Scope of the Workshop
Iron minerals play a prominent role in a number of biogeochemical processes. They are involved in the global carbon cycle as well as in the degradation of contaminants. However, our knowledge about the reactivity of iron minerals and the interplay between microbiological and geochemical processes is only limited. The objective of the ESF exploratory workshop will be to bring together leading European scientists from various scientific disciplines, such as microbiologists, geochemists, spectroscopist, or limnologists,to identify research questions related to the reactivity of iron minerals and to evaluate strategies for joint future studies.
In particular the following research questions will be addressed:
1. Can we generalize surface reactivity of various iron oxides and what is the role of surface redox interactions between adsorbed Fe(II) and surface Fe(III) groups in mineral transformations?
2. What is the role of iron oxide nanoparticles in natural systems such as soils and sediments ?
3. What is the role of microorganisms in the turnover of iron minerals. How do microorganisms transfer electrons to ferric oxide ?
4. How can our knowledge about the rates of redox transformations involving iron in natural environments be improved by profiting from recent progress in spectroscopy, microscopy, stable isotope techniques and field sampling techniques.