Environmental Mineralogy
Nanoscale Mineral-Organic Interactions in Biogeochemical Processes
Co-Conveners
Juan Liu,Peking University
Keisuke Fukushi,Kanazawa University
Yi Yang,East China Normal University
Xin Zhang, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Michael F. Hochella, Jr., Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Nanoscale minerals are widespread in all of Earth’s environments, and they interact with a wide range of organic molecules, including small organic molecules, proteins, polysaccharides, nucleic acids, humic substances, prebiotic molecules, and biomarkers. These interactions regulate mineral nucleation, transformation, aggregation, stability, and reactivity, thereby shaping carbon preservation, nutrient cycling, metal(loid) mobility, and microbially mediated redox processes. They are also central to understanding early Earth environments that may have facilitated the emergence of life, as well as the preservation and transformation of biomarkers that record past biogeochemical systems.
This topical session will highlight recent advances in unraveling the interfacial mechanisms of nanoscale mineral-organic interactions, spanning adsorption, complexation, electron and proton transfer, co-precipitation, and biomolecular templating. We especially welcome contributions that integrate experimental, spectroscopic, microscopic, and computational approaches, and/or that link these nanoscale processes to local, regional, or even global-scale biogeochemical dynamics.
