Intellectual Merit: This workshop is a multidisciplinary gathering of scientists from fields as disparate as engineering, biology, geophysics, sedimentology, geochemistry, and polar programs to discuss and get exposure to a new and potentially transformative field in the geosciences: Biogeophysics. Biogeophysics is the science of using non-invasive, geophysical, remote sensing techniques to determine and monitor the activity of microorganisms and their byproducts in the subsurface/deep biosphere. Sessions will focus on cutting edge topics such as the impact of microbes and biofilms on sediment physical properties and techniques to identify and measure changes. It will also explore other new and/or novel applications of the methods and generate discussions about other possible technological innovations.
Broader impacts: Impacts of this work include the interaction of a multidisciplinary group of scientists from disciplines that span the gamut from engineering to biology to geophysics to sedimentology. It also has a strong emphasis on the training of early career faculty and students in this new area of geoscience. The work supports in institution in an EPSCoR state (Oklahoma) and will help to cement the leadership of the PI, who is from a gender and racial group that is under-represented in the science, in the field.
