PostDoc in Environmental Mineralogy at GFZ (Postdam, Germany) within the ERC SyG “Deep Purple”

New position as Research Associate (PostDoc) in Environmental Mineralogy at the German Research Centre for Geosciences (Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum/GFZ) in Potsdam, Germany. 

The ideal candidate a highly motivated and enthusiastic mineralogist who wants to develop her/his/their skills in a highly interdisciplinary work environment in order to obtain a holistic understanding of mineral-microbe-fluid-interactions in Earth Surface processes.
The successful candidate will contribute their specialist mineralogical skills in diffraction, scattering and spectroscopy to two main aspects related to low temperature (< 100 °C) mineral reactions:

(a) as part of the ERC Synergy grant “Deep Purple”, she/he/they will evaluate the variations in mineralogical composition of dust (and their interactions with black carbon and microbes) from surface snow and ice samples and determine the contribution of mineral dust to the darkening of the Greenland Ice Sheet.
(b) as part of the Interface Geochemistry section, she/he/they will help to elucidate nucleation, growth and transformation of amorphous and crystalline phases.


She/he/they will join an international and diverse team of researchers led by Liane G. Benning, who is very committed to fostering a fully inclusive research environment. Non-discrimination and equal treatment are integral parts of the group policy. 

For further information, please visit http://eurominunion.org/?page_id=1431.

“Hydrogeoday” 10 March, Coruña 2018

This Saturday 10th of March, the Asociación Española de Hidrogeólogos (Spanish Association of Hydrogeologists) organizes the “Hydrogeoday”, a scientific dissemination workshop in hydrogeology, that will take place in Galicia, under the direction of the research group “Agua y Suelo – AQUASOL” (Water and soil), belonging to CICA (Centro de Investigaciones Científicas Avanzadas) from the Universidade da Coruña

Poster of the Hydrogeoday workshop.

More info: http://www.aih-ge.org/

The focus will be in good practices for quality groundwater collection from small water supplies, which are quite abundant in rural areas.

The workshop is open to all kind of people and is free of charge. But places are limited and is necessary to enroll in advance via e-mail.

09:45 bus from A Coruña center, to Escuela de Caminos and later on to Abegondo townhall.

“With the right ingredients, life seems to form very quickly” Mark Harrison

The origin of life started much earlier than scientists thought. The 19th of October 2015,  a research supporting that our planet’s first form of life was originated at least 4.1 billion years ago was published in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. That means 300 million years earlier than previous research suggested, shortly after, almost instantaneously, the planet formed (4.54 billion years ago) and prior to the massive bombardment of the inner solar system that formed the moon’s large craters (3.9 billion years ago).

Scientists had long believed the Earth was dry and desolate during that time period. However, the new research, carried out in UCLA, showed that the planet was probably much more like it is today than previously thought. Simple life appears to have formed quickly and it would evolve to photosynthesize after many millions of years.

The scientists identified and revealed primary inclusions in a mineral, namely dark specks contained in zircons, that were analyzed with Raman spectroscopy. The zircons had a specific ratio of carbon-12 to carbon-13 that indicates the presence of photosynthetic life. The graphite is older than the zircon containing it, being the latter 4.1 billion-years old.

Video: Dark specks contained in zircons.

Read more here

LOS MINERALES VOLCÁNICOS DE EL LAZIO, ITALIA

Conferencia de D. MAURIZIO BURLI, Geólogo, Miembro de la Junta directiva del Grupo Mineralógico Romano, Socio de la Asociación de Museos de España, autor de numerosos artículos en revistas de minerales y de cerámica antigua y poseedor de una Colección ESPECIALIZADA EN MINERALES VOLCÁNICOS DEL CENTRO DE ITALIA

Fecha y lugar: viernes 16 de mayo, a las 19h,en el local del GMM c/ Cristóbal Bordiú 32, entreplanta (Escuela de Minas). El local estará abierto a partir de las 18h, para consultas, intercambios u otras necesidades.

Actividad gratuita

GEOLODIA 2014

Entre el 10-11 de mayo del 2014 se celebra el GEOLODÍA, con que se pretende acercar a la sociedad la Geología y la profesión del geólogo. Consisten en excursiones de campo guiadas por geólogos y gratuitas, en cada una de las provincias. Se realizan en lugares interesantes por su entorno geológico y se proporciona una información rigurosa a nivel divulgativo. Permite ver estos lugares con “ojos geológicos” y vislumbrar algunos aspectos de como funciona la Tierra sobre la que vivimos y de cuyos recursos naturales dependemos. Es una manera de sensibilizar sobre la importancia y necesidad de proteger nuestro patrimonio geológico.

Charla La radiactividad natural y los minerales radiactivos (28 febrero)

El próximo viernes 28 de Febrero a las 19h en salón de actos del Grupo Mineralogista de Madrid (GMM C/ Cristóbal Bordiú 32,entreplanta, Madrid)
 
D. CESAR MENOR SALVAN, DOCTOR en CIENCIAS QUIMICAS, EXPERTO EN MINERALOGIA, hablará sobre el Curiosity, cómo se utiliza la radioactividad para analizar minerales y algunas generalidades de los minerales de URANIO.
 
Desde las 18 h, el local permanecerá abierto para todos los que quieran acercarse para intercambio de minerales o para intercambiar preguntas, opiniones, experiencias con César Menor

Los geoparques de España y Portugal, por la UNESCO

Un geoparque es un territorio que presenta un patrimonio geológico notable y que lleva a cabo un proyecto de desarrollo basado en su promoción turística, y basado en tres principios: 

  • Un patrimonio geológico  de importancia internacional que sea el eje conductor
  • La puesta en marcha de iniciativas de geoconservación y divulgación
  • Favorecer el desarrollo socioeconómico y cultural de la población local. 

En la actualidad en España hay ocho geoparques: Geoparque del Maestrazgo (Teruel), Parque Natural de las Sierras Subbéticas (Córdoba), Parque Natural del Cabo de Gata (Almería), Sobrarbe (Huesca), Costa Vasca (Guipúzcoa), Sierra Norte de Sevilla, Villuercas-Ibores-Jara (Cáceres) y Cataluña Central. Y en Portugal hay tres: Naturtejo, Aroucay Azores