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Organic Geochemistry

Gordon Research Conference

August 1 - 6, 2010
Chair Clifford C. Walters
Vice Chair Timothy I. Eglinton
Holderness School
33 Chapel Lane
Holderness, New Hampshire, United States
 Venue and Travel Information

Conference Description

The 2010 GRC on Organic Geochemistry will center on cutting-edge research on geochemical processes, their associated organic molecular and isotopic signatures, and their implications for understanding biological, geologic, and petroleum systems. Topics and speakers will draw from a diversity of research fields, including analytical methods, biogeochemistry, molecular biology, and resource geochemistry.

2010 marks the official 40th anniversary of this meeting. We plan to invite several of the participants from the first 1970 conference, who will provide a historic perspective of the discipline. Holderness School continues to be our host and the remodeled Weld Hall will provide an ideal venue for poster presentations and social activities.

Conference Program

SUNDAY
2:00 pm - 9:00 pmArrival and Check-in (Office Closed 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm)
5:00 pm - 6:00 pmIcebreaker
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 7:40 pmWelcome / Introductory Comments by GRC Site Staff
7:40 pm - 7:55 pm40th Anniversary of the Organic Geochemistry GRC
Geoffrey Eglinton (University of Bristol) and Keith Kvenvolden (USGS - Emeritus)
"40 Years On"
7:55 pm - 9:30 pmAstrobiology / Cosmochemistry
Discussion Leader: Joseph Nuth III (NASA)
7:55 pm - 8:30 pm Mary A. Voytek (NASA)
"Stars to Life: contributions of organic geochemistry to Astrobiology"
8:30 pm - 8:45 pm Discussion
8:45 pm - 9:15 pm Jamie Elsila Cook (NASA)
"Searching for amino acids in meteorites and comet samples"
9:15 pm - 9:30 pm Discussion
MONDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
8:45 amGroup Photo
9:00 am - 12:30 pmPetroleum Systems / Reservoir Processes
Discussion Leader: Erdem Idiz (Shell International B.V.)
9:00 am - 9:10 am Announcements
9:10 am - 9:40 am John Stainforth (Shell International Exploration and Production Inc)
"State-of-the-art of petroleum generation and expulsion modeling"
9:40 am - 9:55 am Discussion
9:55 am - 10:25 am Matt Ashby (Taxon Biosciences)
"Exploring the biological-geochemical interface in marine sediments with ribosomal RNA gene sequence tags"
10:25 am - 10:40 am Discussion
10:40 am - 11:00 am Coffee Break
11:00 am - 11:30 am Jeff Sheremata (ConocoPhillips)
"Heavy oil and asphaltene molecules: archipelago, continental, or both"
11:30 am - 11:45 am Discussion
11:45 am - 12:15 pm David Zinniker (Stanford University)
"High-resolution source apportionment in complex petroleum systems"
12:15 pm - 12:30 pm Discussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pmPoster Session I
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pmMolecular Biogeochemistry of Microbial Systems
Discussion Leader: Tim Eglinton (WHOI / ETH Zurich)
7:30 pm - 8:15 pm Ben Van Mooy (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
"Polar lipid indicators of microbial processes in the surface ocean"
8:15 pm - 8:30 pm Discussion
8:30 pm - 9:10 pm Jennifer Macalady (The Pennsylvania State University)
"Lipid signatures of sulfur redox gradients"
9:10 pm - 9:25 pm Discussion
9:25 pm - 9:30 pm Announcements
TUESDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pmModern Organisms: Vital Systems for Interpreting Ancient Molecular Fossils
Discussion Leaders: Ann Pearson (Harvard University) and Roger Summons (MIT)
9:00 am - 9:25 am Chris Dupont (J. Craig Venter Institute)
"Tracking the evolution of metabolic pathways using structural genomics"
9:25 am - 9:50 am Mak Saito (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
"Neoproterozoic oxygenation of Earth surface environments reflected in the late evolution of the O2-dependent vitamin B12 biosynthesis pathway"
9:50 am - 10:10 am Discussion of Previous Two Talks
10:10 am - 10:40 am Coffee Break
10:40 am - 11:05 am Meytal Higgins (Princeton University)
"A taxonomic survey of nitrogen isotope fractionation during chlorophyll biosynthesis: Implications for the use of porphyrins in paleoceanographic reconstruction"
11:05 am - 11:15 am Discussion
11:15 am - 11:40 am Paula Welander (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
"Genetic analysis of the hopanoid biosynthetic pathway in an anoxygenic phototroph"
11:40 am - 12:05 pm David Doughty (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
"Towards understanding the biological function of hopanoids"
12:05 pm - 12:25 pm Discussion of Previous Two Talks
12:25 pm - 12:30 pm Announcements
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pmPoster Session I
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pmUltra-deep Biosphere
Discussion Leader: Tullis C. Onstott (Princeton University)
7:30 pm - 7:55 pm Andreas Teske
"The subsurface biosphere in deep marine sediments: New sites, new organisms, new approaches"
7:55 pm - 8:05 pm Discussion
8:05 pm - 8:30 pm Barbara Sherwood Lollar (University of Toronto)
"Beyond the Deep Hot Biosphere: Subsurface Microbiology in the Deep Continental Biosphere"
8:30 pm - 8:40 pm Discussion
8:40 pm - 9:10 pm Joseph Suflita (University of Olkahoma)
"Geochemical and microbiological profiles of deep Alaska North Slope reservoirs"
9:10 pm - 9:20 pm Discussion
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm Announcements
WEDNESDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pmUnconventional Petroleum: Present and Future
Discussion Leader: Michael Lewan (United State Geological Survey)
9:00 am - 9:40 am Chris Boreham (Geoscience Australia)
"Coalbed Methane and CO2 Storage"
9:40 am - 10:00 am Discussion
10:00 am Coffee Break
10:30 am - 11:10 am Sylvain Bernard (Helmholtz Centre Potsdam GFZ)
"Multiscale study of gas shale properties and thermal evolution"
11:10 am - 11:30 am Discussion
11:30 am - 12:10 pm Matthew C. Posewitz
"Algal Carbohydrates, Lipids and Hydrogen: metabolic interplay of a biofuels portfolio"
12:10 pm - 12:30 pm Discussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pmPoster Session II
6:00 pmDinner
7:00 pm - 7:30 pmBusiness Meeting, Part I
(Nominations for the next Vice Chair; Fill out Conference Evaluation Forms; Discuss future Site & Scheduling preferences; Discuss addition of a Gordon Research Seminar)
7:30 pm - 9:30 pmFrontiers in Biogeochemistry
Discussion Leaders: Helen Talbot (Newcastle University) and Stephen Schouten (Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research)
7:30 pm - 7:50 pm Xiaojuan Feng (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute)
"Perspectives on the storage, transport and fate of lignin in Arctic river basins"
7:50 pm - 8:00 pm Discussion
8:00 pm - 8:20 pm Stepanie Kusch (University of Bremen)
"Assessing the controls on the age of terrigenous organic matter in Black Sea sediments using compound-specific radiocarbon analysis of long chain vascular plant biomarkers"
8:20 pm - 8:30 pm Discussion
8:30 pm - 8:50 pm Jörn Logemann (ICBM University of Oldenburg)
"Degradation of intact polar lipids in sandy surface sediments"
8:50 pm - 9:00 pm Discussion
9:00 pm - 9:20 pm Luke Handley (Newcastle University)
"New insights into the significance of oceanic Aerobic Methane Oxidation in the geological record"
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm Discussion
THURSDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
8:30 am - 9:00 amBusiness Meeting, Part II
(Election of the next Vice Chair; Votes on Site & Scheduling preference and the addition of a Gordon Research Seminar)
9:00 am - 12:30 pmMolecular and Isotopic Proxies - Paleoclimatology and Paleoceanography
Discussion Leader: Richard Pancost (University of Bristol)
9:00 am - 9:40 am Jessica Tierney (Brown University)
"Molecular Paleoclimatology: State-of-the-Art and Volatile States"
9:40 am - 10:00 am Discussion
10:00 am Coffee Break
10:30 am - 11:10 am Matt Huber (Purdue University)
"Why improving molecular and isotopic proxy paleoclimate records is the most important problem in science today: A climate modeling perspective"
11:10 am - 11:30 am Discussion
11:30 am - 12:10 pm Simon Belt (University of Plymouth)
"Declining Arctic sea ice? It's all in the past"
12:10 pm - 12:30 pm Discussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pmPoster Session II
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pmFrontiers in Energy
Discussion Leaders: Albert Holba (ConocoPhillips) and Paul Mankiewicz (ExxonMobil)
7:30 pm - 7:50 pm Elodie Salmon (Old Dominion University)
"Molecular characterization of the NSO compounds generated during artificial maturation of a Type I kerogen using two-dimensional NMR techniques in combination with electrospray ionization / ultrahigh resolution FTMS"
7:50 pm - 8:00 pm Discussion
8:00 pm - 8:20 pm Pamela E. Rossel (Max Plank Institute for Marine Microbiology)
"The release of dissolved organic matter to the deep ocean from fossil sources"
8:20 pm - 8:30 pm Discussion
8:30 pm - 8:50 pm Frank Mango (Petroleum Habitats)
"Natural catalytic activity in marine shales for generating natural gas"
8:50 pm - 9:00 pm Discussion
9:00 pm - 9:20 pm Alex Aravanis (Sapphire Energy)
"Development of a scalable algae biofuel process"
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm Discussion
FRIDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 amDeparture

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