Co-sponsored by Environmental Chemistry and Colloid and Surface Chemistry

Interfacial chemistry controls the fate and transport of chemicals in surface water, soil, and atmosphere. This symposium will highlight recent experimental and modeling results on molecular scale processes at mineral-water interfaces, including interface structure and reactivity, nano-confinements effects on interfacial chemistry, ion adsorption-desorption rate and mechanisms, chemical and biological controls on mineral nucleation, growth and dissolution, interfacial redox reactions, and the effects of organic matter on surface reactivity. Presentations will be focused on molecular level fundamental studies on the surface and interfacial chemistry, as well as advances in experimental design and technical development for interrogating mineral-water interfaces.

Confirmed Invited speakers: John Bargar, Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource; Wonyong Choi, Pohang University of Science and Technology; Owen Duckworth, North Carolina State University; Paul Fenter, Argonne National Laboratory; Vicki Grassian, University of Iowa; Michael Hochella, Virginia Polytechnic Institute; Sebastien Kerisit, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; James Kubicki, University of Texas-El Paso; Anke Neumann, Newcastle University; Kevin Rosso, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; and Andrew G. Stack, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Symposium Organizers:

 Co-sponsored by Environmental Chemistry

This symposium seeks to bring together scientists interested in isotopic analytical methodology, application of isotopes to geochemical problems, and computational studies of isotopic equilibria and kinetic fractionations. Specific topics may include, but are not limited to:

Position-specific isotope studies

Geochemical and biogeochemical applications of isotope analysis

Modeling of isotopic fractionation

Confirmed Invited Keynote Speakers include: Jon Eiler, Caltech; Edwin Schauble, UCLA

Figure courtesy of Eiler et al. (2014) Chemical Geology 372 (2014) 119–143

Symposium Organizers:

Alex Sessions                                                                           James Kubicki

California Institute of Technology                                         University of Texas-El Paso

als@gps.caltech.edu                                                                jdkubicki@utep.edu

It is now well established that both natural and synthetic nanoparticles can exhibit chemical reactivities that deviate from those of bulk minerals. However, nanoparticles in natural settings are seldom found as isolated particles, and are instead observed to aggregate either with similar or diverse minerals, to form coatings on mineral surfaces, or to form organo-mineral flocculates. The nanoscale structure, hydration, and redox properties of these complex assemblages can influence their transport, biological interactions, and persistence in the environment. This symposium invites submissions that explore the environmental stability and geochemical reactivity of single-phase nanomaterials and their aggregates, and the characterization of more complex assemblages that arise from the formation or introduction of nanomaterials in the natural environment.

Symposium Organizers:

Co-sponsored by Environmental Chemistry

In 1996 ACS Spring meeting, there was a symposium on “Adsorption of Metals by Geomedia”, which led to an outstanding peer-reviewed volume “Adsorption of Metals by Geomedia: Variables, Mechanisms, and Model Applications”. In 2006, researchers from five continents gathered again in the follow-up symposium “Adsorption of Metals by Geomedia II”, during the ACS Spring meeting in Atlanta (Georgia, USA). During the past ten years, there are tremendous development in our understanding about mineral-water interfacial reactions. We propose to call this 20-year anniversary symposium to highlight the major advances in this vital area, from nano-scale spectroscopic studies to the novel interfacial reactions.

The topics that would be covered in this session are, but are not limited to:

Confirmed Invited speakers: Ian Bourg, Princeton University; Gordon Brown, Stanford University; Daniel Giammar, Washington University in St. Louis; Annie Kersting, Lawrence Livermore National Lab; Satish Myneni, Princeton University; Michelle Scherer, University of Iowa; Donald Sparks, University of Delaware; Garrison Sposito, UC Berkeley; Neil Sturchio, University of Delaware; Dimitri Sverjensky, John Hopkins University; John Zachara, Pacific Northwest National Lab.

Symposium Organizers:

Geochemical modeling is a technique that enables understanding of geochemical phenomena based on fundamental principles of geochemistry coupled to physical observations and measurements. It can be used to predict the behavior of materials, fluids and solutions, as well as to explain observed phenomena. Geochemical modeling has traditionally been applied to systems in equilibrium, but new software and database developments have made kinetic modeling increasingly common. Consequently, geochemical modelling has become a powerful tool in a number of research fields where geochemistry governs a natural process (e.g. weathering, leaching, sorption…) or is applied to produce a desired result (e.g. metals extraction or purification, mineral carbonation, geopolymerization…). This symposium will highlight applications of geochemical modelling in diverse fields, such as Carbon Capture and Storage/Utilization, (Bio)Hydrometallurgy, Waste Storage and Remediation, Chemistry of Building Materials, Fouling and Scaling, Fate and Transport of Pollutants, etc. Presenters may discuss their use of commercial software packages (e.g. PHREEQC, MINTEQ, GWB, MINEQL+, EQ3/6, WHAM, etc.) or present their own geochemical models built from first principles.

Confirmed Invited Speakers: Anna Harrison, School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences at Stanford University; Jean-François Gaillard, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Northwestern University; Athanasios Karamalidis, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University; Matthew G. Siebecker, College of Earth, Ocean and Environment at the University of Delaware; Walter Schenkeveld, Department of Environmental Geosciences at the University of Vienna; and Rute Domingos, Aquatic Geochemistry Department at the Institute of Earth Physics of Paris

Symposium Organizers:

As ever-improving microscopic techniques become available, geochemists are reaching ever-increasing spatial resolution when studying geochemical systems, which has led to unprecedented insights into the molecular-level mechanisms of geochemical reactions. For example, scanning probe microscopy can achieve atomic resolution of the structure of surface hydration layers and in situ and cryogenic transmission electron microscopy experiments have revealed a wealth of non-classical mineral growth mechanisms. This symposium will serve as a forum to bring together geochemists who develop, use, or have interest in microscopic techniques and expert microscopists who are contributing to technical advances in related fields (surface science, materials science, etc) that could benefit the geochemical community.

We invite contributions from studies that highlight recent advances in probing geochemical reactions using advanced microscopic techniques. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, nucleation and growth (classical and non-classical mechanisms, heterogeneous and homogeneous pathways), atomically-resolved characterization of mineral surfaces, biomineralization and interactions between bio- and geo-systems, and mineral transformations.

Confirmed Invited Speakers: Jim De Yoreo, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; Mitra Taheri, Drexel University; Young-Shin Jun, Washington University in St. Louis; Daniel Wastl,Universität für Bodenkultur Wien; Lee Penn, University of Minnesota; Sirine Fakra, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; and Enrico Gnecco, Complutense University of Madrid

Symposium Organizers:

This symposium seeks to bring together scientists with interests in the biogeochemistry, recovery, analysis, and reuse of phosphorus. 

We are seeking papers on a range of topics including but not limited to: phosphate sensor technology, bioavailability and molecular recognition, sequestration and controlled release of phosphate, phosphorus recovery, recycling and reuse processes, phosphate metabolism in algae, microorganisms and plants, phosphorus speciation in soils, and methods to reduce diffuse phosphorus losses from fertilizer applications. 

Symposium Organizers:

The Earth’s surface has been extensively altered by the development of natural resources, leading to widespread and enduring perturbation of biogeochemical cycles. This session will examine (bio)geochemical processes that are unique to resource development and explore the long-term environmental impacts of extracting mineral and energy resources.  A particular focus will be on using cutting-edge techniques and geochemical models to link micro- and meso-scale processes with field-scale observations. This timely session will highlight footprints of resource extraction and waste disposal associated with both legacy and modern operations, e.g., resources for green technologies, conventional and unconventional fossil fuels, nuclear energy, and agriculture.

We welcome studies that use laboratory experiments, field investigations, and/or reactive transport modeling of fundamental aspects of relevant (bio)geochemical processes.  This symposium will place a particular focus on multidisciplinary studies that scale up from fundamental processes that control contaminant transport to the effects on local and regional environmental health across space and time.

Confirmed Invited Speakers: Kate Campbell-Hay, US Geology Survey; Thomas Darrah, The Ohio State University; Michael Hochella, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Andrea Foster, US Geological Survey; and Sarah Hayes, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, and Carla Rosenfeld, University of Minnesota

Symposium Organizers:

 Symposium Organizers:

Young-Shin Jun, Department of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering, Washington University, email: ysjun@seas.wustl.edu

This is a general session for the Geochemistry Division. This session accepts both oral and poster contributions, including posters for the SCI-MIX session.

Aquatic photochemical transformations are important in geochemistry and environmental chemistry in diverse contexts, such as natural systems where sunlight is acting on surface waters to engineered systems using UV irradiation. Light may act directly upon target compounds or indirectly through interactions with redox-active species including minerals, dissolved organic matter, and small molecule sensitizers. Understanding the roles of light in these complex systems will provide important insight into the fate of different chemical species in the environment. In this symposium, we invite submissions that explore the direct and indirect roles of light in the photochemical transformation of natural and anthropogenic compounds, as well as interactions of light with organic matter, biomolecules, and redox-active minerals.

The topics that would be covered in this session are, but are not limited to:

Please submit your abstracts using the ACS Meeting Abstracts Programming System (MAPS) at https://maps.acs.org.  General information about the conference can be found at www.acs.org/meetings.  Any other inquiries should be directed to the symposium organizers:

Additional Information