UCR Alternative Earths Seminars Seminarshttps://nai.nasa.gov/seminars/other-seminar-series/ucr-alternative-earths-seminars/NAI's University of California, Riverside "Alternative Earths" Seminar Series and Events. Seminarsen-usSat, 06 Jun 2020 05:18:40 +0000Extreme Volcanism: Large Igneous Provinces, Environmental Catastrophes, and Mass Extinctionshttps://nai.nasa.gov/seminars/other-seminar-series/ucr-alternative-earths-seminars/2016/11/1/extreme-volcanism-large-igneous-provinces-environmental-catastrophes-and-mass-extinctions/Join the UC Riverside NAI Team for a short course with Dr. Richard E. Ernst Department of Earth Sciences, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada Author of Large Igneous Provinces (2014), Cambridge University Press *What are LIPs?* Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs) are voluminous, mostly mafic to ultramafic magmatic events that occur primarily in intraplate settings—both continental and oceanic. They are typically of short duration (<5 million years) or consist of multiple short pulses over a maximum of a few tens of millions of years. They are further characterized by flood basalts and a plumbing system of dyke swarms, sill complexes, layered intrusions, and crustal underplate. LIPs have occurred approximately every 20 to 30 million years back to at least 2.5 billion years ago, with profound implications for diverse global-scale processes, including climate and related patterns of life. *How do LIPs affect climate and biology?* In the broadest sense, LIPs can trigger shifts between icehouse, greenhouse, and hothouse climatic states. Flood basalt degassing produces CO2, SO2, and halogens; voluminous life-impacting gases are also released from volatile-rich sedimentary rocks heated during LIP emplacement. Subsequent cooling (and even global glaciations) can result from sulfate aerosols and CO2 drawdown linked to weathering of LIP-related basalts. Additional kill mechanisms associated with LIPs include oceanic anoxia, ocean acidification, sea level change, toxic metal input, and essential nutrient perturbations. *COURSE OUTLINE* 9:00 – 10:00­ a.m. PDT "Part I: Phanerozoic LIPs":https://ac.arc.nasa.gov/p46neg0qz1d associated silicic, carbonatite, and kimberlite magmatism BREAK 10:15 – 11:15 a.m. PDT "Part II: Precambrian & planetary LIPs":https://ac.arc.nasa.gov/p6hlgk725ud/ analogs on other terrestrial bodies in the solar system BREAK 12:45 – 1:45 p.m. PDT "Part III: LIPs and associated tectonics":https://ac.arc.nasa.gov/p6whf3enupj/ rifting, topographic changes, and contractional effects BREAK 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. PDT "Part IV: LIPs and resource exploration":https://ac.arc.nasa.gov/p2i1a4nva44/ minerals, metals, hydrocarbons, and waterhttps://nai.nasa.gov/seminars/other-seminar-series/ucr-alternative-earths-seminars/2016/11/1/extreme-volcanism-large-igneous-provinces-environmental-catastrophes-and-mass-extinctions/It's a Gas! A New Look at the Role of Iron in the Ancient Greenhousehttps://nai.nasa.gov/seminars/other-seminar-series/ucr-alternative-earths-seminars/2016/5/19/its-a-gas-a-new-look-at-the-role-of-iron-in-the-ancient-greenhouse/Methane and nitrous oxide are potent greenhouse gases that contribute to modern climate change, and may have maintained habitable temperatures in ancient anoxic, iron-rich oceans when radiative heating was lower under the Faint Young Sun. I will present results from recent studies investigating the influence of iron speciation on methane production and microbial diversity in ferruginous sediments, and nitrous oxide production in ferruginous seawater. These findings suggest that anoxic iron-rich seas emitted significantly higher atmospheric fluxes of these two greenhouse gases than modern anemic oceans.https://nai.nasa.gov/seminars/other-seminar-series/ucr-alternative-earths-seminars/2016/5/19/its-a-gas-a-new-look-at-the-role-of-iron-in-the-ancient-greenhouse/Analyzing Alien Worlds: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Characterizing Exoplanetshttps://nai.nasa.gov/seminars/other-seminar-series/ucr-alternative-earths-seminars/2016/5/10/analyzing-alien-worlds-a-multidisciplinary-approach-to-characterizing-exoplanets/The number of exoplanet-related discoveries have dramatically increased over the past several decades, requiring a planetary classification system to encompass the enormous diversity between worlds. Exoplanetary science can be broadly divided into categories of detection, characterization, and habitability. Kane's research has allowed him to address leading questions in all three areas: detecting multi-planet systems, determining the stability of planetary orbits, studying planetary atmospheres, and the effects of both planetary orbit and geological activity on habitability. These topics form the core of Kane's astrobiology focus and have allowed numerous multidisciplinary research collaborations. He will present highlights from his survey of potentially transiting exoplanets (TERMS) as well as the recent planet discoveries he has been part of, including Kepler-186f. He will also describe the methodology he developed for distinguishing between Earth and Venus analogs using current and upcoming exoplanet surveys. The assessment of dominant planetary properties may be used to determine whether a planet is habitable or inhospitable. Finally, he will describe future opportunities from both ground and space-based observatories that will be used to provide a more complete understanding of comparative planetology.https://nai.nasa.gov/seminars/other-seminar-series/ucr-alternative-earths-seminars/2016/5/10/analyzing-alien-worlds-a-multidisciplinary-approach-to-characterizing-exoplanets/Mercury Transit & Beyond: Planetary Discoveries Inside and Outside Our Solar Systemhttps://nai.nasa.gov/seminars/other-seminar-series/ucr-alternative-earths-seminars/2016/5/9/mercury-transit-beyond-planetary-discoveries-inside-and-outside-our-solar-system/A transit, which is the passage of a planet across the face of the sun, is a relatively rare occurence. As seen from Earth, only transits of Mercury and Venus are possible. And yet transits of extrasolar planets across the face of their host stars is exactly how researchers have detected the existence of some 1500 planets already identified outside our solar system. This talk will begin by reviewing the morning UCR-sponsored solar telescope viewing event of the transit of Mercury, which is visible from California for the first time since 2006 (and won't be visible again until 2019). Over the past few centuries, observing these transits of planets inside our solar system has been essential for understanding the separation between the planets. Over the past few decades, observing transits outside of our Solar System has led to the discovery of exoplanets, many of which show remarkable diversity compared with our own Solar System. Kane will also describe how planetary transits have led to the discovery of thousands of new planets and revolutionized our view of the universe. Along the way, he will describe planets that may have the potential for habitability and will discuss a pathway for testing the planetary properties that create habitable conditions.https://nai.nasa.gov/seminars/other-seminar-series/ucr-alternative-earths-seminars/2016/5/9/mercury-transit-beyond-planetary-discoveries-inside-and-outside-our-solar-system/