- Svalbard,
Arctic Sweden, Iceland and Greenland (2013+2014)
- for these two field seasons
we worked on two main projects:
- (a) to sample and measure various parameters on 21 different
glaciers across the Arctic and evaluate various
(bio)geochemical and microbial ecological aspects linked to
snow and ice algae biosignatures in Arctic glacial and snow
environments; these data are for Steffi
Lutz's PhD thesis; see her first paper from the 2012
fieldwork and associated press release here
- (b) to sample chronosequences in Svalbard, Arctic Sweden and
Greenland for the NERC funded Arctic
Soils project and Josh
Blacker's PhD thesis
- links to blogs related to these field seasons can be found
on my wordpress
blogsite
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- Greenland and Iceland
(2012- ...): to work in the preservation and adaptations
of snow algae biosignatures in Arctic glacial and snow
environments;
- July 4th to July 26th 2012 - Field work on Mittivakkat
Glacier close to Sermilik
Station in SE-Greenland and between July 26th to August
8th we will be surveying various glaciers in Iceland for
bioloads;
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- Spitzbergen
(2003-2010): work in the high Arctic as part of an
international team of scientists, engineers and artists carrying
out research on various topics and testing payload instruments
for future Mars missions, including instruments that are
currently flying on board NASA’s MSL mission o rthose that are
scheduled to fly on ESA’s ExoMars mission. This work was all
part of the Arctic Mars
Analogue Svalbard Expeditions (AMASE)
- topic of research include among others: (a) carbonate
sinter formation in an active low temperature spring system; (b)
biosignatures in volcanic rocks (c) preservation of
biosignatures in fossil carbonate sinters; (d) geochemical and
biochemical signatures and adaptation of extremophile snow algae
to icy environments; (e) iron geochemistry in icebergs and
glaciers (f) planetary protection protocols for decontamination
of flight hardware and sampling devices;
AMASE
2010 blog
- Ø. Hammer, B. Jamtveit, L.
G. Benning and D. K. Dysthe (2005) Evolution of fluid
chemistry during travertine formation in the Troll thermal
springs, Svalbard, Norway. Geofluids
5,
140–150
- Jorge Villar, Susana E.,
Edwards, Howell G. M. and Benning,
Liane
G. (2006) Raman spectroscopic and scanning electron
microscopic analysis of a novel biological colonisation of
volcanic rocks. Icarus,
184/1: 158-169
- Jorge Villar, S., Benning L. G.
and H. H. M. Edwards and AMASE team (2007) Raman and SEM
Analysis of a Biocolonised Hot Spring Travertine Terrace in
Svalbard, Norway. Geochemical
Transactions
Vol 8 issue 8 doi:10.1186/1467-4866-8-8
- Marek Stibal, Martyn Tranter,
Jon Telling and Liane G.
Benning (2008) Speciation, phase association and
potential bioavailability of phosphorus on a Svalbard glacier.
Biogeochemistry
90:
1-13. doi:10.1007/s10533-008-9226-3
- Marek Stibal, Martyn Tranter, Liane
G.
Benning, Josef Řehák (2008) Microbial primary
production on an Arctic glacier is insignificant in comparison
to allochthonous organic carbon input. Environmental
Microbiology
10/8
.
2172 - 2178
doi:10.1111/j.1462-2920.2008.01620.x
- Raiswell,
R., Benning,
L.
G , L.Davidson and
M.Tranter (2008) Nanoparticulate Bioavailable Iron Minerals
in Icebergs and Glaciers.Mineralogical
Magazine 72/1
p. 345-348
doi:10.1180/minmag.2008.072.1.345
- R. Raiswell, L.G.
Benning, L.Davidson, M.Tranter and S. Tulaczyk
(2009) Schwertmannite in Wet, Acid and Oxic Microenvironments
beneath Polar and Polythermal Glaciers.
Geology
37/5:
431–434; doi:
10.1130/G25350A.1;
- Jennifer Eigenbrode, Liane G.
Benning, Jake Maule, Norm Wainwright, Andrew Steele, Hans E.
F. Amundsen, and AMASE 2005 and 2006 teams (2009) A
field-based cleaning protocol for sampling devices used in
life-detection studies. Astrobiology,
9/4: 455-465 doi:10.1089/ast.2008.0275
see also press
release and the AMASE
2005-2009
Cliffbot rover as the Astrobiology July issue Journal cover
photo
- P. J. Younse, A. Stroupe, T.
Huntsberger, M. Garrett, J. L. Eigenbrode, L. G. Benning, M.
L. Fogel and AMASE 2008 team (2009) Sample Acquisition and
Caching using Detachable Scoops for Mars Sample Return.
(Aerospace conference IEEE,
2009: 1-12;
doi:10.1109/AERO.2009.4839312.
- Susana
E. Jorge Villar, Howell,
G.M. Edwards, Liane
G. Benning and AMASE 2004 team (2011)
Raman spectroscopic analyses of arctic nodules:
relevance to the astrobiological exploration of Mars
Analytical
and
Bioanalytical Chemistry 401(9):
2927-2933 doi:
10.1007/s00216-011-5385-5
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• publications
linked
to this work:
- Dominique J. Tobler and Liane
G. Benning (2011) The microbial diversity in Icelandic hot
springs: temperature, salinity, pH and sinter growth rate
effects. Extremophiles
15/4: 473-485 doi:
10.1007/s00792-011-0378-z
- Dominique J. Tobler, Andri
Stefánsson, and Liane G.
Benning (2008) In-situ grown silica sinters in
Icelandic geothermal areas. Geobiology:
6, 481–502 doi:10.1111/j.1472-4669.2008.00179.x
- Benning
L. G. and Tobler J. D. (2008) The metagenomics of
biosilicification: causes and effects. Mineralogical
Magazine 72/1
p.
221-225
doi:
10.1180/minmag.2008.072.1.221
- Tobler
D. J., Benning
L. G. and Knapp J.(2008)
The size and polydispersity of silica nanoparticles under
simulated hot spring conditions.Mineralogical
Magazine 72/1
p. 287-290
doi:10.1180/minmag.2008.072.1.278
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- Pyrenees (2006): Pico
d'Aneto: Biosignatures in extreme glacial
environments: a biochemical and spectroscopic approach; a UK
Royal Society funded project; in collaboration with Susana Jorge
Villar, University of Burgos
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- New Zealand: 2000-2006: determination of the
silicification processes connected to biomineralization in
active sinter forming environments (Rotokawa Ngata Mariki,
Ohaaki-Broadlands) in the North Island of New Zealand;
collaborative work with B.
W. Mountain at The Wairakey Research Laboratory,
Taupo New Zealand and Rich
Pancost, at the Chemistry Department, University of
Bristol
- publications linked to this work:
-
- Pancost, R. D., Pressley, S., Coleman, J. M., Talbot, H.
M., Kelly, S. P., Farrimond, P., Schouten, S., Benning,
L. G. & Mountain, B. W. (2006) Composition and
implications of diverse lipids in New Zealand Geothermal
sinters. Geobiology 4 (2), 71-92.
- Richard D. Pancost, Sarah Pressley, Joanna M. Coleman,
Liane G. Benning and B. W. Mountain (2005)
Lipid biomolecules in silica sinters: indicators of
microbial biodiversity. Environmental Microbiology 7(1),
66–77
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- Kamchatka
(1995): Uzon Caldera: modern arsenic sulphide
mineralisation in an active geothermal system; trace metal
partitioning and relation to biominaralization; collaborative
work with Bruce
W. Mountain at The Wairakei Research Laboratory, Taupo New
Zealand.
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