. . “Calcium isotope variability among ocean islands reveals the physical and lithological controls on mantle partial melting.” Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 373: 326–341. doi: 10.1016/j.gca.2024.02.011.
- Hyung, Eugenia, Sedaghatpour, Fatemeh, Larsen, T.Bjørn, Neumann, Else-Ragnhild, Eriksen, T.Zachary, Petaev, I.Michail, and Jacobsen, B.Stein. . “A peridotite source for strongly alkalic ultrabasic HIMU lavas of the Oslo Rift, Norway.” Preprint. Chemical Geology 622. doi: 10.1016/j.chemgeo.2023.121377.
- Fu, Hairuo Jacobsen B. Stein, and Larsen T. Bjørn, Eriksen T. Zachary. . “Ca-isotopes as a robust tracer of magmatic differentiation.” Earth and Planetary Science Letters 594. doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2022.117743.
- Eriksen, Z.T., and Jacobsen, S.B. . “Calcium isotope constraints on OIB and MORB petrogenesis: The importance of melt mixing.” Earth and Planetary Science Letters 593. doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2022.117665.
- Dong, J, Fischer, RA, Stixrude, LP, Lithgow-Bertelloni, CR, Eriksen, ZT, and Brennan, MC. . “Water storage capacity of the martian mantle through time.” Icarus 385: 115113–115113. doi: 10.1016/j.icarus.2022.115113.