[Baps] Gordon "Oz" Osinski speaking at MIT tomorrow (Wed) at 4 PM

[Jason Soderblom]

All,

Gordon "Oz” Osinski is giving a lecture at the MIT Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences department tomorrow Feb 7, at 4 PM.  The talk is in the Green building (building 54) in the 9th floor lecture hall.
Light refreshments will be available at 3:34.

The talk title and abstract are listed below.

Cheers,
Jason


"The Role of Meteorite Impacts in the Origin and Evolution of Life"

Impact cratering is one of the most ubiquitous geological processes in the Solar System. Over the past decade, it has become clear that impact events have profoundly affected the origin and evolution of Earth and producing benefits in the form of economic mineral and hydrocarbon deposits. The destructive geological, environmental, and biological effects of meteorite impact events are well known. This is largely due to the discovery of the ~180 km diameter Chicxulub impact structure, Mexico, and its link to the mass extinction event that marks the end of the Cretaceous Period 66 Myr. ago. In recent years, it has also become apparent that, once formed, impact events also have certain beneficial effects, particularly for microbial life. The effects range from generating conditions conducive for the origin of life (e.g., clays, which form catalysts for organic reactions, and hot spring environments) to varied habitats for life that persist long after an impact event, including hydrothermal systems, endolithic habitats in shocked rocks and impact glasses, and impact crater lakes. This may have important implications for our understanding of the origin and evolution of early life on Earth, and possibly other planets such as Mars.
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