International Conference on Sabkha in Qatar
The conference will be for three days and will include a guided field trip to the main sabkha sites in Qatar including the historical Khor Al-Udeid sabakha. There will be international scholars who will be invited speakers providing a historical background about the pioneering research on the sabkha sediments that started during the sixties of the last century when the first recent dolomite was discovered in the sabkha of Qatar in 1961. The conference will have different sessions dedicated to the physical and chemical characteristics of the sabkha ecosystem and one to deal with its biological components including the microbial mats. There will be a dedicated two or three sessions to the subject of microbial dolomite as dolomite is very important reservoir in Qatar (the Khuff Formation) forming the main reservoir of the supergiant North gas field of Qatar. There will be also sessions for other biominerals such as clay minerals and the use of the biological components in soil remediation and archaeological site preservation. There will be also a dedicated session of the sabkha as terrestrial analogue of Mars since there is a new research suggesting that Mars was a sabkha before around 3.5 billion years and there are many lines of parallelism between the minerals found on Mars and the minerals present in the modern sabkhas. There will be also a discussion session on the future of sabkha research and the ways to improve the interdisciplinary nature of such research and the importance of Qatar’s sabkhas as the only remaining well-preserved sites in the world.
8:30 – 9:00 | Registration |
9:00 – 9:30 | Opening Session
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9:30 – 10:00 | Coffee Break and picture exhibition |
10:00 – 12:00 | Session 1: General overview of the Sabkha in Qatar
Moderator: Saeed Al Meer Keynote Speaker:
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12:00 – 13:00 | Lunch |
13:00 – 15:00 | Session 2: The dolomite problem
Moderator: PJ Moore Keynote Speaker:
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15:00 – 16:00 | Coffee break and Poster competition |
8:00 – 10:00 | Session 3: Microbial ecology in extreme evaporitic environments
Moderator: Radhouane Ben Hamadou Keynote Speaker:
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10:00 – 10:20 | Coffee Break |
10:20 – 11:55 | Session 4: The sabkha as a natural laboratory to understand the formation of hydrocarbon reservoirs
Moderator: Sophia Ghanimeh Keynote Speaker:
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8:00 – 10:00 | Session 5: The sabkhas of Qatar as a modern analogue for the study of early life
Moderator: Fadhil Sadooni Keynote Speaker:
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10:00 – 10:20 | Coffee Break |
10:20 – 12:20 | Session 6: The sabkhas of Qatar as Terrestrial analogues for the search of life on Mars
Moderator: Tomaso Bontognali Keynote Speaker:
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12:20 – 13:20 | Sabkha protection plan – round table/closing session and announcement of poster competition results |
13:20 – 14:20 | Lunch |