Gordon Research Conference: Deep Carbon Science in the Context of Geologic Time, Rhode Island, June 17-21, 2018

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This award will support the attendance of 20 early-career scientists to the inaugural Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on the topic of Deep Carbon Science that will take place at Bryant University, RI, on June 18-21, 2018. Deep Carbon Science addresses the important role played by Earth's interior in mediating the availability of carbon to surface reservoirs, helping incubate and shelter life. The conference will convene a highly interdisciplinary group of scientists who work in different subtopics related to the role of carbon in the Earth System. The support will be used to assist with registration fees for early career attendees, with the particular goal of promoting participation of graduate students and postdoctoral scholars in this emerging field of research.Carbon is one of the most important elements in and on Earth. The presence of carbon on the Earth's surface over its history as a planet has impacted the global climate system, the origin and evolution of life, and the distribution of carbon-based energy resources. However, the solid Earth likely contains substantially more carbon than is present at the surface, and transfers into and out of the deep reservoirs control the size and extent of surface carbon sinks. Although deep carbon exerts a fundamental control on the operation of Earth's well-studied surface carbon cycle, we have a limited understanding of carbon's sources, sinks, transfers and quantities below the surface. Scientists from a wide range of disciplines, including geosciences, biology, materials science, physics, and chemistry, will convene at this conference to address how carbon operates in a planetary context. This cross-disciplinary forum for discussions will foster the emerging field of deep carbon science by strengthening the community of deep carbon scientists, while providing a vital recurring outlet for exciting new deep carbon science. The Gordon Conference represents an excellent opportunity for building diversity in the geo- and biosciences. The conference will engage early career scientists, including graduate students, postdocs, and assistant professors, in an important forum that can have important positive career impacts.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.