Sessions
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Oral contribution & panel discussion:
Turning toolboxes into an ecosystem: How to make research software interoperable?
Thomas Rose (Frankfurt) & Dominik C. Hezel (Frankfurt)Modern research increasingly requires specialized software for data acquisition, processing, reduction, visualization, or storage. The high degree of specialization often mandates to write own software. Scripts, spreadsheets, and sometimes even full-fledged programs and web portals are developed by researchers or research software engineers to optimize workflows, reduce workload, or make data and methods available to a broad audience. The already significant but often unnoticed impact of research software is easily multiplied if different tools were combined into an ecosystem, in which they are seamlessly findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable (FAIR).
This session aims to bring together colleagues involved in the development of research software. In contrast to regular sessions, the participants will briefly introduce themselves and their projects before we will engage in a discussion about how the interoperability, visibility, and accessibility of research software can be increased and how such a software ecosystem may look like.
Spectroscopic methods in modern geosciences
Melanie Kaliwoda (Munich) & Jörg Göttlicher (Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen)Spectroscopic methods with their capability to gain information on atoms and molecules are becoming more and more relevant in Earth sciences in order to open up new fields of research and to solve problems in the various scientific disciplines. Therefore, it is important to have an exchange, which methods are especially suitable for different requirements. The session "spectroscopic methods in modern geosciences" addresses all geoscientific researchers who use spectroscopic technologies such as Raman Spectroscopy, Infrared (IR), UV/Vis, X-ray, Mössbauer, Electron, and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Spectroscopy as well as Mass Spectrometry (MS). Also, contributions of investigations that involve a spectroscopic method not listed here are highly welcome.
Carbonates in natural and technical environments – Precipitation mechanisms, monitoring and applications
Ronny Boch (Graz), Péter Németh (Budapest), & Martin Dietzel (Graz)The session targets the broad field of carbonate research entailing diverse natural settings and technical processes as well as fundamental and applied aspects. This involves the mechanisms of carbonate nucleation and crystal growth based on relevant thermodynamic equilibria and growth kinetics, the formation and alteration of (an)hydrous and (meta)stable carbonates and polymorphism, inorganic and biomineralization, surface-controlled growth mechanisms, growth inhibition and modification. Closely related are high spatial and temporal resolution analytical methods and monitoring approaches including (trace) elemental data and isotope fractionation, spectroscopic and (sub)microscopic imaging tools. Carbonate analysis and process understanding based on laboratory experiments, field observation and computer modeling are highly welcome in this session. Natural settings include ambient and hydrothermal depositional environments, freshwater and marine chemical-sedimentary conditions, soil concretions, volcanic, diagenetic and metamorphic carbonates, and the various natural carbonate archives used for paleoenvironmental reconstruction. Technical settings comprise – amongst others – industrial carbonate precipitates related to raw and construction materials, product additives, water circuits and water treatment, unwanted carbonate scale deposits impairing subsurface infrastructure (e.g. storage reservoirs, tunnel drainage, deep wells, pipelines) or induced (wanted) carbonate precipitation in the course of carbon capture, utilization, and storage.
The co-evolution of Earth's atmosphere, oceans, continents, and life from the early Archean until today
Sebastian Viehmann (Hannover), Alexandra S. Rodler (Vienna), & Simon V. Hohl (Shanghai, P.R. China)The geodynamic evolution of continents and environmental changes facilitated the development of life on our planet and a plethora of mineral species. However, the physico-chemical conditions prevailing in paleoenvironments, the timing of environmental changes, and the impact of Earth’s landmasses and mantle on the chemical composition of the oceans are still poorly understood. Understanding key processes that shape(d) modern and ancient environments such as weathering, hydrothermal alteration of the oceanic crust, bacterial activity, sedimentation, and diagenesis, however, is crucial for reconstructing paleo-environmental conditions throughout Earth’s history. With this session, we encourage contributions from the interdisciplinary fields of geochemistry, oceanography, sedimentology, mineralogy, and geo(micro)biology with the aim to understand modern and ancient aquatic and sedimentary environments. This includes the reconstruction of redox-changes, the cycling of elements and their isotopes in aquatic and sedimentary environments, the evolution of early life habitats, and paleobiology during critical intervals of environmental and climatic changes.
Young Scientist Session
Laura Czekay (Bayreuth) & Rebecca Volkmann (Potsdam)This session aims to give young scientists the opportunity to present their work to their peers. We consider anyone to be a young scientist without or with a recently finished doctorate and invite people to submit their contributions from all stages of their studies (e.g., BSc or MSc thesis or doctoral progress). The session's primary focus is to provide a platform for young scientists to present and discuss their work in a conference setting with a diverse audience. Therefore, contributions from all areas of mineralogy and petrology and related disciplines are welcome. In particular, young scientists presenting their work at a conference for the first time or not sure whether their topic fits into another session are especially invited. The session will be structured or, if large enough, subdivided according to the scientific disciplines identified from the submitted abstracts. We look forward to seeing many young people presenting their work.
Metal enrichment processes - latest advances in the understanding of ore formation
Max Wilke (Potsdam), Julie Michaud (Hannover), & Maximilian Korges (Potsdam)The increasing need for technology based on strategic metals has led to a misbalance between supply and demand, whereby the supply risk may be amplified by several factors (e.g., geopolitical conditions, pandemic, accessibility). It is an important contribution for our society to have insight into already existing ore deposits as well as those yet to be explored. Research on mineralized systems has intensified and diversified in recent years due to advances in analytical and experimental techniques as well as data processing. This has resulted in significant advances in our knowledge of the petrogenesis of ore deposits and to improvements in exploration targeting. This session invites contributions from field, geochemical, experimental, and numerical modeling studies that explore the origin, geodynamic setting, igneous, hydrothermal, and supergene evolution of ore deposits. It aims at connecting scientists from various disciplines to present recent progress in revealing the complexity of ore formation. In particular, we wish to promote studies that use a multidisciplinary approach and invite contributions that developed novel techniques and methodologies.
Chronology of geological processes: past, present, future
Daniela Gallhofer (Graz) & Etienne Skrzypek (Graz)Constraining the age or rate of a geological process involves two important steps. First, a precise and accurate analysis of a geological material has to be performed. Second, the interpretation of analytical data must consider the physico-chemical conditions at which the material formed or evolved. This is a crucial approach to turn a date into the age of a geological event.
The session wishes to bring together researchers dealing with one or both aspects. The session welcomes contributions that aim at constraining the absolute age, time span or rates of various processes like magmatic activity, metamorphic reaction, Pressure-Temperature evolution, mineralization, mass transfer or exhumation. We particularly look forward to receiving studies about the petrogenesis of both classical and less common geochronometers. Studies dealing with analytical aspects will also be welcome.
Linking microstructures, crystallographic textures, and the nature of interfaces
Thomas Griffiths (Wien) & Gerlinde Habler (Wien)The microstructure of crystalline rocks and experimental analogues, i.e., the spatial arrangement of crystals and the geometry of their interfaces, allows us to reconstruct petrological histories, infer and quantify petrogenetic processes, and obtain context for the interpretation of geochemical analyses. However, due to the anisotropic nature of crystals, both the information encoded by microstructures and their effects on material properties are intimately connected with the crystallographic orientation of grains, the misorientations between neighbor crystals, and the nature of their interfaces.
The crystallographic texture reflects the distribution of crystal orientations in polycrystalline material, indicative of bulk processes and properties. However, interaction of crystals occurs at the immediate crystal-crystal interface. In order to reconstruct processes at the grain scale and below, it is necessary to consider the relationship between spatial and crystallographic information.
In this session we welcome any approach that links microstructures with crystal orientation analysis.
Interplay of chemical and mechanical processes across scales
Simon Schorn (Graz) & Anna Rogowitz (Graz)This session invites contributions related to the multiscale interplay of chemical and mechanical processes in the solid Earth. Chemical processes and deformation mechanisms are directly coupled by fluid–rock interactions, reactive transport, phase transitions, pressure solution, dislocation–impurity pair or pipe diffusion. These processes are not limited to a single field of study, but are observed in multiple disciplines including metamorphic, igneous and sedimentary petrology. Importantly, the above processes cause significant changes in the chemical and physical properties of rocks, spanning from individual grains to the lithosphere. The study of the transient rock mechanical and chemical behavior is therefore a challenging task that requires a multidisciplinary approach. We particularly invite contributions stemming from petrology, structural geology and geodynamics that focus on natural observations, experiments and numerical modelling spanning over a wide range of spatial and temporal scale from a wide range of physical conditions and a variety of geological contexts.
Crystallographic Materials Science: from basics to application
Susan Schorr (Berlin) & Claudia Weidenthaler (Duisburg-Essen)Modern developments in science and technology require the production of new materials and designs. The knowledge about the crystal structure of a material and its correlation with physical properties is a prerequisite for designing new materials with tailored properties. We invite contributions on a broad range of different materials focusing on linking the atomic structure to physical properties, also under external influences like temperature of pressure, as well as discussing potential application.
Structure-property relationships of minerals and beyond – Minerals as advanced materials
Marie Münchhalfen (Bochum) & Jürgen Schreuer (Bochum)Minerals are not only constituents of rocks but often serve as prototypes for families of structurally related synthetic compounds that are promising candidates for various technical applications. Both, understanding and predicting mineralogical processes, and the design of new materials having specific properties rely on the knowledge of structure-property relationships which in turn require a thorough characterization of the relevant structural and physical properties. We invite contributions focusing on advanced methods for the investigation of structural and/or physical properties of crystals as well as on the elaboration of corresponding structure-property relationships.
Early Earth – Crustal evolution, metamorphism and tectonics
Thomas Müller (Göttingen), Dominik Sorger (Göttingen), & Matthias Willbold (Göttingen)The early Earth experienced transitions from magma oceans to proto-lithosphere and finally the formation of tectonic plates as we know them today on modern Earth. How and when these processes shaped our planet during the Archean is sparsely documented in the rock record. Yet, crustal processes involving crust formation, metamorphism and geodynamics are pivotal to the understanding of the major driving forces governing the early evolution of the Earth transforming it into a habitable environment.
The available crustal rock record of Archean terranes provides the ultimate source of knowledge for studying this crucial period of planet evolution addressing first order questions such as the timing and conditions of metamorphism, the onset of plate tectonics or the formation of continental crust. At the same time, recent technological as well as methodological advances have opened up exciting new avenues to explore this dynamic epoch in geological history.
In this session, we like to bring together different types of information across various disciplines describing the lithospheric evolution of the Archean Earth. We are looking forward to contributions covering structural geology, geochemistry, petrology, and geodynamic modelling.
Mineral history & teaching – Geoscientific collections & museums
Vera Hammer (Wien), Christin Kehrer (Freiberg), Dorothée Kleinschrot (Würzburg), & Birgit Kreher-Hartmann (Jena)Geoscientific collections and museums have a wide range of responsibility. This is why the focus of museum activities also vary. Nevertheless, all curators of museums and collections, regardless of the organizing institution, have a lot in common. The session is therefore addressed to all those who are involved in researching historical collections or recording and inventorying new ones. In addition, everyone who deals with the planning of special or the redesign of permanent exhibitions as well as with the training of students and science communication is invited to present concepts and ideas.
Stable and radiogenic isotopes as fingerprints of processes in natural materials
Johannes Pohlner (Frankfurt) & Chunhui Li (Cologne/Chengdu)Especially during the last decades, stable and radiogenic isotope studies contributed to an unprecedented understanding of Earth and planetary processes. However, owing to the complexities in the behavior of isotopes, many process-dependent aspects of both traditional and non-traditional isotope systems are yet to be discovered. Equilibrium isotope fractionation between phases, kinetic barriers, and the temporal dimension in the case of radiogenic isotopes, all influence isotope signatures on small scales, and knowledge about this helps to characterize large-scale processes. In this session, we like to feature current efforts to understand systematic variations of stable and radiogenic isotope compositions in geological, environmental and extraterrestrial materials at low to high temperature conditions. Analytical studies including method development are welcome as well as experimental and theoretical approaches.
Geobiochemistry, geomicro-biology, and biomineralogy
Elena Sturm (Munich) & Melanie Kaliwoda (Munich)This session aims to bring together research scientists to share and discuss the current state-of-the-art and latest breakthroughs in the field of geobiochemistry, geomicro-biology, and biomineralogy. This highly multi- and interdisciplinary field spans both the abiogenic and biogenic world and naturally includes a diversity of scientific communities from geochemistry, mineralogy, crystallography and structural chemistry, paleontology, geobiology, biochemistry, biophysics, and materials science. Therefore, the session topics will generally focus on the understanding of mineral earth and life interaction and cover the aspects of global biogeochemical cycles over short- and long-time scales, geomicrobiological processes in various terrestrial environments (e.g., Earth's surface incl. the critical zone; the "deep biosphere", etc.), dynamics and processes of microbial communities in relation to complex geo-bio-interactions, understanding biomineralization process and their role of in the context of Earth and Life evolution, fundamentals of structure- morphogenesis-properties-functionality relationships in biominerals and biological hard tissues, design and fabrication of biomimetic and bioinspired materials, development and application of specific analytical techniques, methods of data analysis, as well as theoretical modeling and simulation.