<p>Chemical geodynamics is an interdisciplinary field of deep Earth science that emerged in the 1980s, aiming to recognize and understand the fluxes between geochemical reservoirs and geosphere interactions, as well as the spatiotemporal relationships of their formation and evolution to plate tectonics and mantle convection. The relevant theoretical framework includes key elements such as mantle differentiation and mixing, crustal growth rate, mantle heterogeneity, and Earth box models, which involve identifying mantle endmember components based on multi-isotope systems and revealing the regional distribution of isotopic anomalies. The classical framework divides Earth into several reservoirs and describes mass exchange between reservoirs through mass balance equations. This framework assumes that the internal composition of reservoirs is homogeneous and the boundaries between reservoirs are clear. In reality, geochemical reservoirs themselves are the products of dynamic evolution—mantle heterogeneity is produced not only by the mixing of a few endmembers but also by a continuous spectrum due to continuous mantle convection and material cycling processes. Therefore, when recognizing and understanding the interaction of internal geospheres, chemical geodynamics is shifting from a static reservoir description to dynamic process simulation. Reviewing the development of chemical geodynamics, it is evident that this emerging discipline uses radiogenic isotope systems as a framework, integrates analytical observations combining trace elements and stable isotope systems as filling, makes breakthroughs through the development of technical methods and theoretical models, and employs comprehensive and diverse research approaches, pushing the study of material cycling in geospheres into the developmental stage of deep Earth system science. This article mainly focuses on six classic papers on chemical geodynamics, making a systematic review on its theoretical framework, core concepts, developmental trajectory, and major achievements, and pointing out existing problems based on research progress since the beginning of the 21st century. Examining these landmark works reveals that chemical geodynamics has evolved from qualitative description to quantitative simulation of dynamic geochemistry, from seeking idealized endmember reservoirs to describing nonlinear, multi-scale convective mixing processes, providing a unified theoretical framework for understanding Earth’s 4.5-billion-year evolutionary history.</p>

Chemical geodynamics: A chemical approach for geodynamics

期刊论文
发表日期：

2026年5月22日

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Yongfei Zheng,
Zifu Zhao,
Shaobing Zhang

摘要

Chemical geodynamics is an interdisciplinary field of deep Earth science that emerged in the 1980s, aiming to recognize and understand the fluxes between geochemical reservoirs and geosphere interactions, as well as the spatiotemporal relationships of their formation and evolution to plate tectonics and mantle convection. The relevant theoretical framework includes key elements such as mantle differentiation and mixing, crustal growth rate, mantle heterogeneity, and Earth box models, which involve identifying mantle endmember components based on multi-isotope systems and revealing the regional distribution of isotopic anomalies. The classical framework divides Earth into several reservoirs and describes mass exchange between reservoirs through mass balance equations. This framework assumes that the internal composition of reservoirs is homogeneous and the boundaries between reservoirs are clear. In reality, geochemical reservoirs themselves are the products of dynamic evolution—mantle heterogeneity is produced not only by the mixing of a few endmembers but also by a continuous spectrum due to continuous mantle convection and material cycling processes. Therefore, when recognizing and understanding the interaction of internal geospheres, chemical geodynamics is shifting from a static reservoir description to dynamic process simulation. Reviewing the development of chemical geodynamics, it is evident that this emerging discipline uses radiogenic isotope systems as a framework, integrates analytical observations combining trace elements and stable isotope systems as filling, makes breakthroughs through the development of technical methods and theoretical models, and employs comprehensive and diverse research approaches, pushing the study of material cycling in geospheres into the developmental stage of deep Earth system science. This article mainly focuses on six classic papers on chemical geodynamics, making a systematic review on its theoretical framework, core concepts, developmental trajectory, and major achievements, and pointing out existing problems based on research progress since the beginning of the 21st century. Examining these landmark works reveals that chemical geodynamics has evolved from qualitative description to quantitative simulation of dynamic geochemistry, from seeking idealized endmember reservoirs to describing nonlinear, multi-scale convective mixing processes, providing a unified theoretical framework for understanding Earth’s 4.5-billion-year evolutionary history.