November 7-9, 2015
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Conveners: Ivano Aiello, Andreas Teske and Christina Ravelo
Workshop Objectives
The workshop’s goal is to create renewed impetus towards the formulation of a drilling proposal to bring the R/V JOIDES Resolution to the Guaymas Basin in the Gulf of California (GOC). The GOC represents a singular example of interactions between tectonics, sedimentation and microbial life in a very young ocean formed by translation and oblique rifting. It has been more than 30 years since the D/V Glomar Challenger drilled this young basin during ODP Leg 64. However, today’s scientific questions, approaches and methodologies in the relevant fields of deep life tectonics and paleoceanography have evolved so far that a new, multidisciplinary re-examination of Guaymas Basin by deep-sea drilling is required.
Over the last few years, several site survey cruises have collected sedimentological, microbiological, 2D and 3D seismic, and heat flow data from different parts of the Guaymas Basin region. These new and important datasets form the basis for a renewed effort to produce a drilling proposal that builds on an earlier joint US-American, Mexican and European IODP proposal (Full-833) that targeted the hydrothermally-influenced deep subsurface sediments and basaltic sills of Guaymas Basin for a comprehensive study integrating the extent, activity and limits of life in this energy- rich environment with geochemical, sedimentological and palaeoceanographic characterization.
Meeting Details
The workshop is planned for three full days between Saturday, November 7th and Monday, November 9th at the Bugambilias Sheraton Hotel in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico in conjunction with the Annual Meeting of the Union Geofisica Mexicana the previous week (http://ugm.org.mx/raugm/).
Workshop Participation
Scientists at U.S. institutions who are interested in working in the Guaymas Basin as well as those who are already conducting research in the GOC region are welcome to apply to participate. Given the strong multidisciplinary character of both the preliminary survey data and the drilling proposal, we encourage the participation of PhD and Post Doctoral students and senior scientists from a variety of disciplines including geophysics, microbiology, biogeochemistry, paleoceanography and sedimentology.
If you wish to participate in the workshop, please submit a brief statement of interest and a short CV to Ivano Aiello (iaiello@mlml.calstate.edu) by October 16, 2015. Travel support is available for U.S. scientists.
Additional Information