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X-WR-CALNAME:Geology & Environmental Science Colloquium: Dr. Kelsey Moore |
 Johns Hopkins University 
X-WR-TIMEZONE:Eastern Time (US & Canada)
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260916T155301Z
UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_52303870340984
DTSTART:20260409T200000Z
DTEND:20260409T210000Z
DESCRIPTION:Insights into the coevolution of early life and planets from si
 lica-hosted biosignatures\n\n Presented by Dr. Kelsey Moore | NSF Postdoct
 oral Fellow\, Johns Hopkins University \n\nAbstract: \n\n\n\nSince the daw
 n of life on Earth\, microbial organisms have played a central role in sha
 ping our planet. If life ever arose on other planetary bodies like Mars\, 
 the same is likely true of those early ecosystems. As our only known examp
 le of early life\, microbial ecosystems on Earth are our best analog as we
  attempt to identify and interpret biosignatures on Mars.\n\nOn Earth\, th
 ese early microbial ecosystems set life on its evolutionary trajectory and
  have influenced key geochemical cycles and sedimentary processes througho
 ut Earth history. Silica is one of these key geochemical cycles\, controll
 ing our climate along with the carbon cycle\, and siliceous sedimentary de
 posits (chert) preserve one of the best records of early life on Earth. As
  such\, silica and the chert-hosted fossil record are a critical component
  of our understanding of the early biosphere and the coevolution of life a
 nd the planet. However\, there are major outstanding questions surrounding
  the evolution of the silica cycle\, the mechanisms of silicification\, an
 d the role of early ecosystems in shaping the silica cycle. I combine expe
 rimental geobiology with spatially-resolved analyses of chert-hosted biosi
 gnatures to better characterize early life and its evolution\, the evoluti
 on of the silica cycle\, and the role of microbes in shaping the silica cy
 cle and the planet. In this talk\, I will described how cyanobacteria and 
 organic-cation-silica associations drive silicification and suggest that c
 yanobacteria may have played a critical role in the Proterozoic silica cyc
 le. I will uncover insights into Proterozoic primary producers\, their phy
 siology\, and adaptations to environmental stresses that help us better ch
 aracterize the Proterozoic biosphere. Finally\, I will extend these findin
 gs to help search for potential silica-hosted biosignatures on Mars. Throu
 gh these studies\, we can better characterize the coevolution of early lif
 e and our planet and perhaps extend these insights to early life on Mars\,
  if it ever existed.
GEO:40.444273;-79.959034
LOCATION:Thaw Hall\, 104
SUMMARY:Geology & Environmental Science Colloquium: Dr. Kelsey Moore |Johns
  Hopkins University 
URL;VALUE=URI:https://calendar.pitt.edu/event/geology-environmental-science
 -colloquium-dr-kelsey-moore-johns-hopkins-university
CATEGORIES:Lectures\, Symposia\, Etc.
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