Dear Colleagues,
This message is to remind that the deadline for the Goldschmidt 2009 pre-conference field trip to visit the BigLink field site from 19 to the 21st of June 2009 (http://www.goldschmidt2009.org/fieldTrips#damma) is rapidly approaching.
BigLink is a Swiss project which aims at a detailed understanding of incipient rock weathering by a multidisciplinary study of a young soil chronosequence located in a glacier forefield in the Swiss Alps (http://www.cces.ethz.ch/projects/clench/BigLink). The well-documented retreat of the Damma Glacier allows us to study in detail the first stages of weathering and soil formation, focusing on the following key points:
- Organic carbon dynamics during weathering and soil formation.
- Microbial colonization and its effects on mineral weathering.
- Ecological interactions between higher plants and microorganisms in the acquisition of biolimiting nutrients N, P and K.
- Development and use of isotope tracers for chemical weathering.
- Assessment and modelling of past, present and future thermal and hydrological conditions of a glacier forefield.
We will be pleased to present the Damma glacier forefield and the studies that we are conducting on it. We also strongly hope that this fieldtrip will provide an opportunity for people involved in weathering and soil formation observatories worldwide to come together in this nice context.
Registration for this fieldtrip will end on 1st May 2009 through the Goldschmidt 2009 website (http://www.goldschmidt2009.org). The number of participants is limited to 25 people, so you should now register rapidly if you are interested.
For more information and any questions, please contact E. Lemarchand (lemarchand@env.ethz.ch).
Please forward this message to potentially interested people in your institution.
We hope to meet you on this occasion.
The organizing team
Emmanuel Lemarchand, Stefano Bernasconi, Ruth Hindshaw, Jan Wiederhold
Groups:
