2007 Goldschmidt Conference

Goldschmidt 2007 - "atoms to planets"
August 19 - 24, 2007
Cologne, Germany

Conference Information

The Goldschmidt Conference is the premier annual meeting in geochemistry. The 17th annual meeting will be held in August 2007 at the University of Cologne in Germany and will be in association with the Annual Meeting of the German Mineralogical Society. This will be the second German Goldschmidt, following the 1996 meeting in Heidelberg.

Abstracts were invited to the 99 Special Symposia and 16 General Symposia planned for this year's Goldschmidt. These symposia cover the full range of geochemical research, from the formation of the solar system to environmental research, and from biogeochemistry to mineralogy. Details of these themes, and the names of the members of the International Program Committee responsible for them are given on the Symposia page.

Ridge Themed Sessions

S48: Rates of heat and mass transport through mid-ocean ridges
Conveners: Laurence Coogan ([email protected]) and Craig Lundstrom ([email protected])
Keynote Speaker: Jim Van Orman

Session description: The processes of heat and mass transport operating at mid-ocean ridges, from mantle melting through to seafloor ecosystems, are intricately linked. However, the rates of processes in different parts of this system are poorly constrained. This session will focus on quantifying the rates of magmatic and hydrothermal processes at mid-ocean ridges addressing questions such as: What are the rates of mantle upwelling and melt ascent beneath ridges? How episodic is melt supply to the lithosphere? How rapidly do magmas crystallise and differentiate? How quickly does the surrounding crust cool? When and where do different hydrothermal reactions occur in the sub-seafloor? And, how quickly do hydrothermal systems respond to changes in the underlying system? This symposium will be a forum for discussing a wide range in temporal constraints on MOR processes. We welcome abstracts presenting both physical and chemical constraints on the rates of processes at mid-ocean ridges including numerical modeling, geophysical observation, experimental studies and geochemical analyses of fluid and rock samples.

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S37: The Oceanic crust - Magma chamber processes and high-temperature reactions
Conveners: Juergen Koepke ([email protected])
Sumio Miyashita ([email protected])

This session is intended to bring together researchers working in the in-situ oceanic crust and on ophiolites to discuss the variety of chemical and physical processes related to MORB magma chambers beneath the ocean ridges. Topics will include: (1) shallow-level differentiation of MORB including related experimental studies, (2) formation of cumulate gabbros, (3) mantle-crust interactions, (4) the transition zone between gabbro and sheeted dikes, as recently drilled by IODP expedition 312, (5) reactions between gabbroic rocks and seawater-derived fluids at very high temperatures.

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S38: The Oceanic crust - Hydrothermal processes
Conveners: Colin W. Devey ([email protected])
W. Bach ([email protected])
Keynote: M. Tivey (WHOI, USA)

Studying modern submarine hydrothermal systems provides important insights into the formation and development of seafloor vent sites, which have a global impact on the chemical composition of seawater and the alteration of the oceanic crust. The complex origin and evolution of hydrothermal systems is caused by diverse oceanic and tectonic settings, and complex hydrothermal circulation, which is a function of varying geochemical and geological conditions. The physico-chemical conditions and the alteration of the crust, the sulfide textures as well as the structure and the geological setting of the deposits can be studied in these natural laboratories. This symposium is intended to bring together a wide range of scientists working on specific aspects helping to reconstruct processes, reactions and the nature of the fluid flow paths in marine hydrothermal systems.

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S39: The Oceanic crust - Bio-geochemistry of hydrothermal fluids
Conveners: Richard Seifert ([email protected])
Andrea Koschinsky ([email protected] )
Keynote speaker: Dave Butterfield, (PMEL - Seattle, WA, USA)

Hydrothermal circulation plays a key role for the heat and mass transfer from the Earthís mantle and crust to the shallow subsurface and the water column. Information on subsurface processes are encoded in the physicochemical parameters of emanating fluids. New data from field campaigns, laboratory experiments, and rigorous theoretical modelling have considerably contributed to reading this record. Studies of organic compounds present in hydrothermal fluids and organisms thriving in hydrothermal environments have delivered insights into the evolution of early life in terms of prebiotic organic synthesis and chemoautotrophic life. This session is aimed to combine diverse approaches addressing a wide variety of topics in organic and inorganic geochemisty of hydrothermal fluids to assist in a better understanding of the functioning and significance of hydrothermal systems in energy and mass transfer from the crust to the ocean. We solicit papers that provide information from direct observations, modelling, or experimental results towards fingerprinting the geochemical processes in hydrothermal systems.
Topics of emphasis include: physiochemical controls on fluid composition, supercritical fluid behaviour, catalytic reaction networks at high pressure and temperature, organometallic complexes in fluids, imprint of fluid composition on the vent fauna, abiotic formation of organic compounds, bio-geochemical processes in hydrothermal plumes, heat and mass transfer, and temporal evolution of hydrothermal systems.