Instructions

Please read the instructions below before submitting.

01 | THEME 01: FROM DUST TO PLANETS

Submissions Closed
The goal of this theme is to bring together cosmochemistry, geodynamical, and astronomical contributions about how the bodies in our Solar System and in exoplanetary systems formed and evolved through time. Topics of interest include pre-solar chemistry, protoplanetary disks and the origins of chondrules, planetary accretion and planetesimal growth, planetary collisions and volatile transfer, planetary differentiation (including the Earth) and planetary crust formation, late accretion and impacts, and magmatic processes. We seek sessions that bring together different methodologies, including analysis of extraterrestrial materials, experiments and numerical modelling, and results from planetary missions.

02 | THEME 02: DEEP EARTH

Submissions Closed
Convective motions within Earth profoundly influence surface environment, and in turn, the evolution of the interior is influenced by the return flow of material from the surface. Thus, the inaccessible Deep Earth holds the key to understanding fundamental processes at Earth's surface, such as plate tectonics and the magnetic field. Through interdisciplinary study in observational and theoretical geophysics, geochemistry, experimental petrology and mineral physics, great progress can be made to elucidate the deep interior of Earth and how it interacts with the surface over space and time. In this theme, we encourage session proposals on the chemical and physical processes occurring in the deep Earth at all scales of time and space, the evolving nature of material and energy exchange between the interior and surface, and insights into the deep Earth reservoirs including the upper mantle, transition zone, lower mantle and core, as well as the interactions between them, and their evolution over time.

03 | THEME 03: EARTH'S LITHOSPHERE FORMATION AND EVOLUTION FROM HADEAN TO MODERN

Submissions Closed
Earth’s lithosphere is the archive of deep time. It preserves the fragmentary record of the evolution of mantle–crust–hydrosphere–atmosphere interactions, from the Hadean to the Phanerozoic. In this theme, we invite broad and interdisciplinary sessions that address the evolutionary history and theoretical underpinnings of the lithosphere, from the nanoscale to the planetary. Potential topics of interest include: the geochemical dynamics of crust and mantle from the Hadean to Phanerozoic; the growth of the continental crust and depletion of the mantle; onset and evolution of plate tectonics; timing and rates of mantle melting and crust-mantle coupling processes, and the origin of mantle heterogeneities; processes and timescales in the formation and evolution of the continental and oceanic crust; secular changes in the thermal state and the oxidation state of the mantle; paleogeographic reconstructions of continents; interactions and coupled evolution between internal (crust and mantle) and external (atmosphere and hydrosphere) reservoirs, and their impact on the biosphere; using Earth history as a proxy for planetary evolution and exoplanet exploration; innovative tools applied to lithospheric processes and their secular evolution. We encourage everyone to submit sessions that address these topics through investigations of natural samples, experiments, and modelling.

04 | THEME 04: CRUST: MAGMATISM, RECYCLING, AND METAMORPHISM

Submissions Closed
The formation of crust is an integral part of planetary differentiation. On Earth, oceanic crust covers some two thirds of its surface and is mainly produced along the tens of thousands of kilometers of ocean ridges. Earth's continental crust is unique in the solar system in its composition and its degree of internal differentiation. Mafic crust is commonly thought to be the starting point of the plate tectonic cycle and crustal differentiation. The latter involves a variety of processes including magmatism and related fluid- and melt migration, in addition to metamorphism. These processes are linked to the plate tectonic framework in which they occur and which may have changed through the planet’s history. Rocks and minerals are important archives of crustal formation, which are investigated with an increasing portfolio of modern analytical instrumentation in combination with new tools and concepts in the combined fields of geochemistry, petrology, tectonics and geochronology. Topics within this theme will cover the formation and internal differentiation of the oceanic and continental crusts and the pathways and timescales of the processes involved. They may include, for example, secular formation of continental crust, assembly and dispersal of supercontinents, metamorphism under extreme thermal and baric conditions and secular variations in metamorphic cooling rate, recycling at convergent margins and other geodynamic settings, crustal melting and the generation, transport and emplacement of felsic magmas. These processes may occur at various spatial and temporal scales and their investigation based on natural rocks, minerals or laboratory and numerical experiments.

05 | THEME 05: VOLCANISM IN THE EARTH SYSTEM

Submissions Closed
Volcanic eruptions convey mass and heat from Earth’s interior, modify the surface environment, and pose significant hazards to life and human infrastructure. The magnitude, mechanics and style of volcanic eruptions are strongly influenced by the processes occurring in areas of magma accumulation, storage, and shallow transport and involve an interplay between an evolving magma composition / rheology and the geometry of the conduit network. Studies of igneous and experimental petrology, geochemistry and compositional evolution, magma transport, and multiphase flow dynamics are fundamental for improving our understanding of the inner workings of volcanoes and assessing atmospheric and environmental impacts of eruptions. This theme seeks to investigate the full range of the volcanic and magmatic processes that control the nature of volcanic eruptions and their impacts on the surface systems in all tectonic settings.

06 | THEME 06: NOVEL METHODS: NANOSCALE TECHNIQUES TO BIG DATA

Submissions Closed
Novel methods and paradigms are continuously emerging that provide new insights and trigger new concepts in all areas of the (geo)sciences. Examples in geochemistry include the development of ion microprobes (e.g. SHRIMP, nanoSIMS), plasma mass spectrometers (ICPMS, MC-ICPMS), high-resolution gas source mass spectrometers and synchrotron-XRF, as well as Big Data analytics, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. The availability of very large and rapidly growing datasets in tandem with computational advances in modelling, simulation and network analysis are creating new opportunities for addressing complex scientific problems. 

Theme 06 intends to be the platform that draws attention to all such developments. We seek contributions that showcase both developments and novel applications of innovative tools in geochemistry in its broadest sense. Applications may come from geosciences, biosciences, environmental sciences or related disciplines. Methodological advances at all scales are relevant, from the atom scale to km-dimensions. These new techniques may provide elemental or isotopic information in terrestrial or extra-terrestrial environments, using natural samples or laboratory experiments or quantitative simulations. Content about new cyberinfrastructure resources is also part of theme 06.

This theme will include a) method-oriented sessions focusing on new frontiers in instrumentation and b) data-oriented sessions that highlight innovative data mining, data analytics and data visualization methods, including new and emerging cyberinfrastructure capabilities such as data systems, modelling platforms and data standards for geochemistry.

07 | THEME 07: MINERAL, MELT, AND FLUID CHEMISTRY

Submissions Closed
Minerals and fluids are primary components of Earth and other planets, from atmosphere to core. Their formation and reactions drive geologic processes, leaving signatures embedded in minerals. The chemistry and structure of minerals are fingerprints of mineral interactions with other minerals, fluids, melts, atmosphere, and biosphere. Deciphering these signatures using new techniques has allowed unprecedented insights into planetary evolution. We solicit sessions on mineral, melt and fluid chemistry and physics, with topics such as biomineralogy, fluid and melt chemistry and evolution, deformation and phase transformations, mineral-fluid interactions, crystal structure and chemistry, thermodynamics of processes and novel techniques and applications. We welcome sessions that address these topics using a variety of approaches, including investigations of natural samples, experiments and modeling.

08 | THEME 08: ENERGY AND RESOURCES IN SERVICE OF SOCIETY

Submissions Closed
Mineral and energy resources are essential to modern society and critical to achieving sustainable development, particularly in the context of global net zero ambitions. Reducing the environmental and social impacts of their extraction and use is increasingly important. Sessions under this theme will transgress the full life cycle of resources including: (1) understanding the broad genesis of mineral and energy resources, including the raw materials required for decarbonisation of energy and transport as well as more traditional resources; (2) new and less invasive approaches to exploration and extraction of raw materials; (3) generation and storage of low-carbon energy resources such as geothermal and green hydrogen; (4) innovative approaches to geometallurgy and mineral processing; (5) management, mitigation and use of waste products such as CO2, radioactive waste, plastics, process water and mine tailings; and (6) securing supplies of industrially important metals, industrial minerals, and gases that are subject to global or regional shortages. We welcome session proposals that cover field studies (terrestrial, marine, planetary), organic, inorganic and (isotopic) geochemical characterization, mineralogical and metallurgical investigations, as well as experimental, thermodynamic and modelling approaches to resource geochemistry and geology.

09 | THEME 09: CO-EVOLUTION OF LIFE AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Submissions Closed
This theme invites contributions on the interplay between biological processes and Earth’s geological evolution from Hadean to Phanerozoic time. Topics include the geological causes for Earth’s habitability, the origin and early records of life, the rise of complex life, geological triggers of mass extinctions and radiations, the causes and consequences of Earth’s redox evolution, evolution of oceans and climate, and linkages between surface processes and deep Earth processes. We invite sessions that are open to a wide range of approaches from field geology to geochemistry, geobiology and numerical models.

10 | THEME 10: EARTH SURFACE PROCESSES FROM WEATHERING TO CLIMATE CHANGE

Submissions Closed
The Earth’s surface is where the solid Earth interacts with water, the atmosphere, and life. To understand the links between geochemical processes in the critical zone and life both in the past, present, and future, it is necessary to study a variety of processes including those that shape Earth’s surface, transport sediment and nutrients, and drive biogeochemical cycles. In this theme, we encourage sessions focused on the conditions and mechanisms of key Earth surface processes such as weathering, erosion, hydrologic transport and their effects on biogeochemical cycling. Linkages between their roles in regulating climate on a range of timescales are welcomed. We also encourage sessions that focus on reconstructing paleoclimate and modern climate records, and those that link climate variability to Earth surface processes are encouraged. The scope of sessions may span from observational, experimental, and modeling techniques, from deep in Earth’s history to modern processes, processes that are both extremely fine (e.g., nanometer) to global scale (e.g., geodynamics and tectonic activity), transformation of critical zone environments (e.g., topography, ecology) and the geochemical evolution of the Earth surface.

11 | THEME 11: GEOBIOLOGY: LIFE IN EARTH AND PLANETARY SYSTEM PROCESSES

Submissions Closed
If we compress Earth's 4.5 billion years of history into 24 hours, homo sapiens would emerge only during the last 40 seconds. In this short period, human activities have evolved in dramatic ways, becoming a major force in the Earth's environment that is now increasingly developing into a threat to their own existence. A proper grasp of what are achievable sustainable practices requires a comprehensive understanding of the Earth's (sub-)systems, which humans are part of, and how life and the biosphere have responded to environmental forces and selective pressures. As with humans, microbes have greatly influenced biogeochemical cycles. Microbial activity has shaped the chemistry of Earth’s surface over geologic time and established conditions favourable to the evolution and proliferation of complex, multi-cellular life. This theme invites session contributions that address such geosphere-biosphere interactions, new principles and discoveries with regard to ecosystem functionalities and adaptability that may constrain future conditions on Earth's health, and global biogeochemical cycles associated with climate from the past, the present, and the future. We also welcome sessions that focus on new tools and integrative approaches in geobiology and biogeochemistry, including but not limited to incubation/cultivation-based and/or -independent molecular studies ('omics'), isotope geochemistry, imaging, big data-based modeling, and explorations to new frontier research fields such as the anthroposphere, the deep biosphere, the cryosphere, extreme habitats, and extraterrestrial environments.

12 | THEME 12: METALS AND NUTRIENT CYCLING

Submissions Closed
Joined in their participation in the chemistry of life, the journeys of essential elements separate as they travel through atmosphere, land and oceans. This coupling and uncoupling of the biogeochemical cycles of nitrogen, phosphorus, iron, sulfur, and other major and trace elements have sustained and constrained life on earth for billions of years. An even broader set of elements are now utilized to trace the fluxes that control these cycles. This theme will highlight the state of the art in describing and quantifying elemental cycles and their interaction with ecosystems and the solid earth. We welcome session proposals that focus on: 1) nutrient limitation of the marine and terrestrial biosphere, 2) past changes to nutrient cycles, 3) metal and nutrient fluxes across land-atmosphere-ocean interfaces, 4) microbial ecology and redox reactions in soils, sediments, and seawater, 5) plant-microbe-mineral interactions, 6) the mapping of elements and their isotopes in the oceans, 7) new perspectives on element cycles from genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics, 8) human perturbation of local and global biogeochemistry, 9) interactions between elements and evolution, 10) micro- and nano-scale aspects of global cycles, 11) modelling, laboratory, and culture studies that constrain biogeochemical fluxes, and 12) additional aligned topics.

13 | THEME 13: ENVIRONMENTAL GEOCHEMISTRY: CONTAMINANTS, GEO-ENGINEERING, AND HUMAN HEALTH

Submissions Closed
Over the past decade, it has been increasingly recognized that human health is impacted by the natural, disturbed, and engineered geochemical environments. Understanding the geochemical processes controlling the behavior, transport, and fate of inorganics (e.g., metals, metalloids, radionuclides, mineral dusts, salts, and nutrients), organics (e.g., petroleum hydrocarbons, persistent organic pollutants, volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds, and pesticides), and atmospheric particulate matter (e.g., PM2.5) can help predict their impacts on soils, groundwater, freshwater, the oceans, and in geoengineered substrates and environments. These processes can also influence the bioaccessibility, bioavailability, and ecotoxicological state of these contaminants, and subsequently impact ecosystem and human health. This theme will focus on understanding the geochemistry of contaminants introduced into the natural and built environments by human activities, including geoengineering processes, and assessment of their risks to ecosystem and effects on human health. Special attention will be paid to the interactions between the geochemical environment and the health of humans. Topics addressed could include, but not be limited to emissions of anthropogenic and geogenic contaminants, emerging environmental contaminants, those formed during geoengineering processes, source identification and apportionment of geogenic contaminants, contaminant fate and transport, ecotoxicity and ecological risk, human exposure and health effects, remediation and intervention, and advances in analytical techniques and multi-scale modeling.

14 | THEME 14: GLOBAL CYCLES: LINKING THE EARTH, OCEAN, ATMOSPHERE, AND CLIMATE

Submissions Closed
Earth’s elements move between reservoirs –shaping and transforming the “habitable planet” we live on today. The processes that cycle Earth’s elements have evolved and changed due to external and internal forcing since Earth’s formation, and continue today. Understanding the drivers of change in these cycles and their resilience to forcing, including human-induced change, is central to this theme. We welcome sessions that investigate global cycles across time, linking the earth, ocean, atmosphere, and the climate system. This includes development and applications of geochemical proxies and environmental analysis of modern and past systems that could be associated with observations to understand land-sea-air interactions and the climate system today. We also encourage sessions on the development, application, and evaluation of modelling approaches to investigate changes to global cycles that can predict responses to internal and external forcing on a variety of temporal scales, from the ancient past to human timescales and the future.

15 | THEME 15: GEOLOGY THROUGH A CULTURAL LENS - DIVERSE PERSPECTIVES ON THE NATURAL WORLD

Submissions Closed
Theme 15 will feature the Edith Kanakaʻole Foundation and the share Papakū Makawalu epistemology and methodology - Papakū Makawalu is one dynamic Hawaiian world view of the physical, intellectual, and spiritual foundations from which life cycles emerge. The categorizing and organizing of the natural world and all systems of existence within the universe which are divided into three houses or areas of knowledge. Papahulilani - the space from above the head to where the stars sit. It is inclusive of the sun, moon, stars, planets, winds, clouds, and the measurement of the vertical and horizontal spaces of the atmosphere. Papahulihonua is inclusive of earth and ocean. It is the ongoing study of the natural earth and ocean and its development, transformation, and evolution by natural causes. Papahānaumoku moves from the embryonic state of all life forces to death. It is the birthing cycle of all flora and fauna inclusive of man. It is the process of investigating, questioning, analyzing, and reflecting upon all things that give birth, regenerate, and procreate.

The session will also address societal concerns and creative solutions centered around the Papakū Makawalu houses of knowledge. Each day will feature four invited speakers and their presentations will be followed by a panel discussion on the current and future state of the solid Earth, the water around us, our atmosphere and outer space and natural and anthropogenic hazards facing our planet.

Oral presentation in this theme by invitation only.