UMaine Co-Hosting BIOGEOMON Conference

The University of Maine is one of three hosts of BIOGEOMON, a gathering of international scientists, students and researchers who study how biogeochemical research, including monitoring, modeling and experiments, support an understanding of how chemical and physical climate change influences the environment on our planet.

Around 400 people are expected to attend the conference, which will run through July 20 and is being held at the Point Lookout Conference Center in Northport, Maine. Former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell will provide a keynote address on Thursday, July 19.

The conference is not open to the public. UMaine is hosting with Villanova University and the Czech Geological Survey.

BIOGEOMON focuses on biogeochemical change through time, from ice cores to gauged watersheds. It will provide a forum for the dissemination and discussion of recent research findings, to explore future directions for biogeochemical research, and to foster interdisciplinary collaboration.

UMaine Professor of Soil Science Ivan Fernandez and Professor Emeritus of Earth Sciences Stephen Norton are leading the conference planning effort and are part of the international planning committee.

They and other UMaine faculty members and graduate students will present scientific papers in various sessions and lead field trips to critical research locales and natural sites such as the Bear Brook Watershed, the Howland Research Forest, and Acadia National Park sites on Mount Desert Island and the Schoodic Peninsula.

Contact: Ivan Fernandez, (207) 944-6330; Jessica Bloch, (207) 581-3777 or jessica.bloch@umit.maine.edu