The International Meeting on Organic Geochemistry (IMOG) is the essential gathering of researchers within biogeochemistry. This year, over 300 participants presented a wide array of topics such as archeology, soils, biomarkers and petroleum systems. Of particular interest to me were the talks on soil organic matter (SOM). For example, Prof. Patrick Hatcher from Old Dominion University, USA, demonstrated a new model developed to include biological and abiological transformation of lignin, an essential biopolymer in SOM. The model suggests that lignin contributes significantly more SOM than previously thought. He also criticized the use of biomarkers for estimations of lignin contribution to SOM, an exceptionally live issue for my own research. Nicholas Ofiti from the University of Zürich presented his results on the stability of subsoil organic matter with increased temperatures in a coniferous temperate forest in the Sierra Nevada, California. His results showed over 50% loss of organic carbon in subsoils with 4 degrees temperature increase over 4.5 years, an important observation for biogeochemical modelers and very related to my own research on subsoils.
I presented my poster on geogenic organic carbon tracing for two consecutive days on the session Soil, Microbes and Plants, during which I had the opportunity to engage with several researchers who gave new insights to the project. For instance, Christina Heim from the University of Göttingen pointed out some of the physical properties of sandstone and how it might explain parts of my 14C results. I was also visited by Bart van Dongen from the University of Manchester who had multiple ideas on how I might make better use of my pyrolysis-GC/MS data, including the ratio between labile/stable compound groups. He also recommended several papers related to the methodology applied to my research and we eventually swapped contact details for further discussions. Nicholas Ofiti (from the talk on the stability of subsoil organic matter) also gave useful insights on the complications of residual calcareous minerals in acid treated samples. As a bonus, I received some useful feedback on my poster from various people which will help me convey my research even better in future conferences as well as in scientific publications.
On the overall impression, this conference met and exceeded my expectations. The highly related topics and smaller, organized structure suited me perfectly and the knowledge gained will be very helpful for my ongoing paper.
Gabriel Norén
PhD student
PhD project: "Establishing the presence of geogenic carbon in deep subsoils”
Institute of Geology and Mineralogy
Geogenic Organic Carbon – Traceable in deep subsoils? https://az659834.vo.msecnd.net/eventsairwesteuprod/production-eage-public/69c6fa1099dc4ad58949eeeaec6837df