Author: Alfonso Garcia Caballero
Local Life in Magadi
Day Two in Magadi
We are already in Nairobi
We’re already in Nairobi. In the photo from left to right Javier Trueba, photographer and filmmaker, Paqui Espinosa, biologist and laboratory technician, Antonio Delgado, geochemist, Gan Zhang, expert in mineral self-organization, Tara (I don’t know her last name yet), analytical chemistry, Fernando Palero, geologist and geologist, Patricia Gitari, chemist, our contact in Kenya, responsible for all logistics, and myself. To sleep at the Hadassah Hotel and leaving to Magadi early in the morning.
Read MoreWinner of the ‘Wonders of Geochemistry’ contest
Congrats to Electra, one of the winners of the EAG geochemical photo contest ‘Wonders of Geochemistry’ to which she submitted the photo ‘The color palette of Dallol’ captured during our second fieldtrip to Dallol, NE Ethiopia (January 2017). Read more about the story behind her photo here: http://blog.eag.eu.com/general/winners-of-the-2017-photo-contest/
Read MoreBiomimetic mineral self-organization from silica-rich spring waters
Garcia-Ruiz, J. M.; Nakouzi, E.; Kotopoulou, E.; Tamborrino, L.; Steinbock, O., Biomimetic mineral self-organization from silica-rich spring waters. Sci Adv 2017, 3 (3). Download paper. Purely inorganic reactions of silica, metal carbonates, and metal hydroxides can produce self-organized complex structures that mimic the texture of biominerals, the morphology of primitive organisms, and that catalyze prebiotic reactions. To date, these fascinating structures have only been synthesized using model solutions. We report that mineral self-assembly can be…
Read MorePrecipitation and Crystallization Kinetics in Silica Gardens
Glaab, F.; Rieder, J.; Klein, R.; Choquesillo-Lazarte, D.; Melero-Garcia, E.; Garcia-Ruiz, J. M.; Kunz, W.; Kellermeier, M., Precipitation and Crystallization Kinetics in Silica Gardens. Chemphyschem 2017, 18 (4), 338-345. Download paper. Silica gardens are extraordinary plant‐like structures resulting from the complex interplay of relatively simple inorganic components. Recent work has highlighted that macroscopic self‐assembly is accompanied by the spontaneous formation of considerable chemical gradients, which induce a cascade of coupled dissolution, diffusion, and precipitation processes…
Read MoreField trip to Aqua de Ney
From 8th-14th August we carried out a field trip to Aqua de Ney Spring , an unusual spring in northern California. Aqua de Ney has the highest reported silica concentration (>4000 pm) and pH value (~11.9) in a natural spring. We collected water from these springs, measured in situ the pH and ex-situ silica concentration. Then, we performed experiments with these waters finding that they react with metals to form silica biomorphs and silica gardens (metal…
Read MoreSummary of main achievements (August 2014-January 2017)
Our project is based on the interaction of two main research lines: 1) The fundamental understanding of the phenomenon of mineral self-assembly and, 2) Its relevance to reveal the transition from non-life to life during the Early Earth. We have made the following progress in both fields: Successful field trips to Aqua de Ney alkaline waters (California), Oman ophiolites and their alkaline springs, Dallol hydrothermal system in Ethiopia, and alkaline lakes in the Southern Rift…
Read MorePROMETHEUS Meeting 2017
From left to right, upper row: Mark van Zuilen, Juanma García Ruiz, Werner Kunz, Luis Gonzalez Ramirez, Cristobal Verdugo, Manolis Giampouras, Alfonso García Caballero, Jaime Gómez, Fermin Otálora, Joaquin Criado, Julian Opel, Marco Montalti, Isaac Rodríguez and Joti Rouillard. Lower row: Jeannette Manzi, Maritza Iveth, Kevin Hagmann, Electra Kotopoulou, Francisca Espinosa. Not in the picture, but also attended the meeting were Angels Canals, Duane Choquesillo, Yadav Brijbhushan, Angel Orte, Jose Manuel Domínguez and Lionel Cervera….
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