With increasing attention on the carbon cycle in our daily lives, it has never been a better time to study and understand carbonate geochemistry from ancient, modern, and future settings. The primary focus of the upcoming Carbonate Geochemistry conference is to bring together academics and professional scientists to discuss issues related specifically to carbonates, from sedimentology, diagenesis, biogeochemistry, and karst processes, to aquifer and petroleum reservoir characterization, as well as issues associated with climate change and alternative energy.

Much like previous Karst Waters Institute meetings with strong participation from academia, industry, and government agencies, and combined with low general registration fees and reduced charges for students, we expect a stimulating and well-attended meeting. Our main goal is to provide stakeholders in carbonate geochemistry research an unprecedented opportunity to expand research networks that may develop into new and revolutionary research opportunities in the future.

The conference will occur over two and a half days in Billings, Montana. The format will be in the style of past Karst Waters Institute conferences, which uniquely combines the best parts of a traditional conference with workshop-style, long-format lectures. As such, all speakers are invited because of their important and diverse contributions to the field. The planned, and already confirmed, plenary and invited speakers are a mixture of broad overviews to serve as background for all attendees, especially students, and dynamic presentations on specific topics centered on innovation and technological advances to stimulate scientific discussion about possible directions for future research. All conference attendees will have the opportunity to present their research as poster presentations, and as peer-reviewed, extended abstracts or short papers published as the Karst Waters Institute’s Special Publication 16. Some volunteered abstracts may also be selected for oral presentations.

A multiple-day, post-conference field trip through the Bighorn Basin, based in Cody, Wyoming. Registration for the field trip will be separate from the main conference and will be limited, so register early to ensure your seat! The field trip will provide unprecedented access to some of the most renowned carbonate reservoirs and karst systems in the world, with ample opportunity to learn and interact with some of the world’s leading experts.

The organizing committee invites you to participate in this exciting, special conference and field tip experience.

Conference Chairs:
Dr. Annette Summers Engel, Louisiana State University
Dr. Paul J. Moore, ExxonMobil
Mr. Harvey DuChene, VectaOil and Gas, Ltd

CONFERENCE TOPICS

The conference will be divided into sessions organized by the following themes:

• Carbonate Mineralogy & Geochemistry
• Modern Carbonate Environments: Islands, Platforms, Lacustrine, Oozes, Eogenetic Karst
• Microbe-Carbonate Interactions
• Diagenesis Processes & Products: Karstification, Hydrothermal Mineralization, Paleokarst
• Carbonate Petrophysics & Sequence Stratigraphy
• Fluid Circulation & Reactive Transport Modeling
• Looking Forward: Climate Change, CO2 Sequestration

Attendees are encouraged to submit extended abstracts or short papers to the conference that fall into these themes. Submissions are limited to 4 published pages, will be internally peer-reviewed, and will be published as a Special Publication by the Karst Waters Institute. The proceedings will be available to all attendees at the conference. The submission deadline will be March 15, 2011.

Calendar of Events

Registration information

REGISTRATION FOR THE CONFERENCE IS NOW OPEN!!!

The full registration fee includes all printed materials, coffee breaks, and banquet. Participants arrange their own lodging and transportation. Discount registration is available for those who are full-time graduate and undergraduate students as of August 2011 (documentation will be requested).

Early Registration Fees (before March 15, 2011)

Full Registration $425
Student Registration $250
Extra banquet ticket $50
Late Registration Fees (March 16, 2011 onward)
Late Registration $600
Student $250
Extra banquet ticket $60 (if available)

A least one abstract author is required at the time of submission. Student attendees will have reduced registration.

There will be a separate registration for the post-meeting field trip.

Travel awards will be available for students enrolled at a college or university, or attendees no more than 2 years past completion of their PhD. The applicant must also be the first and presenting author of an abstract submitted to the conference.

Travel and Location Information

The main part of the conference will take place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Billings, Montana (USA). Montana is nicknamed the "Big Sky Country," and Billings is an urban gateway to breathtaking starry nights and rugged Montana and Wyoming mountains. The Billings Logan International Airport is Montana's largest and busiest airport, with over 25 passenger flights per day.

Being only a few hours drive from the Bighorn Basin in north-central Wyoming, the post-meeting field trip will be conveniently staged from Cody, Wyoming. Field trip participants will stay two nights at the Holiday Inn Cody at the Buffalo Bill Village, with daily excursions to some of the world's premier outcroppings of carbonate rocks and structural features important to both aquifer and hydrocarbon reservoirs.

http://www.karstwaters.org/conferences/carbonate_geochemistry.php