CERES
Climate and Environment Resilient Solutions
PROJECTS
Nature Based Climate Solutions Initiative:
Developing negative emission technologies to fix the Earth System Climate.
Evolution of tropical marine carbonate systems
The "Nature-Based Climate Solutions" initiative represents a pioneering endeavor that holds the potential to revolutionize the way we address the monumental challenge of climate change. Amidst a rapidly evolving global climate crisis, this initiative serves as a beacon of hope, fostering the development of innovative negative emission technologies that have the power to mend the delicate balance of our Earth's climate system.
At its core, the initiative is a concerted effort to harness the profound capabilities of nature itself to counteract the consequences of anthropogenic carbon emissions. Unlike some temporary solutions that offer merely a band-aid approach, this initiative is characterized by its focus on permanent technologies, each with its own unique capacity to effectively and sustainably restore equilibrium to the Earth's climate system.
Enhanced weathering, a cornerstone of the initiative, embodies the potential to transform vast tracts of land into natural carbon sinks. Through accelerated natural weathering processes, certain minerals are strategically deployed to react with atmospheric carbon dioxide, forming stable compounds that can be retained within the Earth's crust for millennia. This not only draws down atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations but also helps heal the delicate carbon balance that underpins our climate.
Biochar, another remarkable facet of this initiative, capitalizes on the incredible carbon-sequestration potential of organic matter. Biomass is transformed into a stable form of charcoal through a controlled pyrolysis process, locking carbon within the material for extended periods. When incorporated into soils, biochar not only enhances fertility and water retention but also locks carbon away from the atmosphere, contributing to a long-lasting solution for carbon mitigation.
Ocean alkalinization, a lesser-known yet increasingly important component, seeks to address ocean acidification by restoring the alkalinity of seawater. This innovative approach involves introducing naturally occurring minerals into the oceans, which react with carbon dioxide to form bicarbonates, thereby reducing the acidity of seawater. By safeguarding the health of marine ecosystems and the services they provide, ocean alkalinization indirectly mitigates carbon emissions while fostering oceanic resilience.
The initiative's commitment to "blue carbon" further exemplifies its comprehensive approach. Coastal ecosystems, such as mangroves, seagrasses, and salt marshes, possess a remarkable capacity to sequester carbon at rates much higher than terrestrial forests. By conserving, restoring, and sustainably managing these vital coastal habitats, the initiative harnesses their inherent carbon storage potential, fostering a dual benefit of carbon mitigation and ecosystem protection.
Collectively, the "Nature-Based Climate Solutions" initiative emerges as a remarkable manifestation of human ingenuity, collaboration, and commitment to our planet's future. It symbolizes an unwavering determination to not only curb the impacts of climate change but to actively restore the balance of our Earth System Climate. By embracing permanent technologies like enhanced weathering, biochar, ocean alkalinization, and blue carbon, this initiative charts a course towards a more sustainable and resilient future, fostering hope for generations to come.
This research focuses on dating changes in marine carbonate factories throughout the tropical Circum-Caribbean region. The combination of U-Pb geochronology in carbonates and isotopic stratigraphy (C-O and 87Sr/86Sr) has enhanced our understanding of the relationships between major changes in carbonate factories during the Cenozoic and global climatic events. For example, we have linked changes in the occurrence of coral reefs to the appearance and expansion of Antarctic ice sheets (Silva et al., submitted). We have also correlated changes in carbonate factories with significant tectonic events, such as the uplift of the Andes and the closure of the Isthmus of Panama.
This research has also accurately dated the opening and evolution of various basins along convergent margins, such as the southeastern Circum-Caribbean (Colombia, Venezuela, Panama). As the openings of many of these sedimentary basins are closely related to the interaction between the Caribbean and South American plates, this research will also contribute to the Cenozoic paleogeographic reconstruction of northern South America and the Caribbean.
The combination of U-Pb dating, chemostratigraphy, and sequence stratigraphy has been successfully applied to date Cenozoic carbonates with oil and petroleum reservoir potential in frontier basins in northern Colombia (Sinu-San Jacinto, VIM, Alta Guajira, Cesar-Rancheria). Additionally, these data have provided insights into characterizing the occurrence of potential reservoir analogs in carbonates or siliciclastic rocks in offshore basins along northern South America and the Caribbean region.
This research is being conducted in collaboration with internationally renowned scientists from the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (Germany), the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (Panama), the Federal University of Pernambuco (Brazil), the National University of Colombia (Medellin), the University of Caldas (Manizales), and the University of the Andes (Bogota).
This research has been funded by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, as well as various oil and gas companies, including the Colombian Petroleum Company (ECOPETROL), the National Hydrocarbons Agency, PETROBRAS, REPSOL, Gran Tierra, and Pacific Rubiales.
.
Circum Caribbean Cretaceous Carbonate Systems: Unraveling the evolution of tropical marine carbonate systems under high atmospheric pCO2 conditions.
The Cretaceous marine carbonates have become a significant exploratory target in the search for both conventional and unconventional fossil energy resources in various mature and frontier basins to the north of South America and the Caribbean. The evolution of these Cretaceous sedimentary basins in northern South America appears to be linked to the reactivation of ancient tectonic structures associated with the development of the Proto-Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico basins. Dating the opening of these sedimentary basins has been challenging due to the lack of high-resolution age controls in the sedimentary record, which has affected our ability to identify and predict the occurrence of economically important petroleum and gas source and reservoir rocks.
In this project, we integrate field mapping, sequential stratigraphic characterizations, petrographic analysis, detailed chemostratigraphy of C-O and Sr isotopes, and major and minor elements, along with biostratigraphic information, to accurately date carbonate and black shale successions in several Colombian Cretaceous basins. Our multi-tool approach suggests the opening of a significant epicontinental marine corridor that stretched from north to south during the Cretaceous. This corridor, which was similar to the modern Black Sea, was bordered to the west by the ancestral Central Cordillera-Santa Marta massif and to the east by the Guyana Shield. Variations in depositional systems suggest a consistent deepening of sedimentary environments towards the south and central part of the Colombian marine pathway.
Our multi-tool approach also identifies the occurrence of various Cretaceous oceanic anoxic events in carbonate units towards the northernmost part of this marine pathway; the Weissert event (in the Palanz and Rosablanca formations), Faraoni event (in Rosablanca), EAO1a event (Paja and Fomeque formations, and the Cogollo group), EAO1c event (Cogollo group), EAO3 event (La Luna Formation). These events are preserved, conversely, in sequences of organic-rich black shales, highly euxinic, deposited along the deepest part of the marine pathway along the Magdalena Middle Valley and Cundinamarca basins; e.g., the Weiser event (Macanal Shale Formation), EAO1a event (Paja and Fomeque formations), EAO1c event (San Gil Formation). The preservation of these EAOs in the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia will allow us to investigate variations in oceanic oxygen levels during these periods of biological and environmental crises through the use of non-traditional stable isotopes (such as Mo, U).
This research has been sponsored by various oil and gas companies, including the Colombian Petroleum Company, the National Hydrocarbons Agency, PETROBRAS, REPSOL, Gran Tierra, and Pacific Rubiales."
Global warming, ocean acidification and deoxygenation during periods of high atmospheric pCO2 and biologic crises. Assessing the future limits of the Earth System.
In this investigation, sedimentology of carbonates, petrography, and stratigraphy have been integrated with conventional and unconventional isotope geochemistry to study and quantify the effects of past environmental changes on global biogeochemical cycles.
Currently, I am using stable isotopes Mo, U, S, and C, along with iron speciation and elemental geochemistry, to quantify the degree of oceanic oxygenation during different intervals in Earth's history, which have experienced major biological crises and diversifications (e.g., Ediacaran, Precambrian-Cambrian boundary, Permian-Triassic boundary, EAO I and II). A multi-tool approach is also being employed with stable isotopes d44/40Ca, d18O, d88/86Sr, 87Sr/86Sr to investigate the relationship between major mass extinctions in geological history and rapid, extreme changes in atmospheric pCO2, global warming, and ocean acidification (e.g., Snowball Earth, Ediacaran-Cambrian transition, Permian-Triassic boundary, Cretaceous oceanic anoxic events - OAEs).
These investigations are providing important information for predicting the impacts on the three environmental concerns most relevant to global societies: global warming, ocean acidification, and expansion of low oxygen zones in the global oceans.
These projects are being carried out in collaboration with globally recognized scientists from different universities, including Stanford University and the University of California, Santa Cruz, in the United States, Kiel University, Munster University, and the GEOMAR Institute in Germany, the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom, Curtin University of Technology in Australia, Federal University of Pernambuco and the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil, Graz University in Austria, University of Caldas and the National University in Colombia.
These research efforts have been funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation and are currently supported by the European Union through the Marie Curie FP7 actions program. The integration of carbonate sedimentology and geochemistry has captured the attention of the oil and gas industries, and additional resources are being sought through agreements with these industries