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Organic Geochemistry

Gordon Research Conference

August 3 - 8, 2008
Chair Kate Freeman
Vice Chair Clifford C. Walters
Holderness School
33 Chapel Lane
Holderness, New Hampshire, United States
 Venue and Travel Information

Conference Description

The 2008 conference will highlight the cutting edge in organic geochemistry in both biogeochemical and energy-related scholarship. The meeting will focus on geochemical processes, their associated organic molecular and isotopic signatures and their implications for understanding geologic, biological and energy systems. Topics and speakers will draw from a diversity of research fields, including analytical methods, biogeochemistry, molecular biology, and resource geochemistry. The conference will include the following sessions:

  • Biodegradation: Integration of Models and Observations
  • On the Leading Edge in Petroleum Geochemistry: Polars and Asphaltenes
  • Geochemical Challenges in Energy Alternatives: the Interface of Energy and the Environment
  • Looking Out New Analytical Windows
  • Frontiers in Developments and Applications of Molecular Proxies
  • Molecular and Isotopic Signatures of Microbial Systems
  • Novel approaches to Molecular Biogeochemistry: Outside the Box, Out of This World
  • Two evening sessions will be devoted to “Hot Topics” with presentations selected from submitted poster abstracts that highlight the cutting edge in energy and biogeochemical organic geochemical research by conference participants.

Conference Program

SUNDAY
2:00 pm - 11:00 pmArrival and Check-in
5:15 pm - 6:00 pm Icebreaker Reception
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 7:40 pmWelcome / Introductory Comments by GRC Site Staff
7:40 pm - 9:30 pm VISTAS FROM NEW ANALYTICAL WINDOWS
Discussion Leader: Helen Talbot (Newcastle)
7:40 pm - 8:20 pmRyan Rodgers (Florida State University)
"Analysis of Complex Organic Mixtures by High Resolution FT-ICR MS"
8:20 pm - 8:35 pm Discussion
8:35 pm - 9:15 pmEllen Hopmans (NIOZ)
"Biomarker Analysis by LC/MS: Bigger, Longer and Uncut"
9:15 pm - 9:30 pm Discussion
MONDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
8:45 amGroup Photo
9:00 am - 12:30 pm BIODEGRADATION OF HYDROCARBON RESOURCES: NEW OBSERVATIONS AND MODELS
Discussion Leader: Francois Behar (Institute Français du Pétrole)
9:00 am - 9:40 amChristian Hallmann (Curtin University)
"Microbial Population Dynamics in Deep Oil Reservoirs—Insights from Microbial Membrane Lipids"
9:40 am - 10:00 am Discussion
10:00 am Coffee Break
10:30 am - 11:10 am Frank Haeseler (Institute Français du Pétrole)
"Scale problems to model biodegradation process in petroleum reservoirs"
11:10 am - 11:30 am Discussion
11:30 am - 12:10 pmSteve Larter (University of Calgary)
"The Physics of the Confusing Organic Geochemistry of Subsurface Biodegradation - OR, How to Eat Slowly in the Dark!"
12:10 pm - 12:30 pm Discussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pmPoster Session
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm LIFE IN THE DARK
Discussion Leader: Roger Summons (MIT)
7:30 pm - 8:10 pmAlex Bradley (Harvard University)
"The Power of Peridotite: Organic Signatures in an Alkaline Hydrothermal Ecosystem"
8:10 pm - 8:30 pm Discussion
8:30 pm - 9:10 pmDave Valentine (UC Santa Barbara)
"Hydrogen and the Energy Economy of the Dark"
9:10 am - 9:30 am Discussion
TUESDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm FRONTIERS IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION OF MOLECULAR PROXIES
Discussion Leader: Stefan Schouten (NIOZ)
9:00 am - 9:40 amJulian Sachs (University of Washington)
"Environmental Controls on Molecular D/H and Their Application to Tropical Rainfall Reconstructions During the Last Millennium"
9:40 am - 10:00 am Discussion
10:00 am Coffee Break
10:30 am - 11:10 amIsla Casteneda (NIOZ)
"Terrestrial and Marine Climate Variability in North Africa During the Late Quaternary: Insights From Recently Developed Organic Geochemical Proxies"
11:10 am - 11:30 am Discussion
11:30 am - 12:10 pmTim Eglinton (WHOI)
"Insights from Radiocarbon on the Transmission of Molecular Proxy Signals from Biological Source to Sedimentary Sink"
12:10 pm - 12:30 pm Discussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pmPoster Session
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm GEOCHEMICAL CHALLENGES IN ENERGY ALTERNATIVES
Discussion Leader: Kate Freeman (Penn State)
7:30 pm - 8:10 pmHarold Schobert (Penn State University)
"Molecular Challenges to Progress in Direct Coal Liquefaction"
8:10 pm - 8:30 pm Discussion
8:30 pm - 9:10 pmDaniel Schrag (Harvard University)
"Biofuels and the Climate-Energy Challenge: Will Bio(geo)chemistry and (Geo)microbiology Play a Role?"
9:10 pm - 9:30 pm Discussion
WEDNESDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm PETROLEUM GEOCHEMISTRY: POLARS AND ASPHALTENES
Discussion Leader: Cliff Walters (ExxonMobil)
9:00 am - 9:40 amKuangnan Qian (ExxonMobil)
"Observation of Sulfur-Containing Vanadyl Porphyrins in Heavy Petroleums"
9:40 am - 10:00 am Discussion
10:00 am Coffee Break
10:30 am - 11:10 amMurray Gray (University of Alberta)
"Asphaltenes and Resins from the Oil Sands: Structure and Aggregation"
11:10 am - 11:30 am Discussion
11:30 am - 12:10 pmOliver Mullins (Schlumberger)
"Molecular & Nanoaggregate Structures of Asphaltenes"
12:10 pm - 12:30 pm Discussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pmPoster Session
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm FRONTIERS IN BIOGEOCHEMISTRY
Discussion Leader: Kliti Grice (Curtin University)
Speakers invited based on submitted poster abstracts
7:30 pm - 7:50 pm Verena Heuer (MARUM, Bremen)
"Biogeochemistry of Acetate in the Deep Marine Biosphere - New Insights From Stable Carbon Isotopic Investigations"
7:50 pm - 8:00 pm Discussion
8:00 pm - 8:20 pm Julie Shoemaker (Harvard University)
"Does Oxic Metabolism Control Substrate Availability for Aceticlastic Methanogenesis?"
8:20 pm - 8:30 pm Discussion
8:30 pm - 8:50 pm Jaap Sinninghe-Damsté (NIOZ)
"The BIT Index in Lake Sediments as an Indicator of Precipitation in Equatorial Africa"
8:50 pm - 9:00 pm Discussion
9:00 pm - 9:20 pm Raymond Michels (G2R, Nancy-Université)
"An Experimental Procedure Using Confined Pyrolysis to Relate Diagenetized Molecular Signatures to Precursor Organisms: Example of the Conifers"
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm Discussion
THURSDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm NEW INSIGHTS AND LINKAGES IN METHANE AND SULFUR CYCLES
Discussion Leader: Kai-Uwe Hinrichs (Universität Bremen)
9:00 am - 9:40 am Thorsten Dittmar (Florida State University)
"The formation of dissolved organic matter in Gulf of Mexico cold seeps"
9:40 am - 10:00 am Discussion
10:00 am Coffee Break
10:30 am - 11:10 amYu-Shih Lin (Universität Bremen)
"Origins Of Volatile Organic Sulfides In Anoxic Sediments"
11:10 am - 11:30 am Discussion
11:30 am - 12:10 pmChris House (Penn State University)
"Methylogenesis by Methanosarcina: a Possible Model for the Anaerobic Oxidation of Methane"
12:10 pm - 12:30 pm Discussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pmPoster Session
6:00 pmDinner
7:00 pm - 7:30 pmBusiness Meeting
(Nominations for the next Vice Chair; Fill out Conference Evaluation Forms; Discuss future Site & Scheduling preferences; Election of the next Vice Chair)
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm FRONTIERS IN ENERGY RESEARCH
Discussion Leader: Erdem Idiz (Shell International B.V.)
Speakers invited based on submitted poster abstracts
7:30 pm - 7:50 pm Robert Nelson (WHOI)
"Comprehensive Two-Dimensional Gas Chromatographic Analysis (GC×GC) of Bicadinanes in Crude Oil - A Comparison of Oils from the Ardjuna Basin, Northwest Java; The Seria Oil Field, Brunei; and Two Oils from South Texas, USA"
7:50 pm - 8:00 pm Discussion
8:00 pm - 8:20 pm Florence Schubotz (Universität Bremen)
"Comparative Analysis of Asphaltene-Rich Oils from the Campeche Knolls, Deciphered by Two-Dimensional Gas Chromatography"
8:20 pm - 8:30 pm Discussion
8:30 pm - 8:50 pm Zhibin Wei (ExxonMobil)
"Origins of Thiadiamondoids and Diamondoidthiols in Petroleum"
8:50 pm - 9:00 pm Discussion
9:00 pm - 9:20 pm Clement N. Uguna (University of Nottingham)
"Influence of Water Pressure on Source Rock Maturation: Application to Overpressured and Deep Water Basins"
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm Discussion
FRIDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 amDeparture

Conference Links

Conference History
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