The third edition of MEREMA (MElting and fluid/melt-rock REactions in the MAntle), the International School on Mantle Petrology will take place in the charming village of Volterra (Tuscany) located in the heart of the region, about sixty km southeast of Pisa.
The MEREMA 3rd Edition aims to assess the current state of knowledge on the structure, chemical composition, and dynamics of the Earth’s mantle as an integrated system, drawing on data from the different disciplines (petrology, geochemistry and geophysics).
Program themes
Sampling the Earth’s mantle, what we achieved and what is missing. Messages from xenoliths, mantle outcrops, lithosphere drilling and insights from basalts compositions.
Mantle processes at the nano- to micro- scale. Gain insights into the fine-scale dynamics of mantle materials through petrological, structural, and geochemical observations, supported by experimental studies and cutting-edge analytical techniques.
Global scale mantle dynamics. Discover how petrology, geophysics, and numerical modelling come together to unravel the large-scale dynamics of the Earth’s mantle, connecting small-scale processes to planetary evolution.
Lecturers
Sonja Aulbach –Institut fur Geowissenschaften, Goethe University Frankfurt, (Germany)
Daniele Brunelli – Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Geologiche, Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia (Italy)
Marco Cuffaro – CNR-IGAG, Unità di Roma (Italy)
Manuele Faccenda – Dipartimento di Geoscienze, University degli Studi di Padova (Italy)
Stephan Klemme – Institut für Mineralogie, Universität of Münster (Germany)
Carolina Lithgow-Bertelloni – Department of Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles (USA)
Chuan-Zhou Liu – Laoshan Laboratory, Qingdo (China)
Andreas Stracke – Westfälische Wilhelms – Universität Münster (Germany)
Romain Tilhac – Géosciences Montpellier, CNRS, Université de Montpellier (France)
Lars Stixrude – Department of Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles (USA)
Andrea Tommasi – Géosciences Montpellier, CNRS, Université de Montpellier (France)
The school is open to master and PhD students, post-doc and young researchers in Earth Sciences, interested in mantle processes. The program will include lectures by leading experts in various disciplines, practical and poster sessions, to give participants the opportunity to present their research work.
The logistic expenses and lecturers’ fees for the MEREMA Summer School, 3rd Edition, will be covered by ADEQ of the “Progetto di Eccellenza”, Department of Earth Sciences “Ardito Desio”, University of Milan.
Participants will be responsible for covering their accommodation costs at SIAF (see below).
Application
To apply, candidates should send an email to merema3.school@unimi.it including:
Name and Family Name;
Institution;
Title and brief description of own research to be presented in a poster (max 300 words title, authors details and references excluded);
A maximum of 50 participants will be selected based on research topic and CV. After the deadline, selected applicants will receive all information needed to complete their registration.
If you are also interested in participating in the Corsica field trip (see below), please send your interest to valentin.basch@unipv.it.
Venue and Accomodation
The School will take place at SIAF (Scuola Internazionale di Alta Formazione, https://www.siafvolterra.eu). Cost of accommodation is €366, including:
29 September: transfer from Pisa airport/train station*, buffet dinner, overnight stay
30 September: breakfast, lunch, overnight stay (dinner free in Volterra)
1 October: breakfast, lunch, social dinner, overnight stay
2 October: breakfast, lunch, transfer to Pisa airport/train station*
*Timetables for bus transfers will be communicated later.For reservations:info@siafvolterra.eu.
Field Trip to the Alpine Corsica
As a companion activity of the MEREMA School 3-rd Edition, the FIELD TRIP ‘A deep dive into the oceanic mantle’ will also be organized on September 27th-29th, prior to the school in Volterra. The excursion will take place at the Monte Maggiore ultramafic massif (Corsica, France). Field leaders are Valentin Basch (University of Pavia) and Carlotta Ferrando (University of Genova).
The Monte Maggiore massif (Cap Corse, Corsica) provides exceptional exposure of the basement of the Alpine Jurassic ophiolites, key to understanding oceanic mantle lithosphere formation and evolution. It exemplifies a slow-spreading mantle percolated by melts during lithospheric accretion, exposing pyroxenites, spinel lherzolites, harzburgites, dunites, and plagioclase-impregnated rocks. These melt-rock interactions formed replacive lithologies like plagioclase peridotites and olivine-rich troctolites, central to understanding the processes active in the shallow oceanic mantle and at the crust-mantle interface. We will explore key outcrops offering a comprehensive overview of oceanic lithosphere heterogeneity and its deep evolutionary processes.
The MEREMA School 3-rd Edition field trip will be open to 25 participants, with departure by ferry from Genova (Liguria) on September 27th and return to Livorno on September 29th, where participants will be picked up and brought to Volterra for the icebreaker party.
The cost of the field excursion is set to €240, including:
27 September: ferry ride from Genova (Liguria) to Bastia (Corsica), bus transfer, overnight stay in Macinaggio (Corsica)
28 September: bus transfer, overnight stay in Macinaggio (Corsica)
29 September: ferry ride from Bastia (Corsica) to Livorno (Tuscany), bus transfer to SIAF Volterra.
