He worked as a research fellow in the Geology Department, Imperial College London between 1968 and 1969 whilst completing his PhD at the University of Liverpool in 1970.
[13] He also worked on iodine speciation in seawater and porewaters,[14] the separation of cerium from other rare earth elements in a classic example of redox behaviour;[15] he has developed a precise mass spectrometric analysis method – and made the first-ever measurements of oceanic profiles for – 10 rare earth elements.
[16] Elderfield's later research focused on ocean chemistry and paleochemistry, and his results have had a far-reaching impact on the academic geochemistry discipline.
He contributed significantly to marine chemistry, most notably the fate of metals in hydrothermal processes, the formation of manganese nodules,<[17] and the biogeochemical cycles of elements including iodine and strontium.
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