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GEO3BCN at EGU 2024

The 2024 edition of the European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly is just around the corner, scheduled to take place both on-site in Vienna and virtually from 14 to 21 April. Among presenters at this year's EGU General Assembly are researche... Read more

25-03-2024 News

El CSIC presenta la Conexión Geociencias para un planeta sostenible

El Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) acogió el pasado 14 de marzo el kick off de la nueva conexión Geociencias para un planeta sostenible. Esta nueva propuesta, coordinada por Blas Valero Garcés, del Instituto Pirenaico de Ecolog... Read more

18-03-2024 News

The paleomagnetism laboratory is involved in obtaining the first complete archaeomagnetic data from Central Asia

A study presents the first complete archaeomagnetic data of the magnetic field vector for Central Asia, a vast region that has been largely unexplored from an archaeomagnetic perspective for a long time. Bet Beamud, head of the Paleomagnetism laborat... Read more

11-03-2024 News

Ramon Carbonell, nuevo vicepresidente de la Comisión del CSIC para la Coordinación y Racionalización de las ICTS

El investigador de Geociencias Barcelona (GEO3BCN-CSIC), Ramon Carbonell, ha sido nombrado nuevo vicepresidente de la Comisión para la coordinación y Racionalización de Infraestructuras Científicas y Técnicas Singulares (ICTS) y participación en Infr... Read more

06-03-2024 News

A news study reveals that the ice flow in Greenland is younger than thought

A new international study indicates that the Northwest Greenland Ice Stream may be much younger than previously believed. The article, published in the journal Nature Communications and led by the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI), helps to better under... Read more

22-02-2024 News

Drone view of the Amônia River and the Amazon forest. (Yurua, Ucayali, Peru). Autor: Andre Dib

Fins al 47% dels boscos amazònics podrien patir alteracions irreversibles i desaparèixer el 2050

Una nova publicació de Nature analitza els llindars potencials que podrien empènyer la selva amazònica a un punt de no retorn. L’estudi, amb participació del Consell Superior d’Investigacions Científiques (CSIC), estima que per al 2050 entre el 10% i... Read more

14-02-2024 News

Geociències Barcelona debuta a Ciència al Barri

L'alumnat del centre educatiu Front Marítim va visitar al gener els laboratoris de microscòpia i de paleomagnetisme de Geociències Barcelona (GEO3BCN-CSIC). L'activitat, realitzada en el marc de la iniciativa Ciència al Barri, va ser dirigida pels re... Read more

30-01-2024 News

El programa CSIC Cocrea impulsa proyectos de colaboración público-privada frente a los grandes retos actuales

El programa CSIC COCREA cofinancia cinco proyectos para acelerar la transición energética a partir de la producción, conversión, almacenamiento y gestión de energías limpias y sostenible. Para promover esta transición energética, los proyectos selecc... Read more

18-01-2024 News

Stephanie Barde-Cabusson gana el Concurso de Fotografía 2023

Dos imágenes de Stephanie Barde-Cabusson obtienen el primer y tercer puesto del Concurso de Fotografía 2023 organizado por Geociencias Barcelona (GEO3BCN-CSIC). Los resultados fueron presentados en la tradicional jornada de invierno del instituto, ce... Read more

21-12-2023 News

Dario Pedrazzi, guanyador de la Beca Oriol de Bolòs de Ciències Naturals 2023

L’investigador de Geociències Barcelona (GEO3BCN-CSIC), Dario Pedrazzi, és el guanyador de la Beca Oriol de Bolòs de Ciències Naturals 2023 per un estudi que porta per títol ‘Edat absoluta i caracterització vulcanològica de dos dels possibles volcans... Read more

14-12-2023 News

Mechanical properties of minerals in lunar and HED meteorites from nanoindentation testing: Implications for space mining

Peña-Asensio, E., Trigo-Rodríguez, J.M., Sort, J., Ibáñez-Insa, J. and Rimola, A. (2024), Mechanical properties of minerals in lunar and HED meteorites from nanoindentation testing: Implications for space mining. Meteorit Planet Sci. https://doi.org/10.1111/maps.14148

Latest GEO3BCN Publications

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First Full-Vector Archeomagnetic Data From Central Asia (3 BCE to 15 CE Centuries): Evidence for a Large Non-Dipole Field Contribution Around the First Century BCE

Bonilla-Alba, R., Gómez-Paccard, M., Pavón-Carrasco, F. J., Campuzano, S. A., Beamud, E., Martínez-Ferreras, V., Gurt-Esparraguera, J. M., Ariño-Gil, E., Martín-Hernández, F., & Osete, M. L. (2024). First Full-Vector Archeomagnetic Data From Central Asia (3 BCE to 15 CE Centuries): Evidence for a Large Non-Dipole Field Contribution Around the First Century BCE. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 129(2), e2023JB027910. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JB027910

Latest GEO3BCN Publications

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Thermal structure of the southern Caribbean and northwestern South America: implications for seismogenesis

Gómez-García, Á. M., González, Á., Cacace, M., Scheck-Wenderoth, M., & Monsalve, G. (2024). Thermal structure of the southern Caribbean and northwestern South America: implications for seismogenesis. Solid Earth, 15(2), 281–303. https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-281-2024

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Critical transitions in the Amazon forest system

Flores, B. M., Montoya, E., Sakschewski, B., Nascimento, N., Staal, A., Betts, R. A., Levis, C., Lapola, D. M., Esquível-Muelbert, A., Jakovac, C., Nobre, C. A., Oliveira, R. S., Borma, L. S., Nian, D., Boers, N., Hecht, S. B., ter Steege, H., Arieira, J., Lucas, I. L., … Hirota, M. (2024). Critical transitions in the Amazon forest system. Nature, 626(7999), 555–564. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06970-0

Latest GEO3BCN Publications

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Shear margins in upper half of Northeast Greenland Ice Stream were established two millennia ago

Jansen, D., Franke, S., Bauer, C. C., Binder, T., Dahl-Jensen, D., Eichler, J., Eisen, O., Hu, Y., Kerch, J., Llorens, M.-G., Miller, H., Neckel, N., Paden, J., de Riese, T., Sachau, T., Stoll, N., Weikusat, I., Wilhelms, F., Zhang, Y., & Bons, P. D. (2024). Shear margins in upper half of Northeast Greenland Ice Stream were established two millennia ago. Nature Communications, 15(1), 1193. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-45021-8

Latest GEO3BCN Publications

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Assessing changes in global fire regimes

Sayedi, S. S., Abbott, B. W., Vannière, B., Leys, B., Colombaroli, D., Romera, G. G., Słowiński, M., Aleman, J. C., Blarquez, O., Feurdean, A., Brown, K., Aakala, T., Alenius, T., Allen, K., Andric, M., Bergeron, Y., Biagioni, S., Bradshaw, R., Bremond, L., …, Montoya, E., Daniau, A.-L. (2024). Assessing changes in global fire regimes. Fire Ecology, 20(1), 18. https://doi.org/10.1186/s42408-023-00237-9

Latest GEO3BCN Publications

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Why does western Makran have a low seismicity rate?

Abbasi, M., Ghods, A., Najafi, M., Abbasy, S., Amiri, M., Shabanian, E., Kheradmandi, M., & Asgari, J. (2023). Why does western Makran have a low seismicity rate? Tectonophysics, 869, 230134. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.TECTO.2023.230134

Latest GEO3BCN Publications

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Polymorphism and Phase Stability of Hydrated Magnesium Carbonate Nesquehonite MgCO3·3H2O: Negative Axial Compressibility and Thermal Expansion in a Cementitious Material

Santamaría-Pérez, D., Chuliá-Jordán, R., Gonzalez-Platas, J., Otero-de-la-Roza, A., Ruiz-Fuertes, J., Pellicer-Porres, J., Oliva, R., & Popescu, C. (2024). Polymorphism and Phase Stability of Hydrated Magnesium Carbonate Nesquehonite MgCO3·3H2O: Negative Axial Compressibility and Thermal Expansion in a Cementitious Material. Crystal Growth & Design. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.cgd.3c01171

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Impact of glacier changes and permafrost distribution on debris flows in Badswat and Shishkat catchments, Northern Pakistan

Hassan, W., Su, F., Liu, W., Hassan, J., Hassan, M., Bazai, N. A., Wang, H., Yang, Z., Ali, M., & Castellanos, D. G. (2023). Impact of glacier changes and permafrost distribution on debris flows in Badswat and Shishkat catchments, Northern Pakistan. Journal of Mountain Science, 20(12), 3687–3702. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-023-7894-5

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Structural style and timing of nw-se trending zagros folds in sw iran: interaction with north-south trending arabian folds and implications for petroleum geology

Vergés, J., Casini, G., Ruh, J., Cosgrove, J., Sherkati, S., Najafi, M., Casciello, E., Saura, E., Fard, I. A., Piryaei, A., de Lamotte, D. F., Letouzey, J., Goodarzi, H., Soleimany, B., & Jahani, S. (2024). STRUCTURAL STYLE AND TIMING OF NW-SE TRENDING ZAGROS FOLDS IN SW IRAN: INTERACTION WITH NORTH-SOUTH TRENDING ARABIAN FOLDS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PETROLEUM GEOLOGY. Journal of Petroleum Geology, 47(1), 3–74. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/jpg.12850

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Is the exoplanet Kepler-452 b, located at fourteen hundred light years from Earth -potentially habitable? At what other places of the Universe can the phenomenon of life have taken place? All these questions on life research inside and outside the Solar System are the thread of the journey in the book "(In)habitabilidad planetaria. Fundamentos de astrobiogeología" (Ed. Marcombo).

Andrea Butturini, lecturer from the Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences of the Faculty of Biology of the University of Barcelona, is the coordinator of the book  and Daniel García-Castellanos, researcher at ICTJA-CSIC, is one of the co-authors of the book.

Other participants in this book, which reminds us the importance of taking the phenomenon of life into the view of the science of the Universe, are the experts Carme Jordi, from the Faculty of Physics and the Institute of Cosmos Sciences of the UB (ICCUB) and the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC), Jordi Urmeneta, from the Faculty of Biology and the Biodiversity Research Institute (IRBio) of the UB; and Ignasi Ribas, from IEEC and the Institute of Space Sciences (ICE-CSIC).

Between the Earth and the stars: searching for alien life

The discovery of other lives far from the planet Earth would be a total scientific and intellectual revolution in our perception of nature and the Universe. “Life could have taken place in other places and times, but what we know about is that it took place and evolved here, in our planet Earth”, notes the emeritus professor of the UB Ricard Guerrero, in the prologue of the book. “And it did so because there was cooperation between the first inhabitants, instead of competition”, he adds.

With a multidisciplinary perspective, the book highlights the values of the astrobiogeology as a meeting point for several disciplines that take part in the debate on accepted paradigms and the most speculative speech. “It is a research field with an enormous growth. It is obvious that its development depends on technology and investments that only a few entities and countries can make, and which usually make consortiums to optimize resources”, says Andrea Butturini, lecturer at the Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences of the UB.

“The most crucial aspect of astrobiogeology –he continues–, is that it feeds from the interaction between physics, chemistry, geology and biology, a mix that is promoting the development of scientific works in which many researchers are involved, not necessarily linked to the research institutes in Space Sciences. This scientific literature has a speculative component –which is very attractive from an academic and didactic perspective–, which would be great to introduce in the university studies and promote the union of all these disciplines”.

Butturini had the idea to write the book after verifying the interest the general public had for astrobiology. Butturini recalls the success of a workshop devoted to the astrobiology which was held in the Faculty of Biology in 2015: "There were more than 300 attendants. I had never seen such a crowded auditorium. Years later, there are students who ask me if we would repeat it someday".

Are we alone in the Universe?: a revolution in how we see the Universe

According to Ignasi Ribas, director of the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC) and researcher at the Institute of Space Sciences (ICE-CSIC), “setting the context in which the life takes place in the Universe represents one of the biggest challenges of science for the next decades. In order to reach this objective, it is essential to have a multidisciplinlary approach since the many intervening factors cover knowledge areas that are traditionally separated from each other”.

The researcher also notes that “this approach combining astrophysics, biology, and geology –all them to the extreme–, will have to allow us to respond to one of the big questions, not only in science but in humanity: are we alone in the Universe? The transcendence of its answer will involve a new revolution”.

20200619 FotoNoti2

Through this journey along the human knowledge in the Cosmos, “we look for the signals of life existence left by an exoplanet in its atmosphere. In order to find the chemical composition and thermal structure of the atmospheres we use the spectroscopy, and we take measurements in the moment when the planet passes in front of the star”, notes Professor Carme Jordi, from the Department of Quantum Physics and Astrophysics of the Faculty of Physics of the UB.

“The study of the exoplanet atmospheres is one of the scientific objectives of the future space telescope from the NASA and the European Space Agency, James Web, using infrared-spectroscopy. The next ESA ARIEL mission is the first to be exclusively dedicated to the same aim, and covering a wide range of exoplanets, in this case to be studied with optical ear infrared-spectroscopy”, adds Carme Jordi, also member of ICCUB, IEEC and the scientific team of the ESA Gaia Mission.

"Life has been a crucial element in shaping the geochemistry of the Earth, because it allowed high O2 levels, without which many of the minerals that are present in the Earth's crust would not have been that plentiful"
Geology of the Earth and exoplanets

In order to study and model the geological processes that occurs beyond the Earth, "we apply everything we've learnt about our planet", notes Daniel García-Castellanos. The exploration and the discovery of new planets in other solar systems are an excellent opportunity to contrast what we think we know about the Earth, whose processes repeat frequently. Moreover, simulating these processes we're able to predict better the sceneries of a future mission to a planet or a moon of our Solar System".

The Earth is the most and better known case of planetary geodynamics. As the discoveries of exoplanets grows exponentially and the exploration of the planets of the Solar System progresses, two exciting opportunities appear: first, we are able to better estimate the sceneries that a  future exploration will possibly find. Second, we have the opportunity to test in other planetary environments the models that have been building over the last centuries about Earth's evolution.", said García-Castellanos.

The erosion caused by the liquid water was essential in regulating the terrestrial climate so there could be life. “Does this mean there cannot be life without a water cycle similar to ours? We also know that the terrestrial magnetic field stopped the volatile loss of our atmosphere, including water. Could we predict, with what we learnt about the Earth, whether a faraway exoplanet has its well-developed magnetic field, before visiting it?”

García-Castellanos highlights the potential relevance that life may have had on the geodynamical evolution of a planet, signaling the Earth as a case of study. "Life has been a crucial element in shaping the geochemistry of the Earth, because it allowed high O2 levels, without which many of the minerals that are present in the Earth's crust would not have been that plentiful", said García-Castellanos.

Living matter: behind the hints of extreme life in the Cosmos

The study of microorganisms that live in extreme environments changed the way of considering the possibility of life presence in other places in space. The books sheds light on the research of life in Cosmos and it offers alternative situations on the potential alien biospheres.

“It has been found that life is tenacious and that it appears wherever it is possible in our planet, even in places where, due to the apparently inhospitable conditions, it seemed impossible. This led us to think there could be many extra-terrestrial environments where life could have taken place”, notes Jordi Urmeneta, lecturer at the Department of Genetics, Microbiology and Statistics of the Faculty of Biology and the Biodiversity Research Instiute (IRBio) of the UB.

As a direct invitation to speculative thinking, the book leaves room for doubt in a context in which the object of study in astrobiogeology -alien life- is absent. “Perhaps the day we detect its existence, astrobiogeologu will step into a more orthodox phase, and the speculative side will lose its relevance”, note the authors.

More Info

Butturini, A., García-Castellanos, D., Jordi, C., Ribas, I., Urmeneta, J. (2020). (In)Habitabilidad planetaria. Fundamentos de astrogeobiología. Marcombo, Barcelona. 314 p. ISBN: 9788426728340

This text has been adapted from the materials provided by Universitat de Barcelona

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