Montag, 2. Mai 2011

WP5 Workshop to be held at the end of May 2011

DS3F Workshop “Fluid flow in Arctic continental margins and ocean ridges” May 30-31, 2011, Tromsø, Norway



One of the primary goals of this workshop is to develop a science report for conducting scientific drilling into fluid escape pathways in Arctic continental margins and (sedimented) ocean ridges, and to develop synergies with national and international ocean observatory programs. Drilling into fluid release areas of the Arctic has never been done before, but it is of regional and global relevance providing opportunities for fundamental, forefront interdisciplinary research involving geophysics and geology, geochemistry, biogeochemistry, microbiology and biology.

New discoveries at the seabed and beneath show vigorous methane venting from gas chimneys. Understanding past and present fluid leakage, associated geological and biological processes and the effects of climate change on the Arctic seabed region in general, and on the stability of gas hydrate and release of geofluids in particular, is therefore both a scientific challenge and of high societal relevance. Drilling into selected fluid-escape chimneys will increase our understanding in climate, environmental, energy and ecosystem research. However, such a drilling campaign has yet to be developed.


Conveners: Juergen Mienert1 and Angelo Camerlenghi2 1Department of Geology, University of Tromsø, 9037 Tromsø, Norway. e-mail: jurgen.mienert@uit.no 2ICREA, Geociències Marines Universitat de Barcelona E-08028 Barcelona, Spain. e-mail: acamerlenghi@ub.edu


Organisation: ds3f@ig.uit.no, Kai Rune Mortensen, Bénédicte Ferré, Chiara Consolaro Expected Outcome: Report identifying the key scientific topics in Arctic regional areas and key technological developments required to implement the scientific programme.


Location: This workshop will be held at the University of Tromsø in the Department of Geology, Norway. It is supported by the EU funded Deep Sea and Sub Seafloor Frontier project of the FP 7 programme. More information can be found at the DS3F website: http://www.deep-sea-frontier.eu/


Registration: Please register by sending an email to: ds3f@ig.uit.no The registration fee will be 100 Euros on site




Workshop “Fluid flow in Arctic continental margins and ocean ridges”

May 30-31, 2011, Tromsø, Norway



WP3 "Deep Biosphere Workshop" coming soon

Workshop announcement

The Deep Biosphere

Deep-Sea and Sub-Seafloor Frontiers (DS3F)

May 3-4, 2011, Aarhus, Denmark

Conveners: Bo Barker Jørgensen1 and R. John Parkes2

1Center for Geomicrobiology, Department of Biological Sciences, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114-116, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark (bo.barker@biology.au.dk)

2School of Earth, Ocean and Planetary Sciences, University of Cardiff, P.O.Box 914, Cardiff, CF10 3YE, United Kingdom (parkesrj@cardiff.ac.uk)

Organization: Camilla Nissen Toftdal

Objectives

The objective of this workshop is to discuss and propose future directions of marine deep biosphere research and how this may be more strongly integrated and funded in Europe. We invite a group of active researchers in this field to share their ideas of the major scientific challenges and new opportunities that will move the science forward in the coming years. We wish to strengthen the European engagement in future drilling proposals and expeditions. We invite participants to contribute their opinions and expertise to a report that, together with a series of similar workshops during 2010-11, will contribute to a white paper that will provide background information for the planning of the EU Framework Program 8.

Workshop

This is one of several focused workshops organized under the "Deep-Sea and Sub-Seafloor Frontiers (DS3F)" initiative (www.deep-sea-frontier.eu). The DS3F is an EU coordinated action with the overall goal to bring together researchers from across Europe to develop a comprehensive coordinated approach for future deep-sea research. DS3F will address issues of sustainable ocean management and explore some of the deep-seated geological processes that drive seafloor ecosystems, and make use of seabed archives for paleo-environmental reconstruction and improved prediction of future climate change and geohazards. More specifically, DS3F aims to identify the primary issues that need to be addressed in sub-seafloor drilling, with relevance to deep-sea ecosystems and deep biosphere, marine resources, and long-term monitoring in the next 10-15 years. The initiative is headed by Professor Achim Kopf at the MARUM Research Centre at the University of Bremen and is structured in 9 work packages. The definition and coordination of these work packages evolved from the Deep Sea Frontier (DSF) international symposium (June 2006) and from subsequent collaborations. WP 2 deals with the Deep Biosphere.

Program

Monday, May 2

Arrival in the afternoon or evening. Joint dinner for those arriving before 7 pm.

Tuesday, May 3

Scientific presentations and discussions. The planning of the presentation program and the structure of discussions will be decided when the participants are confirmed.

Wednesday, May 4

Open discussion: Scientific goals, research opportunities, and funding strategies.

A report summarizing presentations and discussions will be written shortly after the workshop.

The meeting ends with lunch at 1 pm.

Practical information

Participation in the workshop is upon invitation only, as each participant represents an expertise important to achieve the objectives. A list of invitees is attached.

The workshop will cover your travel expenses and your stay in Aarhus. We ask you to purchase your own tickets (tourist class) which we will reimburse upon receipt of original tickets after the meeting. We will arrange your accommodation and take care of all meals and local transport.

The workshop takes place at the Center for Geomicrobiology at Aarhus University (see http://geomicrobiology.au.dk). Aarhus is easily reached by train (3 hours) or plane (30 min, via Tirstrup Airport) from Copenhagen.

For registration and for all questions concerning logistics please contact our Center Administrator, Camilla Nissen Toftdal (toftdal@biology.au.dk; phone +45 89 42 32 80)