Author: Sébastien Merkel

Datatron for the TIMEleSS project

Outreach, Special Events, TIMEleSS news
TIMEleSS May 2019 datatron

The synchrotron guys of the TIMEleSS project met up for a datatron the second week of May 2019. During a TIMEleSS datatron, we all sit in a room and get moving on data processing from our recent synchrotron experiments!

The datatron was attented by M. Krug, E. Ledoux, and J. Gay, PhD students involved in the TIMEleSS project, S. Merkel, the PI for TIMEleSS. We also welcomed 3 guests during this week: J. Wright, from ID11 at ESRF, A. Dewaële from CEA, and M. Bykov from the Bayerisches Geoinstitut.

The next TIMEleSS datatron has not been planned yet but may happen later in 2019.

Frederica Rochira presents her work at EGU

Conferences and workshops, People news, Student events, TIMEleSS news
Frederica Rochira at EGU 2019 in Vienna

Frederica Rochira was at the EGU General Assembly 2019 in Vienna. EGU brings together geoscientists to one meeting covering all disciplines of the Earth, planetary and space sciences. The meeting is held yearly in Vienna, Austria, and, in 2019, it was attended by 16,273 scientists from 113 countries.

Frederica Rochira presented her works entitled Detecting structures in the mid mantle using out-of-plane signals in the multidisciplinary session Dynamics of the mantle in the Earth and planetary bodies: from magma oceans to the present day.

The session, co-organized by TIMEleSS members, included four oral presentations on Thursday as well as 12 PICO presentations early afternoon on Friday. The session was an opportunity for scientists of various fields of geosciences (seismology, geodynamics, mineral physics) to present the results of her works and discuss their implications for understanding the dynamics of mantles, on Earth and other planetary bodies.

Synchrotron beamtime for TIMEleSS

Activities, Experiments, TIMEleSS news
Samples for experiments at PETRA III

The TIMEleSS group is at the PETRA III synchrotron this week-end. Matthias Krug, Estelle Ledoux, Jeff Gay, Julien Chantel, Carmen Sanchez-Valle, Sébastien Merkel, and special guest Anastasiia Zadoia will be spending some time at P02.2…

Two months of sample synthesis, polishing, coating, cutting, and 10 diamond anvil cells loaded.

Nights will be shorts for the next four days. Let’s cross fingers, we need data for our next multigrain diffraction datathon!

TIMEleSS PI giving an invited presentation at the Diamond light source

Conferences and workshops, TIMEleSS news
Diamond High-Pressure Workshop, 26/02/2019 - 27/02/2019

S. Merkel gave an invited presentation at the Diamond Light Source workshop on high pressure research, in the UK.

The workshop aims to bring together high-pressure researchers with different experimental expertise and to highlight the latest developments in high-pressure techniques across synchrotron beamlines.

S. Merkel gave a presentation entitled “In situ study of phase transformation mechanisms using multigrain crystallography“. The presentation was an opportunity to present the science at the foundation of the TIMEleSS project, its objectives, and some results.

Second multigrain diffraction training session for TIMEleSS members

Activities, Special Events, TIMEleSS news
Second training session on multigrain analysis, February 2019

The TIMEleSS team is holding its second training session on multigrain diffraction data processing. The session takes place on Feb 11-15 at the Université de Lille, in France. Participants (left to right on the image) include Julien Chantel, our guest Agnès Dewaele, Sébastien Merkel, Jeffrey Gay, Sergio Speziale, Estelle Ledoux, Matthias Krug, and Carmen Sanchez-Valle.

The session is an opportunity for all members to get trained in multigrain diffraction data processing but also to standardize our data workflow strategies.

More to come soon with the TIMEleSS-tools developed at this occasion!

TIMEleSS PI giving invited lecture in Les Houches

Conferences and workshops, Outreach, TIMEleSS news
CREEP Final Workshop Ecole de Physique des Houches (F) 27 January – 1 February 2019

This week, two of the TIMEleSS PI’s are attenting the Final Workshop of the CREEP ITN at the Ecole de Physique des Houches, in France. The workshop is held from 27 January to 1 February 2019 in the town of Les Houches, in the Chamonix valley.

The CREEP ITN is a EU funded project that proposed an interdisciplinary and multiscale approach to study the origin of rheological complexity in Earth and analogous materials and how it controls the dynamics of our planet, including natural and human-induced seismicity, and affects a large range of industrial applications, from energy production and waste storage to production of high-performance glasses. It included a number of partners, from academia and industry with over 10 PhD fellowships. More details can be seen at the CREEP ITN website.

The TIMEleSS project, its objectives, and some results were highlighted in a an hour long invited presentation regarding Phase transitions in the mantle by PI S. Merkel.

PhD student day in Lille

Outreach, Student events, TIMEleSS news
Jeff Gay and Estelle Ledoux at PhD student days at UMET in Lille in 2019

Estelle Ledoux and Jeff Gay presented they current work at the PhD student days for the UMET lab in Lille. The symposium is organized yearly in January.

This one-day meeting is an opportunity to discover the work of current PhD students and the evolution of research in the lab. It is an opportunity for exchanges between students and researchers, exchange ideas, and build strong future collaborations.

The full program of the symposium can be found online in the following document.

Deep Earth Mini Symposium at WWU Münster

Special Events, Student events, TIMEleSS news
Federica Rochira and Matthias Krug at the Deep Earth Mini Symposium in Münster in December 2018

Federica Rochira and Matthias Krug presented posters at the Deep Earth Mini Symposium in Münster. The symposium was organized by TIMEleSS PI Tine Thomas.

This one-day meeting attracted an international and interdisciplinary group of deep Earth scientists, PhDs and Master students, with keynote talks given by Jennifer Jackson (Caltech), Jeroen Ritsema (University of Michigam) and Sebastian Rost (University of Leeds), and a poster session with wine and cheese.

The full program of the symposium can be found online in the following document.

TIMEleSS PI begins its term at the American Geophysical Union Council

Outreach, TIMEleSS news

The American Geophysical Union held elections to replace its council members earlier in 2018. S. Merkel, one of the TIMEleSS PI’s, was elected for the Mineral and Rock Physics section of AGU.

He will begin is 4-year term as a Council member for AGU on January 1st, 2019. As a member of the Council, representing the broad spectrum of AGU members,  he will oversee the scientific affairs of AGU. The Council is responsible for the scientific affairs of AGU and plays three distinct roles: forming science policy, generating and deliberating science-related ideas, and advising on science and member issues.

He will also endorse the role of president-elect for the Mineral and Rock Physics section in 2019-2020 before becoming the section president for a 2-years term in 2021-2022.

AGU week for the TIMEleSS PI

TIMEleSS news

The Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union is ongoing in Washington, DC.

TIMEleSS PI Sébastien Merkel is attending the meeting and will present one TIMEleSS related poster,

Multigrain Crystallography Study of Phase Transformation Microstructures in Deep Earth Minerals : Application of the Perovskite to Post-Perovskite Transformation
Sebastien Merkel, Christopher Langrand, Nadege Hilairet
Wednesday, 12 December 2018, 13:40 – 18:00
Convention Ctr – Hall A-C (Poster Hall)

See you there!

Jeffrey Gay joins the TIMEleSS project

People news, Student events, TIMEleSS news

Jeffrey GayJeffrey Gay is a PhD student in the Earth and Planetary Materials group at the Université de Lille since October 2018.

He received a Bachelor degree in Geology from the Montana State University and a Master degree in Geophysics from the University of Utah in the United States. He is interested in deep Earth materials interactions, extreme conditions experiments, and the deformation properties of minerals. In his free time, he can be found snowboarding, climbing, and cycling. In the past, Jeffrey taught mineralogy and structural geology as a teaching at the University of Utah.

His PhD project is funded by the TIMEleSS project. His role within TIMEleSS will concern phase transitions in mantle minerals.

Startup meeting for TIMEleSS

Special Events, TIMEleSS news

TIMEleSS startup meeting in Münster, October 2018

All TIMEleSS projects have now officially started! TIMEleSS members are in Münster for their startup meeting, with presentations from the PI’s, starting PhD students, and guests.

Participants include (left to right, standing up) Sergio Speziale, Carmen Sanchez-Valle, Tine Thomas, Jeff Gay, Federica Rochira, Matthias Krug, Julien Chantel, Melissa Achorner, (left to right, sitting down) Morvarid Saki, Sébastien Merkel, Angelo Pisconti, Estelle Ledoux.

Lecture for high school teachers

Outreach, TIMEleSS news

Forum "Enseigner les Géosciences", Lille, Octobre 2018La convertion dans le manteau

One of the TIMEleSS PI’s gave a general lecture on Mantle Convection this week.

The French geological society meeting (Réunion des Sciences de la Terre) was held in Lille between Oct 22 and Oct 26, 2018, and included a workshop on Teaching Earth Science in High Schools dedicated to high school teachers in Northern France.

The workshop included a day of scientific presentations during which S. Merkel gave a class on Mantle Convection and a day of field trip. The workshop was also a nice and rare opportunity for high school teachers in Northern France to be in contact with international research in their region.

Two students of the TIMEleSS project at the Deep Earth School in Les Houches

Student events, TIMEleSS news

Frederica Rochira and Estelle Ledoux having a discussion with Ed Garnero in Les Houches, October 2018
Federica Rochira and Estelle Ledoux having a discussion with Ed Garnero in Les Houches, October 2018

Federica Rochira and Estelle Ledoux attended the Doctoral Training on Internal Earth in Les Houches during the last two weeks.

The lecture topics included Earth magnetism, with Céline Guervilly and David Cébron, Mineralogy by Nadège Hilairet and James Badro, Mantle Dynamics by Clint Conrad and Maylis Landeau, and deep Earth Seismology by Ed Garnero and Pierre Boué. Xavier Le Pichon gave the introductory seminar, a rare opportunity to meet one of the fathers of plate tectonics!

Two weeks of great opportunity for advanced classes and meeting world experts!

Busy week-end for the TIMEleSS team

Activities, Experiments, TIMEleSS news

TIMEleSS at PETRA, June 2018

Members of the TIMEleSS project are spending a few days at the P02.2 beamline of the PETRA III synchrotron in Hamburg. Week-end will be busy and samples will get hot!

On the picture: Melissa Achorner (WWU Münster), Sergio Speziale (GFZ Potsdam), Estelle Ledoux (Univ. Lille), Matthias Krug (WWU Münster), Ilya Kupenko (WWU Münster), Julien Chantel (Univ. Lille), and Carmen Sanchez-Valle (WWU Münster).

Estelle Ledoux joins the TIMEleSS project

People news, Student events, TIMEleSS news

Estelle LedouxEstelle Ledoux is a PhD student in the Earth and Planetary Materials group at the Université de Lille since May 2018.

She received a Bachelor degree in Geology from the Université de Caen and a Master degree in Earth, Environment and Planetary sciences at the Université de Orléans. She is interested in minerals, their microstructures, and how they can be induced by deformation. After working on the deformation of natural plutonic rocks under the Cyclades islands, she is now looking into the Earth’s interior.

Her PhD project is funded by the Université de Lille and TIMEleSS. He role within TIMEleSS will concern phase transitions in mantle minerals.