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Project Reports

• Biogeochemistry of the Early Earth

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 3.1 4.1 4.3 5.2 5.3 6.2 7.1 7.2

• First-Stage Biofilm Formation Under Extreme Conditions in Ice

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 5.1 5.3 6.1 6.2 7.2

• Laboratory/Observational Studies of Biogenic Greenhouse Gases on the Early Earth

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.2 2.1 4.1 7.2

• Benner – Self-Reproducing Molecular Systems and Darwinian Chemistry

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 2.1 2.2 3.1 3.2 4.1 4.2 4.3 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.2 7.1 7.2

• Chemical Building Blocks

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 3.1 3.4 4.3 7.1 7.2

• Studies in Planetary Formation and Evolution

  During the course of the last five years, the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism (DTM) astronomy group has become perhaps the leading group worldwide studying the detection, formation, and evolution of planetary systems, with a special emphasis on systems containing habitable planets.

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 1.2 2.1 7.2

• Characterization of Terrestrial Planets From Disk-Averaged Spectra: Spatially and Spectrally Resolved Planetary Models

  This project uses spatially resolved spectral models of planets in our own solar system to determine the instrument sensitivity and spectral resolution required to detect signs of habitability or life in disk-averaged astronomical spectra of extrasolar planets at visible and infrared wavelengths.

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.2 7.2

• Isotopic and Molecular Approaches to Microbial Ecology and Biogeochemistry (The Evolution of Organic Matter)

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.2 4.1 4.2 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.1 7.1 7.2

• Biogeochemistry of Earth’s Greenhouse Leading to the Rise of Oxygen

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 1.2 3.1 4.1 6.1 7.1 7.2

• Molecular Survey of Microbial Diversity in Hypersaline Ecosystems, Ecogenomics

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.2 3.4 4.1 4.2 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.1 7.1 7.2

• Fe Isotope Biosignatures

  The field of Fe isotope geochemistry, which the UW-Madison group has been largely responsible for developing, has matured greatly in the last year.

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1 4.1 6.1 7.1 7.2

• Chemistry Models for Extrasolar Planets

  This year, we have worked on both a coupled photochemical-climate model for Earth-like planets, which is an end-to-end test case for the larger VPL atmosphere model, and chemistry models for extrasolar giant planets.

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 1.2 7.2

• Delivery of Organic Materials to Planets

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 1.2 3.1 7.2

• Early Microbial Ecosystems

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.1 5.2 5.3 6.1 7.1 7.2

• The Abiotic Planetary Model: The Upper and Lower Boundary Condition on the Atmosphere

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 4.1 7.2

• The Virtual Planetary Laboratory – the Life Modules

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 4.1 5.3 6.1 7.2

• Isotopic and Molecular Tracers of Life

  Task 1. Molecular Spectroscopic Investigations into Ancient Biochemistry (Cody, Fogel, Hazen)

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.2 4.1 6.1 7.1 7.2

• Evolution of Atmospheric O2, Climate, and Biosphere – Ohmoto

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 2.1 4.1 4.3 5.2 5.3 6.1 7.1 7.2

• The Planetary Context of Biological Evolution Sub Project: Geobiology of Neogene Hematitic Sedimentary Rocks

  We completed laboratory analyses of samples of iron deposits collected along the Rio Tinto basin, southwestern Spain (Fig. 1).

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1 7.2

• Extra Solar Planetary Systems

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 1.2 7.1 7.2

• Characterization of Terrestrial Planets From Disk-Averaged Spectra: Spectroscopic Studies to Understand Detectability and Habitability.

  n this project we focus on understanding what we can learn about an extrasolar terrestrial planet from remotely sensed, disk-averaged spectra, as a function of spectral resolution and instrument sensitivity

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.2 4.1 7.2

• Ecosystem to Biosphere Modeling

  We have developed a simulation model called MBGC (Microbial BioGeoChemistry) to infer effects of major environmental controllers on microbial community structure and function (Decker and Potter, 2002).

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.1 5.3 6.1 7.2

• Spectroscopic Databases to Support Extrasolar Planet Modeling

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 1.2 4.1 7.2

• The Virtual Planetary Laboratory – Synthesis and Architecture

  Many environmental processes contribute to the reflected stellar and emitted thermal spectrum of a planet.

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 1.2 7.2

• Stable Isotope Biogeochemistry

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.1 6.1 7.1 7.2

• Geopulse

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.1 5.2 5.3 6.1 7.2

• A Timescale for the Evolution of Life on Earth – Hedges

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.2 2.1 3.4 4.1 4.2 4.3 5.2 5.3 7.1 7.2

• A Timescale for the Evolution of Life on Earth – Nei

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.2 2.1 3.4 4.1 4.2 4.3 5.2 5.3 7.1 7.2