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Opportunities in Global Change & Geobiology/Biogeochemistry

Explore the emerging opportunities in understanding systems and processes, analytical capabilities and instrumentation, interdisciplinary collaborations, and funding initiatives in geoscience. Topics include rapid climate change, biogeochemical cycling, microbial communities, and connections to Earth's evolutionary history.

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Opportunities in Global Change & Geobiology/Biogeochemistry

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  1. Opportunities in Global Change & Geobiology/Biogeochemistry • Emerge from Advances in: • Understanding of systems & processes • Analytical capabilities & instrumentation • Interdisciplinary collaborations & synergies • that stimulate innovative questions, prompt new research strategies, and facilitate discoveries • further guided by funding initiatives. Simon Brassell simon@indiana.edu Connecting Geoscience Departments to the Future of Science, April 25-27 2007

  2. Understanding of Systems & Process • Examples of Focal Points: • Rapid climate change & extreme climates: • Multiproxy approach - isotopes and molecules. • Reconstruction of dynamics of transitions. • Biogeochemical cycling & interactions: • Integrated assessment of dependencies. • Microbial communities & energy sources: • Deep biosphere, life without light, Martian analogs. • Connections to Earth & evolutionary history. Simon Brassell simon@indiana.edu Connecting Geoscience Departments to the Future of Science, April 25-27 2007

  3. Analytical Capabilities • Citius-Minimus-Perquisitius: • Faster, with less, more accurately. • Focus: Biomacromolecules & rare isotopes. • Spatial: Intracellular functions & active interfaces. • Temporal: Rates; High-resolution stratigraphy. • Centers and distributed instrumentation. • Innovative developments at state-of-the-art facilities. • Dispersed application of measurements & protocols. • Development of data bases & geoinformatics. Simon Brassell simon@indiana.edu Connecting Geoscience Departments to the Future of Science, April 25-27 2007

  4. Interdisciplinary Collaborations • Convincing Others of Geologic Relevance: • Global Climate Change - connecting threads: • Disparate temporal scales of environmental impacts. • Record of biological processes over deep time: • Evolutionary outcomes connect extant & extinct life. • Conservatism of biogeochemical pathways. • Public outreach to scientific community. • Serendipity. Simon Brassell simon@indiana.edu Connecting Geoscience Departments to the Future of Science, April 25-27 2007

  5. Preservation of Ancient Biomolecules Molecular fragments help verify evolution-ary lineages Schweitzer, Asara & Horner, 2007 CRETACEOUS Connecting Geoscience Departments to the Future of Science, April 25-27 2007

  6. Microbial Diversity Representation of Anammox cells • Nitrogen Cycling: • Recognition of ammonium-oxidizing bacteria. • Toxic intermediates: hydrazine (N2H4), hydroxylamine (NH2OH). • “Radiation Eaters”: • Radiation generated H2O2 breaks down pyrite yielding sulfates. • Web archive Stacking of ladderane membrane lipids Sinninghe-Damsté et al. Simon Brassell simon@indiana.edu Connecting Geoscience Departments to the Future of Science, April 25-27 2007

  7. Cyanobacteria: [O2] & N2 Fixation Critical change in N2-fixing cyanobacteria associated with increasing levels of O2: adaptive biochemistry

  8. Biota Adapted to Ocean Dysoxia • Nitrogen Cycling: • Co-occurrence of N2-fixation, 2-Mehopanes. • Dysoxic ocean conditions favor non-heterocystous cyanobacteria, comparable with processes during atmospheric oxygenation. Hopanoids & 2-Mehopanoids Only hopanoids N2 fixers Do not fix N2 Phylogeny based on 16S RNA • Cyanobacterial Types • I – Unicellular (binary fission); • I – Unicellular (multiple fission) • III – Filamentous non-heterocystous • IV – Filamentous non-branching heterocystous • V – Filamentous branching heterocystous (Summons et al, 1999; Tomitani et al. 2006)

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