Tuesday 10th November 2020
We are holding a 1 day virtual microfossil geochemistry multi-panel discussion prior to The Micropalaeontological Society’s 2020 Annual Conference.
The aim of the workshop will be to bring together the micropalaeontological and geochemical communities, so that they can learn from each other and understand how they can collaborate to understand data from microfossils.
The three panels will have the following themes, and will be comprised of 5-7 panellists from a range of micropalaeontological and geochemical backgrounds from various career stages.
1. The Influence of Taphonomy and Diagenesis
Geochemical data is undeniably influenced by the preservation of specimens used. To understand and use (palaeo)ecological, -climatic and -limnological geochemical proxies to their fullest we need to investigate the impacts of preservation (including how taphonomic bias in the fossil record affects the construction of long term proxy records), explore potential mitigations and develop thorough protocols for analysis.
Chair: Dr. Tracy Aze (University of Leeds, UK)
Panellists:
Dr. Chris Hollis (GNS Science)
Professor Moriaki Yasuhara (University of Hong Kong)
Professor Christina Riesselman (University of Otago)
Dr. Andrés S. Rigual Hernández (Universidad de Salamanca)
Professor Rachel Wood (University of Edinburgh)
Dr. Stephen Stukins (Natural History Museum, London)
2. Biology and Ecology – the Effect of Life
Geochemical proxies are usually empirically calibrated because biological processes often impart large fractionations. In addition, seasonally varying production rates and adaptation to specific ecological niches mean that interpreting proxy signals in fossil material can be challenging. This session aims to highlight current approaches used to transfer ecologically- and biologically-dominated signals into robust environmental reconstructions.
Chair: Dr. Takashi Toyofuku (JAMSTEC, Japan)
Panellists:
Dr. Clara Bolton (CEREGE)
Dr. Patrick Frings (GFZ Potsdam)
Dr. Eleni Anagnostou (GEOMAR)
Professor Kaustubh Thirumalai (University of Arizona)
Dr. Kara Bogus (Camborne School of Mines)
Dr. Yama Dixit (Earth Observatory of Singapore)
3. Learning from Microfossils on the Microscale
The closer we look at microfossil structure, mineralogy and composition, the more complex it appears. How does this complexity affect their ability to record palaeoenvironmental information? This session will consider structural, biological and geochemical complexity of biominerals in context of their use as palaeoclimate archives.
Chair: Professor Jennifer Fehrenbacher (Oregon State University, USA)
Panellists:
Dr. Pallavi Anand (Open University)
Dr. Assaf Gal (Weizmann Institute of Science)
Dr. Thomas Chalk (University of Southampton)
Dr. Anne Jantschke (TU Dresden)
Professor Emi Ito (University of Minnesota)
We’re so excited to host all these fantastic researchers and are super excited for the discussions and presentations! All panels will be made available for asynchronous viewing to widen participation.
Provisional schedule
| Time (UTC) | Session # | Event | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0645-0700 | ECR-A | Sign in begins for ECR-A breakout session | ECR Breakouts A (provisional) |
| 0700-0800 | ECR-A | ECR-A | |
| 0745-0800 | Session 0 | Sign in begins for posters | |
| 0800-0900 | Session 1 | Poster session 1 | Taphonomy / diagenesis |
| 0900-0905 | Panel 1 | Intro | |
| 0905-1035 | Taphonomy / diagenesis | ||
| 1035-1100 | BREAK | ||
| 1100-1200 | ECR-1 | ECR-1 | ECR Breakouts 1 |
| 1200-1300 | Session 2 | Poster session 2 | Biology/ecology |
| 1305-1435 | Panel 2 | Biology/ecology | |
| 1435-1445 | BREAK | ||
| 1445-1545 | Session 3 | Poster session 3 | Microscales |
| 1550-1720 | Panel 3 | Microscales | |
| 1720-1730 | Closing remarks | ||
| 1735-1830 | ECR-2 | ECR-2 | ECR Breakouts 2/Posters all |
Registration
You can register here. Registration closes on November 1st!
Early career researchers and those from underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to attend and present. All participants at this event must additionally adhere to the TMSoc Code of Conduct.
Technical logistics and accessibility
The panel discussions will take place via a Zoom webinar, and the poster sessions will take place on Teams. We will additionally have dedicated breakout sessions for ECRs at various times.
If you would like to view the poster sessions, please indicate this on your registration form.
We have designed this event with equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility at the core, and measures will be in place including closed captioning and colour blind friendly graphics. If you have any particular requirements, please get in touch on tmsgeochemworkshop@gmail.com and we will do our best to accommodate!
Cost
There is no charge for this event, however we are encouraging donations (“pay what you can” approach) to a fund which we intend to distribute 50:50 to the 500 Women Scientists Fellowship for the Future and TMSoc Awards Fund. To donate, please use the link below, and enter “Geochemistry Workshop 2020” as the explanation of donation.
Hope to e-see you in November!
Sending happy micropalaeo vibes your way,
The Microfossil Geochemistry Workshop Organisers
David Evans (Frankfurt), Lorna Kearns (NOCS), Lucy Roberts (Nottingham), Katrina Nilsson-Kerr (Heriot-Watt), Oscar Branson (Cambridge) and Rehemat Bhatia (TMS Publicity Officer)