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,