Tropical coral reefs are the ocean’s most biodiverse ecosystem, home to over a million species and providing trillions of dollars of ecosystem services each year. All these ecosystem services are dependent upon the 3D framework of the reef that is constructed by hermatypic scleractinian corals. Ocean warming and ocean acidification are causing a wide range of negative impacts on marine organisms and ecosystems, and reef-building corals are no exception. Yet exactly what the future holds for tropical corals and the reefs they support is unclear, in no small part, due to the uncertainty surrounding the mechanisms by which scleractinian corals make their skeletons. In this talk I will use novel experimental systems, 3D CT and fluorescent imaging and 2D geochemical mapping of coral skeletons to try and understand how a coral builds its skeleton. What this reveals is that corals act as skilled chemists carefully modifying the calcifying environment to favour the extension and thickening of their skeletons. These processes, because they are physiochemically controlled, follow the same thermodynamics as inorganic aragonite growing in the laboratory providing us with a robust framework to explore what the future holds for these key ecosystem engineers.

From optimizing weather forecasts to supporting decision making, artificial intelligence (AI) presents many opportunities to bolster disaster management strategies. However, the use of AI—particularly in high-stakes scenarios such as during a disaster—can come with risks. Thus, international standards are needed to foster responsible and trustworthy AI, to improve the interoperability of AI-based tools, and to bridge the digital divide. This presentation will look at the development of international standards through the International Telecommunication Union and will highlight efforts being made at the intersection of AI and disaster management through the UN Global Initiative on Resilience to Natural Hazards through AI Solutions.

In this webinar you learn:
* how to develop a clear vision for your biodiversity project
* what is important in the choice of site, maintenance and diversity of structures
* pitfalls you can avoid
* how to realistically plan time, budget and implementation

In this webinar you learn:
* how to correctly implement typical measures like stone piles or plantings
*
when is the right time to plant native species
*
where you can find suitable materials like plants, wood or stones
*
what is important in the context of collective implementation, p. ex. during interventions in nature

Laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) is a microanalytical technique that has driven major advances across the Earth sciences. It enables quantitative trace element and isotopic analysis of geomaterials at the ppm level across nearly the full mass range of the periodic table. This talk explores the opportunities opened up by LA-ICP-MS imaging, as well as the challenges involved in applying the method.
Uranium-lead (U-Pb) dating of calcite is challenging because calcite commonly contains very low uranium and high initial lead concentrations, yet it offers exciting possibilities for dating calcite veins in mountain belts, fossil-free ancient limestones, and ore-bearing vein systems. This talk demonstrates how a U-Pb image-mapping approach can overcome key limitations of the calcite U-Pb system, including low U concentrations and high initial Pb.
Pixels on a U-Pb age map can be pooled into “analyses” according to their elemental or isotopic ratio distributions, generating a spread of U-Pb data on concordia. Regions affected by detrital components or chemically distinct carbonate generations can then be excluded using user-defined regions of interest or chemical criteria. The approach also allows direct correlation with complementary microtextural datasets, including optical petrography, cathodoluminescence, Raman spectroscopy, and EBSD maps, and is readily extendable to other LA-ICP-(MS)-MS geochronological systems, including Rb-Sr dating of micas.
Applications from a range of geological settings will be presented, including the Carboniferous North Dublin Basin, where late Eocene LA-ICP-MS U-Pb ages from calcite veins linked to folding and flexural-slip deformation record far-field, N-directed shortening associated with the Alpine-Pyrenean orogenies, together with examples using beta-decay chronometers.

Organic ma*er is expected to be a key component of bodies formed in the outer regions of planetary systems. In the Solar System, measured moments of iner=a, interpreted with equa=ons of state for ices, silicates, and carbonaceous materials, suggest that organics may cons=tute a major frac=on of the refractory interiors of several icy bodies (e.g., Reynard & So=n, 2023; Delarue et al., 2026). Organics may therefore exert a first-order control on thermochemical evolu=on and vola=le produc=on—an idea that is par=cularly =mely given the growing popula=on of low-density exoplanets. The presenta=on will summarize recent work aiming at (i) predic=ng the occurrence of organic-rich vola=le worlds from host-star elemental abundances, and (ii) quan=fying the impact of carbon/organics on thermochemical evolu=on. On the occurrence side, stellar abundance pa*erns are used to iden=fy systems in which the available refractory and vola=le budgets favor carbonrich/organic-rich condensates beyond the relevant condensa=on fronts. On the interior side, evolu=on is modeled by combining equa=ons of state for ices, silicates and carbonaceous materials with kine=c descrip=ons of the transforma=on of a representa=ve organic compound as a func=on of =me and temperature. The kine=c scheme tracks the progressive loss of H and heteroatoms from the carbonaceous phase, the associated increase in residual carbon density toward graphite-like values, and the produc=on of mobile vola=les. These processes feed back on the thermal history and set the =me-dependent inventories of poten=ally releasable species. Model outputs are used to quan=fy expected vola=le release for Titan-like bodies and carbon-rich exoplanets, and to contrast these outcomes with classical telluric and ice–silicate evolu=on pathways. Implica=ons for JWST-era characteriza=on of low-density planets, and for joint constraints from mass–radius measurements, stellar abundances, and interior evolu=on models, are discussed.

In this webinar you learn:
* what are the principles that count for maintenance close to the natural state
* when is the right time to mow – and when to let nature take its course
* which tools are useful and why less technology often means better results
* how to establish a maintenance plan adapted to your surface and compatible with your daily life