Exciting GEOTRACES sessions at Goldschmidt 2023!

There is a very interesting programme
at Goldschmidt 2023
(9-14 July 2023, Lyon, France and online)

Do not miss the GEOTRACES sessions!

List of GEOTRACES or GEOTRACES-related sessions
(scroll down to read the session descriptions):

Theme 13, Chemistry and physical processes of the oceans and atmosphere: now and through time

13c – Marine trace element cycling from the estuaries to the open ocean (GEOTRACES)

13h – Emerging insights into processes controlling elemental and non-traditional stable isotope paleoproxies in past and present oceans

13d – Hydrothermal vents from discharge to biogeochemical impacts

Theme 14, Science and Society

In order to support broad participation, all abstracts submitted to this theme are free of charge, and can be in addition to another abstract from the same presenting author in another theme.

14a – Use of GEOTRACES data to understand biogeochemical processes in the oceans

14d – Lessons learned in communicating geochemistry to non-scientific audiences

14c – Geoscientists’ Little Helpers – small software tools with big impact

14e – Initiatives to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in geochemistry

14b – Engaging with a variety of communities: a workshop-style session to discuss issues, ideas, and practical solutions for more effective outreach

14f – History of Geochemistry

Session Descriptions:

13c – Marine trace element cycling from the estuaries to the open ocean (GEOTRACES)
Kai Deng, ETH Zürich
Helene Planquette, Univ Brest, CNRS, IRD, Ifremer, LEMAR
Anh Le-Duy Pham, University of California, Los Angeles
Jennifer L Middleton, Columbia University
Pierre Damien, University of California Los Angeles
Marion Anne Fourquez, Mediterranean Institue of Oceanography

Trace elements and their isotopes in the ocean play essential roles as regulators of ocean carbon production and marine biodiversity, as well as tracers of circulation and particle transport. This session highlights three areas of recent research that need critical attention. (1) Observational, experimental and modelling contributions on the distribution, flux and controls of particle-reactive elements from estuaries to open ocean. These particle-reactive elements such as rare earth elements, Th, Pa, Pb, Po, Be, involve processes and fluxes that are relevant in both the modern and paleo-ocean. (2) The impact of small-scale physical processes, including submesoscale (<10 km) and mesoscale (<100 km) circulation, turbulent mixing, and sea-ice transport and melting on bioactive trace metals (Fe, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, etc.). Observational datasets on trace metals relevant to these processes are rapidly accumulating and state-of-the-art ocean modelling can use these as targets or predict distributions in areas with sparse data coverage. (3) The Southern Ocean as a whole, and the Indian Ocean sector in particular remains poorly observed for trace elements and isotopes. Presentations are welcome on the recent SWINGS (Southwest Indian GEOTRACES Section, Jan-Mar 2021) cruise as well as other Southern Ocean or GEOTRACES expeditions that investigate all aspects of marine trace element cycling including biogenic uptake, remineralization, particle fate, export, and circulation transport. Submission relating to all three of these areas are encouraged, and especially by early career scientists.

13h – Emerging insights into processes controlling elemental and non-traditional stable isotope paleoproxies in past and present oceans
David J Janssen, Eawag
Adina Paytan, University of California, Santa Cruz
Susan H Little, University College London
Jiawang Wu, Sun Yat-Sen University
Gert J. De Lange, Geosciences Utrecht
Ruifang Xie, Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Trace elements and their stable isotopes can serve as powerful proxies for understanding the biogeochemical history of the Earth, as indicated by the biogeochemical regulations on their distribution in the modern ocean. Combinations of concentration and stable isotope data are providing new insights into their cycling, sources and sinks. Recent results from these proxies have demonstrated their potential to build mechanistic understandings of the processes driving local and global paleoenvironmental conditions. Advancements in analytical capabilities and coordinated programs such as GEOTRACES and the Sedimentary Geochemistry and Paleoenvironments Project, building global datasets from modern and paleo settings, are greatly expanding proxy potentials. These advances allow for refinement of paleoproxy applications, and the opportunity to reassess and improve some of the assumptions and uncertainties still existing.
This session aims to connect modern, paleo and methodological development communities to better integrate understandings of the present-ocean into paleoproxy applications, and to identify key uncertainties where further research is needed. We welcome contributions improving the understanding of the biogeochemical controls on stable isotope distributions including data from modern settings, from global modelling studies, from culture or leaching experiments, from studies on preservation and isolation of signals in sedimentary archives, and from novel multi-proxy approaches. We also recognize that the field of non-traditional stable isotope geochemistry requires expensive infrastructure and time-consuming analyses, facts that currently limit the diversity of scientists within it and thus the discipline as a whole. We welcome studies demonstrating good practice to increase accessibility, diversity, equity, and inclusion of the field.

13d – Hydrothermal vents from discharge to biogeochemical impacts
Zvi Steiner, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
Anna Lichtschlag, National Oceanography Centre
David González-Santana, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC)
Ziming Yang, Oakland University
Natascha Riedinger, Oklahoma State University
Seafloor hydrothermal systems and submarine volcanoes are crucial for the marine environment as they return buried substances, including metals and dissolved gases, from the Earth’s interior to the ocean and thus, over geologic times, control the composition of seawater and provide essential elements to the biosphere. Process understanding of the fate of hydrothermal products and discharges, including complexation and scavenging by hydrothermal particles can be used as tool for answering questions around the controls of hydrothermal systems, their evolution and activity over time and their potential impact on ocean productivity. This session will explore the fate of hydrothermal products and discharges proximal and distal to hydrothermal sources, the diagenetic and microbial processes they undergo after deposition, and their impact on the marine environment. We invite observational, experimental and modelling contributions, new approaches and new methodologies for shallow and deep hydrothermal systems from present and past times. We encourage submissions that will give new insights into the evolution of a hydrothermal system, organic-mineral interactions, spatial distribution and fluxes of products and discharges and the diagenetic alteration of hydrothermal products. Finally, there are many parallels between the impacts of marine vulcanism and ocean acidification which we encourage submitters to consider.

14a – Use of GEOTRACES data to understand biogeochemical processes in the oceans
William M. Landing, Florida State University
Angela Milne, University of Plymouth

We invite poster submissions demonstrating how trace element and isotope data, together with nutrient, oxygen, hydrographic and BioGEOTRACES data from the GEOTRACES Intermediate Data Product (IDP2021) are being used to understand the biogeochemistry of the oceans. You might have used GEOTRACES data to quantify or constrain the input, internal cycling, and removal processes that ultimately control the global distributions of trace elements and isotopes (TEIs), especially those that are involved in biological cycling processes. You might have used GEOTRACES data in your teaching or outreach efforts, and we definitely solicit reports from those activities. We imagine a collegial and convivial session where we can enjoy learning more about the various ways GEOTRACES data are being utilized.

14d – Lessons learned in communicating geochemistry to non-scientific audiences
Elena Masferrer Dodas, GEOTRACES International Project Office
Chrissy Wiederwohl, Texas A&M University
We invite submission of experiences and materials for engaging with and communicating geochemistry to non-scientific audiences: general public, schools, the media, policymakers, and other stakeholders. Geochemists and scientists in general, are very often faced to the challenge of communicating and sharing their knowledge to different audiences in a way that it is understandable to them.
This session has the double purpose of showcasing examples which could serve as source of inspiration and at the same time highlight effective strategies that geochemists could follow to successfully engage with a non-scientific audience.

14c – Geoscientists’ Little Helpers – small software tools with big impact
Jie Xu, Institut für Geowissenschaften, Goethe Universität Frankfurt
Thomas Rose, Goethe Universität Frankfurt and Leibniz-Forschungsmuseum für Georessourcen/Deutsches Bergbau-Museum Bochum
Jesse B. Walters, Institut für Geowissenschaften, Goethe Universität
Miguel Bernecker, Goethe University Frankfurt
Working with data over the years results almost inevitably in self-made code snippets, scripts or spreadsheets, and sometimes even full-fledged programmes that optimise workflows, reduce workload and significantly speed up daily tasks. Some of them make it to the public but most remain invisible, hidden behind the outcomes of the research they are helping with. However, many of them are not shy but did not have the possibility to shine, yet. We provide a spotlight for them, so that the scientific community may benefit. We welcome presentations about all kinds of self-made software that facilitate our research. The presented tools can be written in any programming language and be in any stage of their development. We aim to raise awareness of what is already out there, to facilitate sharing of the tools and to foster collaborations for their development.

14b – Engaging with a variety of communities: a workshop-style session to discuss issues, ideas, and practical solutions for more effective outreach
Georgia G Soares, Penn State University
Bonnie Teece, University of New South Wales
Indrani Mukherjee, University of New South Wales
Erica V. Barlow (she/her), Pennsylvania State University
There are significant barriers to the implementation and progression of education and outreach activities, particularly in the practical aspects of how to begin creating a diverse network and in co-creating and designing the activities. These barriers are especially apparent, for example, where fieldwork and research are performed and for early career researchers (ECRs) setting up new connections. This workshop-style session has two parts. The first part will bring together expertise from across the world to explore practical (rather than theoretical) ways of executing meaningful and impactful activities. Several experts (or “big issue” guides) will facilitate interactive discussions surrounding outreach with a variety of different communities. Topics of discussion may include co-creating decolonised outreach activities, engaging with indigenous communities, creating activities that capture students and/or communities from low SES backgrounds, disability-inclusive outreach and education, and using newer, less traditional mediums (podcasts, film, social media, etc.). Experts will lead smaller group discussions during this interactive workshop-style session and share how they engage with communities, including lessons learned, and encourage participants to share their experiences during outreach. At the end of this part of the session we will come together, and each facilitator will share the ideas and practical solutions discussed in their groups. The second part is a poster session where submitters can highlight their own efforts relating to outreach people are attempting to start, are currently engaged in, and/or are trying to progress. Poster submissions will also shape the specific topics and issues that experts will discuss during this workshop-style session.

14e – Initiatives to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in geochemistry
Susan H Little, University College London
Jennifer L Middleton, Columbia University
LAlastair J M Lough, University of Leeds
Pallavi Anand, The Open University
Geochemistry is a uniquely varied discipline, spanning Chemistry, Earth, Planetary and Environmental Sciences. However, this disciplinary diversity comes with unique challenges to fostering a diverse and inclusive community, partly linked to inequitable access to resources and the combination of lab-, field- and office-based approaches that geochemical research requires. In this session, we invite presentations that assess the obstacles that contribute to the under-representation of marginalized groups within geochemistry and that suggest best practices and innovative ideas to remove those obstacles. Topics may include, but are not limited to: data relating to professional representation (e.g., in awards, medals, grants, graduate programs, high-level positions, invited talks, papers, journal editorships); evidence of barriers to inclusion, personal, institutional, or cultural; and novel strategies and best practices to identify and overcome these barriers (e.g., mentoring, networks, funding, institutional initiatives, national or international policies or schemes). Abstracts to this session will be free of charge and will not prevent the submission of an abstract to another theme as presenting author.

14f – History of Geochemistry
Jérôme Gaillardet, IPGP
William M. White, Cornell University
Geochemistry was not born yesterday. For example, the multiplication of advanced analytical tools that make our daily work so fascinating in 2022 result from centuries of incremental or transformative technological innovations, as well as from a succession of conceptual advances in the fields of physics, chemistry, Mathematics and Ecology. Those roots tend to be forgotten, and this is detrimental to the quality of our science, and our understanding of it. This session aims to explore the historical roots of geochemistry along two main directions. First, a direction where geochemistry is conceived as a practical science based on advanced analytics, which are only the outcome of centuries of creative technological inventions, developments and measurements. Secondly, geochemistry as a conceptual framework inheriting centuries of advances in the understanding of the structure and properties of matter, light, and other critical concepts of the geological sciences in general. All contributors who want to share with us their insights on the historical roots of our science and their pedagogical implications are welcome. A priority, if needed, will be given to early career scientists without discrimination for institution, race, etc.