Contents: conveners, program committee, sponsors, objectives, format and schedule, expected participation, field of interest, conference dates, abstract submissions, accommodations,
registration fee, and further information.

AGU Chapman Conference on Biogeophysics

Portland, Maine, USA 13–16 October 2008

Conveners

• Lee Slater, Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey, USA
• Estella Atekwana, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA

Program Committee

• Susan Brantley, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
• Yuri Gorby, J. Craig Venter Institute, La Jolla, California, USA
• Susan Hubbard, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, USA
• Robert Kalin, University of Strathclyde, UK
• Rosemary Knight, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
• Dale Morgan, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
• Kenneth Nealson, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
• André Revil, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado, USA
• Silvia Rossbach, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA
• Nathan Yee, Rutgers University – New Brunswick, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA

Sponsors

National Science Foundation (NSF): A grant from NSF is covering partial expenses for implementing this Chapman Conference, and is providing travel support for 35 early career faculty and graduate students. Download an application for travel support.

Department of Energy (DOE): Funds from DOE are providing travel support for scientists (at any career level) engaged in biogeophysics and related research of relevance to the DOE mission and/or at DOE sites. Contact Lee Slater (lslater@andromeda.rutgers.edu) for details.

Conference Objectives and General Description

“Biogeophysics” is a rapidly evolving Earth science discipline concerned with the geophysical signatures of (1) microbial cells themselves in the Earth, (2) the interaction between microorganisms and subsurface geologic media, and (3) alteration of the physical properties of geologic media as a result of microbial activity. It is a new interdisciplinary field of research that spans established disciplines of Environmental Microbiology, Geomicrobiology, and Geophysics. Biogeophysics research in the last decade has confirmed the potential for geophysical techniques to measure not simply the subsurface physical and chemical properties of the subsurface, as geophysical methods are conventionally used, but also the detection of microbes, microbial growth, and microbe-mineral interactions. The unique properties of geophysical datasets (e.g., non-invasive data acquisition, spatially continuous properties retrieved) provides an opportunity to explore geomicrobial processes outside of the laboratory, at the field-scale, and possibly in remote environments. The advances in Biogeophysics over the last decade have resulted from interdisciplinary collaborations by investigators with diverse skills and experience.

The objective of the Chapman Conference on Biogeophysics is to bring together geophysicists, biophysicists, geochemists, geomicrobiologists, and environmental microbiologists conducting multidisciplinary research with potential impact on biogeophysics in order to define the current state of the science, identify the critical questions facing the community and to generate a roadmap for firmly establishing biogeophysics as a critical subdiscipline of earth science research.

This conference will specifically address the following science questions:

1. What are the direct geophysical signatures of microbial cells and biofilms?
2. How do microbe-mineral transformations generate geophysical signatures as a result of changes to the physicochemical properties of the grain-fluid interface?
3. What geophysical signatures are associated with the generation of microbial-driven redox chemistry?
4. How can Biogeophysics be used to improve understanding of biogeochemical processes in natural and anthropogenic environments?
5. Could Biogeophysics ultimately contribute to exploration of microbial activity in extreme environments such as the deep ocean?

Format and Schedule

The meeting will occur over 3.5 days. It will include five oral sessions devoted to each topic and a general poster session that will encourage student presentations. The session chairs (composing the program committee) will present overview talks setting the stage for each session topic, and key speakers for each session will be invited from the academic community. Presenters will be encouraged to contribute to an AGU monograph on biogeophysics.

Expected Participation

75 attendees, including graduate students and early career scientists.

Fields of Interest

Geophysics, biogeoscience, hydrology, biophysics, geochemistry, geomicrobiology and environmental microbiology.

Conference Dates

13–16 October 2008

Abstract Submission Instructions

Abstract Submission Deadline: 21 July 2008
Abstract submission instructions (.doc) are available.

Accommodations

Housing Deadline: 8 September 2008
A block of rooms is being held at the Eastland Park Hotel in Portland, Maine. The hotel is offering conference participants sleeping rooms at the rate of $85.00 for a single or double occupancy room. Reservations can be made by calling the hotel directly at (207) 775-5411. Be sure to mention that you are attending the AGU Chapman Conference. This rate will only be available until 8 September 2008.

Registration Fee

Registration Deadline: 8 September 2008
The final registration fee will be set in late July 2008.

Further Information

If you would like to receive updates about this conference, e-mail chapman-help@agu.org. For information about the scientific program, please contact one of the conveners via e-mail:

• Lee Slater, Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey, USA; e-mail: lslater@andromeda.rutgers.edu
• Estella Atekwana, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA; e-mail:estella.atekwana@okstate.edu