Biomineralization from atom to atoll
Event details
| Date | 09.04.2013 |
| Hour | 16:15 › 17:15 |
| Speaker | Dr Jaroslaw Stolarski, Head of Department of Biogeology, Institute of Paleobiology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, PL |
| Location | |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
Biomineralization refers to the processes by which organisms form the mineral skeleton or deposit mineral structures whose formation is directly linked with their physiological activity. Different types of biominerals have been recognized in various organisms, among them calcium carbonate, calcium phosphate and siliceous structures are the most widespread in nature. Reef-building scleractinian corals belong to the most extensive natural producers of CaCO3. Various physico-chemical properties of scleractinian coral skeleton are, from the macroscopic down to the atomic length scales, influenced by organic macromolecules present in biomineralization region. One of the goals of this presentation will be to show biological control on hierarchical structure of the skeleton. On the other hand, formation of the skeleton is influenced also by environmental factors, thus skeletons of various organisms are used as proxies for (paleo)environmental reconstructions. Various state-of-the art analytical techniques are applied to retrieve those information but some geochemists use such archives without deeper reflection on biological constraints of their formation. Thus the second purpose of this seminar is to show paradoxes of such simplified geological interpretations. Focus will be also on the importance of diagenetic factors on preservation of both types of information (physiological/environmental) in fossil record
Practical information
- General public
- Free
- This event is internal
Organizer
- IIE
Contact
- Professor Anders Meibom, LGB