Understanding the pivotal relationship between carbon and life processes is essential to address global issues like climate change, the origin of life or to support planetary exploration. Carbon is the backbone of life on our planet and its cycle is perhaps the most influential in all of science linking natural and anthropic phenomena. Carbon cycle include the transformation of Organic Matter (OM) through geological processes, creating materials such as kerogen, coal, and graphite. The geological expertise acquired in the last decades can now be also used to better understand the synthesis of anthropogenic carbon-based materials (CBM) critical for the energy transition such as pyrogenic OM and/or biomass, like Biochar. This can lead to an advanced in research and an improvement in classification methods across various environmental contexts.
Emerging and traditional tools for OM characterizing including Infrared (IR) and Raman spectroscopy, organic petrology, and experimental geochemistry are key techniques that can provide novel insight to study the transformation of CBM into its more stable forms that is one of the most efficient processes for carbon sequestration.
This session invites contributions leveraging cutting-edge techniques to explore the full potential of OM, focusing on applications in climate change mitigation (including the study of paleoclimates), carbon sequestration, and sustainable material development. By integrating advanced analytical methods, we aim to foster deeper insights into OM and carbon dynamics, advancing both scientific understanding and practical innovations. Our goal is to provide a comprehensive outlook of OM and carbon in geology and beyond through contributions on the characterization and use of OM and its matured forms, including:
- OM characterization employing combinations of novel and traditional analytical tools.
- usage of carbon-based tools to interpret the environment, at whatever scale.
- novel uses of carbon-based materials for climate change mitigation and sustainable development.