Dr. Ricardo Amils is Professor Emeritus at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and Professor at the Spanish National Research Council’s (CSIC) Astrobiology Center. He obtained his BSc in Chemistry and his PhD in Biological Chemistry from the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona and conducted research at Dartmouth University and Columbia University prior to returning to Spain as a full-time researcher and professor. He co-founded the CSIC Astrobiology Center (INTA-CSIC) and has published widely on the evolution of extremophiles (halophilic, thermophilic, acidophilic) that may serve as model organisms/terrestrial analogues of astrobiological interest. In the last 30 years, he has devoted his research to the biological characterization of Río Tinto, an acidic river containing high concentrations of ferric iron and sulfuric acid that is considered one of the best terrestrial Mars analogues.

• Section I: Geology, Hydrology, and Paleontology1. The geological framework of the Río Tinto: The largest accumulation of sulfides in the Earth crust2. Sedimentology and geobiology of Río Tinto3. Hydrogeological and hydrogeochemical characteristics of the source of the Río Tinto4. Paleontology of Río TintoSection II. Microbial and Eukaryotic Diversity5. Prokaryotic diversity along the Río Tinto6. Microbial biodiversity in the anoxic sediments of Río Tinto7. Acidophilic cyanobacteria in the Tinto basin8. Cyanobacteria in the deep subsurface of the Iberian Pyrite Belt9. Eukaryotic diversity along the Tinto basin10. Fungal diversity in the Tinto basin11. Vegetation associated to an extreme acidic river with high metal content, Río Tinto12. Río Tinto virologySection III. Río Tinto as a Mars Terrestrial Analogue13. Mineralogical and geochemical characterization of Río Tinto using combined spectroscopic methods: implications for exploration of Mars14. Methanogenesis in a Mars terrestrial analogue15. From Río Tinto to Mars: Investigating potential microbial metabolisms and their signatures16. Technology developments for the characterization of the deep subsurface of the Iberian Pyrite Belt and MarsSection IV. Geomicrobiology: Fundamentals and Applications17. Origin of Río Tinto, anaerobic oxidation of iron in the deep subsurface of the Iberian Pyrite Belt18. Biogeochemical cycles operating in the deep subsurface of the Iberian Pyrite Belt19. Retrotranscriptomic analysis of the Tinto basin to understand polyextremicity20. Biotechnological applications of the biodiversity existing in the Tinto basin21. Vitamin B12 in the deep subsurface of the Iberian Pyrite Belt

Dr. Ricardo Amils is Professor Emeritus at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and Professor at the Spanish National Research Council’s (CSIC) Astrobiology Center. He obtained his BSc in Chemistry and his PhD in Biological Chemistry from the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona and conducted research at Dartmouth University and Columbia University prior to returning to Spain as a full-time researcher and professor. He co-founded the CSIC Astrobiology Center (INTA-CSIC) and has published widely on the evolution of extremophiles (halophilic, thermophilic, acidophilic) that may serve as model organisms/terrestrial analogues of astrobiological interest. In the last 30 years, he has devoted his research to the biological characterization of Río Tinto, an acidic river containing high concentrations of ferric iron and sulfuric acid that is considered one of the best terrestrial Mars analogues.

• Section I: Geology, Hydrology, and Paleontology1. The geological framework of the Río Tinto: The largest accumulation of sulfides in the Earth crust2. Sedimentology and geobiology of Río Tinto3. Hydrogeological and hydrogeochemical characteristics of the source of the Río Tinto4. Paleontology of Río TintoSection II. Microbial and Eukaryotic Diversity5. Prokaryotic diversity along the Río Tinto6. Microbial biodiversity in the anoxic sediments of Río Tinto7. Acidophilic cyanobacteria in the Tinto basin8. Cyanobacteria in the deep subsurface of the Iberian Pyrite Belt9. Eukaryotic diversity along the Tinto basin10. Fungal diversity in the Tinto basin11. Vegetation associated to an extreme acidic river with high metal content, Río Tinto12. Río Tinto virologySection III. Río Tinto as a Mars Terrestrial Analogue13. Mineralogical and geochemical characterization of Río Tinto using combined spectroscopic methods: implications for exploration of Mars14. Methanogenesis in a Mars terrestrial analogue15. From Río Tinto to Mars: Investigating potential microbial metabolisms and their signatures16. Technology developments for the characterization of the deep subsurface of the Iberian Pyrite Belt and MarsSection IV. Geomicrobiology: Fundamentals and Applications17. Origin of Río Tinto, anaerobic oxidation of iron in the deep subsurface of the Iberian Pyrite Belt18. Biogeochemical cycles operating in the deep subsurface of the Iberian Pyrite Belt19. Retrotranscriptomic analysis of the Tinto basin to understand polyextremicity20. Biotechnological applications of the biodiversity existing in the Tinto basin21. Vitamin B12 in the deep subsurface of the Iberian Pyrite Belt

Dr. Ricardo Amils is Professor Emeritus at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and Professor at the Spanish National Research Council’s (CSIC) Astrobiology Center. He obtained his BSc in Chemistry and his PhD in Biological Chemistry from the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona and conducted research at Dartmouth University and Columbia University prior to returning to Spain as a full-time researcher and professor. He co-founded the CSIC Astrobiology Center (INTA-CSIC) and has published widely on the evolution of extremophiles (halophilic, thermophilic, acidophilic) that may serve as model organisms/terrestrial analogues of astrobiological interest. In the last 30 years, he has devoted his research to the biological characterization of Río Tinto, an acidic river containing high concentrations of ferric iron and sulfuric acid that is considered one of the best terrestrial Mars analogues.

• Section I: Geology, Hydrology, and Paleontology1. The geological framework of the Río Tinto: The largest accumulation of sulfides in the Earth crust2. Sedimentology and geobiology of Río Tinto3. Hydrogeological and hydrogeochemical characteristics of the source of the Río Tinto4. Paleontology of Río TintoSection II. Microbial and Eukaryotic Diversity5. Prokaryotic diversity along the Río Tinto6. Microbial biodiversity in the anoxic sediments of Río Tinto7. Acidophilic cyanobacteria in the Tinto basin8. Cyanobacteria in the deep subsurface of the Iberian Pyrite Belt9. Eukaryotic diversity along the Tinto basin10. Fungal diversity in the Tinto basin11. Vegetation associated to an extreme acidic river with high metal content, Río Tinto12. Río Tinto virologySection III. Río Tinto as a Mars Terrestrial Analogue13. Mineralogical and geochemical characterization of Río Tinto using combined spectroscopic methods: implications for exploration of Mars14. Methanogenesis in a Mars terrestrial analogue15. From Río Tinto to Mars: Investigating potential microbial metabolisms and their signatures16. Technology developments for the characterization of the deep subsurface of the Iberian Pyrite Belt and MarsSection IV. Geomicrobiology: Fundamentals and Applications17. Origin of Río Tinto, anaerobic oxidation of iron in the deep subsurface of the Iberian Pyrite Belt18. Biogeochemical cycles operating in the deep subsurface of the Iberian Pyrite Belt19. Retrotranscriptomic analysis of the Tinto basin to understand polyextremicity20. Biotechnological applications of the biodiversity existing in the Tinto basin21. Vitamin B12 in the deep subsurface of the Iberian Pyrite Belt