The Deep Carbon Observatory: Transformational Opportunities in Science and Technology

Craig M. Schiffries, Director Deep Carbon Observatory Carnegie Institution of Washington

China University of Geosciences, Beijing 9 August 2014

[email protected] deepcarbon.net Carbon is Central to Our Lives

• Carbon is the element of life • Carbon-based fuels supply most of our energy • Carbon-bearing molecules in the atmosphere play a major role in climate change • Yet we remain largely ignorant of the behavior of carbon-bearing systems at depth • Previous work has focused on oceans, atmosphere, and shallow crustal environments • It is implicitly assumed that these reservoirs exchange carbon rapidly as a closed system Carbon is Central to Our Lives

• Our knowledge of the deep interior is limited • The interior may contain more than 90% of Earth’s carbon • We do not know how much carbon is stored in Earth’s interior • We do not know the nature of deep reservoirs • We do not know how carbon moves from one deep repository to another • We are largely ignorant of the nature and extent of deep microbial ecosystems, which by some estimates rival the total surface biomass Mission

Promote a transformational understanding of the physical, chemical, and biological roles of carbon in Earth’s interior through an international, interdisciplinary, decade-long initiative dedicated to achieving a fundamental understanding of Earth through carbon. Deep Carbon Observatory Overview

• A 10-year project launched in September 2009 • Major support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation • Foster international cooperation • Engage over 1,000 researchers from 50 countries • Seed major new funding for deep carbon research • Example of proposed scope: Census of Marine Life (www.coml.org) DCO Organizational Structure

Executive Committee Scientific Steering Committees • Extreme Physics and Chemistry • Reservoirs and Fluxes • Deep Life • Deep Energy Secretariat Data Science Team Engagement Team Extreme Physics and Chemistry Goals!

Achieve a transformative understanding of the physical and chemical behavior of carbon at extreme conditions, as found in the deep interiors of Earth and other planets.! • Inventory possible carbon-bearing phases in Earth’s mantle and core • Achieve a fundamental understanding of carbon in Earth’s core • Characterize the physical and thermochemical properties of deep- Earth phases at relevant pressure and temperature conditions • Develop environmental chambers to access carbon-bearing samples in new regimes of pressure and temperature under controlled

conditions (e.g., pH, fO2) and with increased sample volumes and enhanced sample analysis and recovery capabilities Extreme Physics and Chemistry Goals!

• Achieve a fundamental understanding of carbon bonding at conditions equivalent to the cores of Jovian planets • Implement an integrated carbon algorithm-software-hardware computational facility (iCASH) for multi-scale deep carbon simulations Reservoirs and Fluxes Goals!

Identify the principal deep carbon reservoirs, to determining the mechanisms and rates by which carbon moves among those reservoirs, and to assess the total carbon budget of Earth. • Establish continuous open-access monitoring of volcanic gas emissions • Determine the chemical forms and distribution of carbon in Earth’s deepest interior • Determine the seafloor carbon budget and global rates of carbon input into subduction zones • Estimate the net direction and magnitude of tectonic carbon fluxes from the mantle and crust to the atmosphere Reservoirs and Fluxes Goals!

• Develop a robust overarching global carbon cycle model through deep time, including the earliest Earth, and co-evolution of the geosphere and biosphere • Produce quantitative models of global carbon cycling at various scales, and the planetary scale (mantle convection), tectonic scale (subduction zone, orogeny, rift, volcano), and reservoir scale (core, mantle, crust, hydrosphere) Deep Life Goals!

Explore the evolutionary and functional diversity of Earth’s deep biosphere and its interaction with the carbon cycle.! • Determine the processes that define the diversity and distribution of deep life as it relates to the carbon cycle • Determine the environmental limits of deep life • Determine the interactions between deep life and carbon cycling on Earth Deep Energy Goals!

Quantify the environmental conditions and processes from the molecular to the global scale that control the volumes, rates of generation, and reactivity of organic compounds derived from deep carbon through geologic time. ! • Conduct field investigations to determine processes controlling the origin, rates of production, migration and transformation of abiotic gases and organic species in Earth’s crust and mantle • Develop techniques to identify and characterize hydrocarbons and organic species from global fluid and solid samples across deep time (e.g., the Moho, Mars and meteorites), including their compositions, structures, and isotopic characteristics that resolve the contributions of abiotic- versus biotic-controlled processes

Deep Energy Goals!

• Explore the nature of the organic molecule-mineral interface at crustal and upper mantle conditions • Determine the nature and extent of abiotic reaction rates and mechanisms leading to deep hydrocarbons, other organic

compounds and H2 synthesis • Integrate our understanding of the environmental conditions and processes that control the generation, transport and reactivity of abiotic/biotic compounds leading to transformative models of global carbon cycles through geologic time 2013 DCO International Workshops and Meetings 2013 DCO International Science Meeting

• More than 150 scientists from a dozen countries • US National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC • 3-5 March 2013 • Presentations and discussions on deep carbon science • Recent discoveries by international experts who span DCO's science communities • News coverage of DCO was captured in 12 languages from 530 news sites in 59 countries (Reuters, AP, AFP, Agencia EFE) • Launch of “Carbon in Earth” 2013 DCO International Science Meeting! Speakers included:! ! • Frank Press, Former President of the U.S. National Academy of Science and !! Science Advisor to the President of the United States! • Marcia McNutt, Former Director of the U.S. Geological Survey and Editor-in-Chief of Science! • Wendy Harrison, Director, Earth Sciences Division, U.S. National Science Foundation! • Patrick Leahy, Executive Director of the American Geosciences Institute!

Panel of US scientific leaders Frank Press, Patrick Leahy, Marcia McNutt, Wendy Harrison and Russell Hemley. Kazan Workshop on Abiotic Hydrocarbons

• More than 40 people from 6 countries • Co-sponsored by the President of the Republic of Tatarstan • Kazan Federal University on 13-17 April 2013 • Field and experimental papers on the origins and distribution of abiotic hydrocarbons • Potential to reconvene in two or three years with new data 2010 DCO International Conference

• Beijing, China • 22-24 April 2010 • The Conference brought together world experts in observational, experimental, and computation geoscience to address seven themes:

1. C-H-O-S fluids in the subduction zone and mantle 2. Carbon-bearing phases in the subduction zone 3. Carbonates and other C-bearing minerals in Earth's deep interior 4. Tectonic-environmental changes and the carbon cycle 5. Volcanic actiities and Earth's degasing 6. Deep life and deep organic synthesis 7. Role of CO2 on mantle melting

Students and Early Career Scientists

DCO Early Career Scienst Workshop University of Costa Rica Fieldtrips to volcanoes February 2014

DCO Summer School Big Sky, Montana Fieldwork in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming July 2014 DCO Summer School

• 36 participants from 14 countries • Big Sky Resort, Montana, USA and Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA 13-18 July 2014 • Three days of instruction in all aspects of deep carbon science • Two days of field trips into Yellowstone National Park • Organized by Adrian Jones (University College London, UK) and John Baross (University of Washington, USA) Carbon in Earth

• Released 5 March 2013 • Open Access • 20 chapters • 700 pages • 51 co-authors from 11 countries

• More than 500 news stories in 42 countries and 12 languages

• More than 700,000 chapters have been downloaded Redox Heterogeneity in Mid-Ocean Ridge Basalts as a Function of Mantle Source Elizabeth Cottrell, Katherine A. Kelley

14 JUNE 2013 VOL 340 SCIENCE Publication

Hydrous mantle transition zone indicated by ringwoodite included within diamond

Graham Pearson, Frank Brenker, Fabrizio Nestola, John McNeill, Lutz Nasdala, Mark Hutchison, Sergei Matveev, Kathy Mather, Geert Silversmit, Sylvia Schmitz, Bart Vekemans, Laszlo Vincze

MARCH 2014 VOL 507 NATURE Hydrous mantle transition zone indicated by ringwoodite included within diamond

Graham Pearson, Frank Brenker, Fabrizio Nestola, John McNeill, Lutz Nasdala, Mark Hutchison, Sergei Matveev, Kathy Mather, Geert Silversmit, Sylvia Schmitz, Bart Vekemans, Laszlo Vincze MARCH 2014 VOL 507 NATURE Publication

Electrical conductivity during incipient melting in the oceanic low-velocity zone David Sifré, Emmanuel Gardés, Malcolm Massuyeau, Leila Hashim, Saswata Hier-Majumder, Fabrice Gaillard

1 MAY 2014 VOL 509:81-85 NATURE Scientific Findings

Graphite Formation by Carbonate Reduction During Subduction

Matthieu Galvez, Olivier Beyssac, Isabelle Martinez, Karin Benzerara, Carine Chaduteau, Benjamin Malvoisin, Jaques Malavieille

JUNE 2013 VOL 6 NATURE GEOSCIENCE Carbon dioxide released from subduction zones by fluid-mediated reactions Jay Ague and Stefan Nicolescu

MAY 2014 VOL 7 NATURE GEOSCIENCE Publication

A piece of the deep carbon puzzle

Commentary on “Carbon dioxide released from subduction zones by fluid-mediated reactions” (Ague and Nicolescu, Nature Geoscience, 2014)

Craig Manning

MAY 2014 VOL 7 NATURE GEOSCIENCE Structure of Polymeric CO2-V !

Santoro et al, PNAS, 2012 Datchi et al, PRL, 2012 Publication

Carbon enters silica forming a cristobalite-type

CO2-SiO2 solid solutions Mario Santoro, Federico Gorelli, Roberto Bini, Ashkan Salamat, Gaston Garbarino, Claire Levelut, Olivier Cambon, and Julien Haines

APRIL 2014 VOL 5 NATURE COMMUNICATIONS Scientific Findings

Carbon Substitution for Oxygen in Silicates in Planetary Interiors

Sabyasachi Se, Scarlett Widgeon, Alexandra Navrotsky, Gabriela Mera, Amir Tavakoli, Emanual Ionescu, Ralf Riedel

OCTOBER 2013 VOL 110 PNAS Scientific Findings

Dielectric properties of water under extreme conditions and transport of carbonates in the deep Earth Ding Pan, Leanardo Spanu, Bandon Harrison, Dimitri A. Sverjensky, and Giulia Galli

Deep water gives up another secret Commentary on “Dielectric properties of water under extreme conditions and transport of carbonates in the deep Earth” (Pan et al, PNAS, 2013)

Craig E. Manning

MARCH 2013 VOL 110 PNAS Publication

The refractive index and electronic gap of water and ice increase with increasing pressure Ding Pan, Quan Wan, Giulia Galli

MAY 2014 VOL 5 NATURE COMMUNICATIONS Scientific Findings

Water in the Deep Earth: The Dielectric Constant and the Solubilities of Quartz and Corundum to 60 kb and 1,200°C Dimitri Sverjensky, Brandon Harrison, David Azzolini

IN PRESS GEOCHIMICA ET COSMOCHIMICA ACTA Scientific Findings

Hydrogen generation from low-temperature water–rock reactions L.E. Mayhew, E.T. Ellison, T.M. McCollom, T. P. Trainor & A.S. Templeton

Geochemistry: Subsurface Sustenance Commentary on “Hydrogen generation from low- temperature water–rock reactions” (Mayhew et al, Nature Geoscience, 2013) Steven D’Hondt

MAY 2013 VOL 5 NATURE GEOSCIENCE Life in the Hydrated Suboceanic Mantle

Bénédicte Ménez, Valerio Pasini & Daniele Brunelli

FEBRUARY 2012 VOL 5 NATURE GEOSCIENCE Scientific Findings

Aerobic Microbial Respiration in 86-Million- Year-Old Deep-Sea Red Clay

Hans Ray, Jens Kallmeyer, Rishi Ram Adhikari, Robert Pockalny, Bo Barker Jorgensen & Steven D’Hondt

18 MAY 2012 VOL 336 SCIENCE Publication

Global rates of marine sulfate reduction and implications for subseafloor metabolic activities Marshall W. Bowles, josé M. Mogollión, Sabine Kasten, Matthias Zabel, Kai-Uwe-Hinrichs

8 MAY 2014 VOL 344:889-891 SCIENCE Scientific Findings

Deep fracture fluids isolated in the crust since the Precambrian era

G. Holland, B. Sherwood Lollar, L. Li, G. Lacrampe-Couloume, G.F. Slater & C.J. Ballentine

16 MAY 2013 VOL 497 NATURE Global press attention for “World’s Oldest Water”! Integrative Field Studies Proposal OCO and DCO Collaboration

The Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2 – Opportunities for Deep Carbon Research Florian Schwandner, NASA/JPL, DCO DECADE

21 JULY 2014 DEEPER VIEW New Instruments are a Key to Discovery

Detecting the deep biosphere: An in-situ tool for the search for life Katrina Edwards, University of Southern California

Volcanic Carbon Atmospheric Flux Experiment (V-CAFÉ): Development of instrumentation for volcanic carbon flux monitoring Tobias Fischer, University of New Mexico

Advanced synchrotron x-ray spectrometer for deep carbon Wendy Mao, Stanford University

A high P-T device for experimental studies of hydrocarbons Vadim Brazhkin, Russian Academy of Sciences

A modified gas chromatograph for experimental studies of hydrocarbons Vladimir Kutcherov, Swedish Royal Institute of Technology New Instruments are a Key to Discovery!

Combined Instrument for Molecular Imaging in Geochemistry (CMIG) Andrew Steele, Carnegie/Smithsonian Institution

Novel large-volume diamond anvil cell Malcolm Guthrie, Carnegie Institution of Washington

Development of an ultrafast laser instrument for in situ measurements of thermodynamic properties of carbon bearing fluids and crystalline materials Alexander Goncharov, Carnegie Institution of Washington

Gas instrumentation sandpit workshop—developing next generation sensors for monitoring volcanic carbon flux Adrian Jones, University College London

Experimental High-P and T Bioreactors Sandpit Workshop Isabelle Daniel, Université Claude Bernard Lyon1

DCO Computer Cluster Peter Fox, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute New Instruments are the Key to Discovery

DCO Computer Cluster

• Now installed at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the DCO Computer Cluster is available to all DCO researchers • Linux cluster can run a wide variety of scientific programs aimed at modeling chemical and physical processes in deep Earth and carrying out data analyses • PSSC Labs PowerWulf MMx Cluster with 640 Intel® Xeon® 2.4 GHz Compute Processor Cores and 544GB System Memory - 1GB Memory Per Compute Processor Core • 154TB of System Storage, a high-speed internal InfiniBand network, and a fast backup system • PI: Peter Fox, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute New Instruments are a Key to Discovery

V-CAFÉ: Volcanic Carbon Atmospheric Flux Experiment

• Continuously quantify active volcanic CO2 flux • DCO partial support • Multi-institutional • International • Interdisciplinary • New generation ion-trap mass spectrometer that allows for rapid analyses of volcanic gas • Hermetically sealed tube is highly portable • Can be deployed in the volcanic plume on the crater rim • PI: Tobias Fischer New Instruments are the Key to Discovery

DEBI-t: Deep Exploration Biosphere Investigative tool

• Proof-of-concept tool (2011) by the Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations (C-DEBI) • Partial DCO support • UV-spectroscopy used to detect microbial life in seafloor boreholes • Used along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge during IODP Expedition 336 aboard the JOIDES Resolution • Will compare microbial life within existing and pristine boreholes • PI: Katrina Edwards, USC New Instruments are the Key to Discovery

Combined Instrument for Molecular Imaging in Geochemistry (CIMIG)

• Earth’s greatest potential carbon reservoirs are the lower mantle and core, where even a few parts per million (ppm) carbon in metallic or silicate phases could represent many times the confirmed planetary carbon content • This modified ToF-SIMS instrument is designed to measure trace amounts of carbon (1-10 ppm) in a variety of geologically relevant samples, including mineral phases that are nominally acarbonaceous • Nanoscale analysis is presently impossible by any other single technique • PI: Andrew Steele, Carnegie Institution of Washington; Smithsonian Institution New Instruments are the Key to Discovery

Advanced Synchrotron X-ray Spectrometer for Deep Carbon

• Carbon-specific X-ray Raman spectroscopy 40-crystal XRS (XRS) is the most definitive probe for in spectrometer situ, non-destructive characterization of the ubiquitous, significant changes in Sample holder KB-Optics carbon-molecular bonding under high- pressure and high-temperature 7-crystal XES • DCO partially supported a Kirkpatrick-Baez spectrometer (K-B) focusing system that enables high- pressure carbon-specific XRS study at Beamline 6-2 of the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (SSRL), SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory • PI: Wendy Mao, Stanford University

Fig. 1: 3D technical drawing of the Beamline 6-2 middle hutch experimental end- station at Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL).

Publication

Measurement of a doubly substituted methane 13 isotopologue, CH3D, by tunable infrared laser direct absorption spectroscopy Shuhei Ono, David T. Wang, Danielle S. Gruen, Barbara Sherwood Lollar, Mark S. Zahniser, Barry J. McManus, David D. Nelson

JUNE 2014 ASAP ONLINE ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY

Publication

Formation temperatures of thermogenic and biogenic methane Daniel Stolper, Michael Lawson, Cara Davis, Alexandre Ferreira, Eugenio Santos Neto, Geoffrey Ellis, Michael Lewan, Anna Martini, Yongchun Tang, Martin Schoell, Alex Sessions, John Eiler

27 JUNE 2014 VOL 344:1500-1503 SCIENCE

For More Information

Craig M. Schiffries, Director Deep Carbon Observatory Carnegie Institution of Washington [email protected] 202-478-8819 deepcarbon.net