Oliver Nebel was awarded the Victor Moritz Goldschmidt Prize in recognition of his fundamental contributions to the field of isotope geochemistry.

Oliver Nebel was the first to improve the determination of the 87Rb/85Rb ratio by ICP-MS by up to an order of magnitude compared with thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS). Combined with the calibration of the decay constant of 87Rb against the decay constants of 235U and 238U, this significantly increased the precision of Rb–Sr geochronology. Through this work, he revitalized the Rb–Sr dating method and established it as a much more powerful geochronological tool.

In addition, Oliver Nebel investigated magmas from subduction zones, addressing the question of whether the subduction of sediments contaminates the mantle source of ocean island basalts to such an extent that a contribution from the Earth's core can no longer be resolved using tungsten isotope systematics at current analytical precision. His work established an upper limit of approximately  ≈1‰ for the contribution of core-derived material to the source regions of mantle plumes.

Alongside radiogenic isotope systems, Oliver Nebel also applies redox-sensitive stable isotope systems, including molybdenum and iron isotopes, to investigate fundamental questions such as the redox state of Earth's atmosphere during the middle and late Archean.

Through these pioneering studies, Oliver Nebel demonstrated the remarkable potential of isotope geochemistry for reconstructing the evolution of the Earth's crust and mantle throughout geological history, from the Hadean to the present day.