European Geosciences Union
Division on Biogeosciences
President: Giuliana Panieri (bg@egu.eu)
Deputy President: Cornelia Rumpel
(cornelia.rumpel@grignon.inra.fr)
The Division on Biogeosciences integrates biological, chemical, and physical sciences dealing with processes and interactions within terrestrial and extraterrestrial realms through the current and earlier geological history of Earth and Solar system in general. Its focus is beyond the established scientific approaches embracing multi- and interdisciplinary understandings of the Biosphere functioning in space and time. In this division, we encourage the participation of scientists across different disciplines, including researches from the field of applied Biogeosciences as well as industrial professionals. Experimental, conceptual, and modelling approaches are welcome.
The 2020 Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky Medal is awarded to Pierre Friedlingstein for exceptional contributions to biogeosciences in leading the quantification of the carbon-climate feedbacks in a changing world.
The 2020 Division Outstanding Early Career Scientist Award is awarded to Caitlin E. Hicks Pries for her exceptional contributions to biogeosciences in general and in particular, the terrestrial carbon cycle and the interplay of soil and plant processes with climate.
The 2019 Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky Medal is awarded to Kurt O. Konhauser for seminal contributions to biogeosciences, in particular for exploring the role of microorganisms in mineral precipitation.
The 2019 Outstanding Student Poster and PICO (OSPP) Award is awarded to Andreas Riedl Quantification of Dew and Fog Water Inputs to Swiss Grasslands
The 2019 Outstanding Student Poster and PICO (OSPP) Award is awarded to Julius Sebald The effects of forest cover and disturbance on torrential hazards: Large-scale evidence from the Eastern Alps
The 2019 Outstanding Student Poster and PICO (OSPP) Award is awarded to Layla M. San-Emeterio Pyrolysis-compound specific isotope analysis (Py-CSIA) of polymers and biopolymers: possible applications in heritage conservation
The 2019 Outstanding Student Poster and PICO (OSPP) Award is awarded to Nicole Fernandez δ30Si – discharge relationships in small catchments spanning different climates and lithologies
This is a solicited blogpost written by Sebastian Viehmann. The Mesoarchean Strelley Pool Formation in the Pilbara Craton (Western Australia) hosts one of the oldest geological remnants of life on Earth. These silicified stromatolitic carbonates show diverse morphologies and formed on a shallow marine carbonate platform 3.35 billion years ago (Ga; Figures 1 and 2). After a long-standing debate about the biogenicity of these stromatolites starting in the 1980s, sedimentary features of the stromatolites are nowadays accepted as clearly pointing …
This is a solicited blogpost written by Lawrence Percival, who will also present his work on the Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 as part of session SSP2.1 of the upcoming EGU GA. The increasing concern regarding 21st climate change and environmental disturbance has led to a renewed focus on similar episodes of global crisis through Earth’s history. During the Late Devonian Period, 380–360 million years ago, a series of such environmental disturbances took place. These changes were characterized by times of …
With the EGU 2020 General Assembly abstract submission deadline approaching (15 January 2020, 13:00 CET), today we would like to highlight some additional events and activities that will hopefully help to convince those of you still hesitating to register this year. Besides interesting disciplinary scientific programme, the EGU has a plenty of other events to offer including symposia, debates, medal lectures, short courses, outreach sessions and many more… Here, we pick a few that are not to be missed. The …
The deadline for EGU 2020 abstract submissions is coming closer – today we highlight sessions focused on the application of (stable) isotope tracers to questions in biogeoscience. First, for those of you who use light stable isotopes, there is session BG2.8 Application of Stable Isotopes in Biogeosciences, co-organized by HS13, co-sponsored by EAG and convened by Michael E. Böttcher, Kirstin Dähnke and Gerd Gleixner. The convenors say: This session is open to all contributions in biogeochemistry and ecology where stable …
EGU2020: Sharing Geoscience Online, the Union’s first completely virtual meeting, is destined for the record books! In April, shortly after the in-person General Assembly was cancelled, EGU Programme Committee Chair Susanne Buiter described Sharing Geoscience Online as “an exciting opportunity to demonstrate if our members are interested in new models of interacting.”
The statistics show that EGU members resoundingly responded to what Buiter called a “moment of truth,” with more than 26,000 participants from 134 countries taking part in Sharing Geoscience Online’s 701 scientific sessions. The vast majority of the discourse occurred through the exchange of live text chats, which had a median of 92 (and a maximum of 796) participants per chat and featured more than 200,000 posted messages.
Sharing Geoscience Online also included ten livestreamed Great Debates and Union Symposia, half a dozen live and pre-recorded short courses, and several virtual press conferences. These were watched live by 7,000 people and have received an additional 19,000 views to date on the EGU YouTube channel, where they’ll remain available for your viewing pleasure.
Authors uploaded presentation materials to nearly two-thirds of the event’s 18,036 abstracts, and these plus the more than 6,000 comments made to them have been archived on EGUsphere, the Union’s new interactive digital repository.
Sharing Geoscience Online also featured a number of fun traditions, including inspiring artwork created by EGU’s two (virtual) artists in residence and kids’ “volcanic paint” masterpieces. The week also closed with the traditional Friday unveiling of the annual Imaggeo photo competition winners.
The virtual gathering did not include the annual EGU awards ceremony; the recipients of the 2020 honours will be recognised alongside next year's awardees during EGU 2021. All nominations for the 2021 medals and awards are due on 30 June 2020.
Sharing Geoscience Online would not have been possible without the large and dedicated group of volunteers who enabled the shift “from Vienna to virtual” in six short weeks. EGU extends its heartfelt thanks to all Sharing Geoscience Online participants and conveners and everyone who helped create this opportunity to connect the global geoscience community during unprecedented times. Your efforts are truly appreciated!