Jurassic--climate and biodiversity： The 6th International IGCP 506 Symposium

August was an intense and busy month for many geologists as the large 33rd IGC meeting was held in Oslo, Norway, from 6 to 14 August. Over 6,000 scientists from 113 countries contributed talks, posters and discussions at the IGC on a broad range of geo- logical topics. The congress was preceded and followed by as many as 30 fieldtrips coveting Scandinavian geology.     

Natural hazards in Nordic Countries

Compared to many areas of the world, the human losses caused by natural hazards are smaller in Nordic countries. This is mainly due to the low population density in the exposed areas. However, the economic losses are significant and the geohazards picture varies among the countries. The predominant natural hazards in Nordic countries are floods, landslides, and, with the exception of Denmark, snow avalanche. Volcanoes and earthquakes are major geohazards in Iceland, and parts of Norway are susceptible to seismic activity. Slidetriggered tsunamis also represent a threat to parts of the coastal areas of Nordic countries and Greenland.     

Environmental Geology

The mining environment, medical geology and urban geochemistry form a group of related scientific disciplines that have developed strongly during recent years in the Nordic countries. Modern legislation controls the environmental issues. Close co-operation of researchers and legislators has improved the quality and safety of life in the societies of the Nordic countries. In mining environmental studies, methods that are suitable in Arctic conditions have been developed; in medical geology, the input from the Nordic countries has made it an appreciated scientific discipline throughout the world, and in the case of the urban environment, methods developed by our geochemists have especially improved the health conditions, particularly of children.     

It＇s 126 years old, but it doesn＇t look it：The 32^nd International Geological Congress

While attendance at previous IGC‘s was remarkable, the more than 7,000 earth scientists, exhibitors and guests who met in Florence for the 32^nd International Geological Congress set an all-time record as the highest number of participants. They came from 120 countries and 75% were not Italian. This proportion of foreign attendees was the largest ever; in line with a trend of increasing nonlocal participation, it testifies to the vitality and international character of the IGCs.     

History of Geology in Norden

The Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden have been closely connected for many centuries, not least from a geological point of view. Scientific cooperation as well as contentions have been common. The earliest known records of ＂geological＂ treatises are from the 16th century, but especially in the 18th century, when the natural sciences flourished all over Europe, Nordic scholars were in the forefront in geochemistry, mineralogy, and paleontology. This was also the century when ＂geology＂ started to be taught at the universities, and science academies were founded in Norden, adding greatly to ＂geological＂ studies. In the 19th century, like in so many other countries, national geological survey organizations and geological societies were founded. In Norden, geological research has long traditions within mineralogy and ore geology, paleontology and stratigraphy, tectonics and structural geology. During the last century, focus has turned also to Quaternary and glacial geology, igneous and metamorphic petrology, geochemistry, micropaleontology, petroleum geology, sedimentology, marine geology, geophysics, geochronology, and research related to geothermal energy and deposition of radioactive waste products. In many of these research areas, Nordic geoscientists have contributed greatly over the years to the development of the science of geology.     

Industrial minerals and rocks, aggregates and natural stones in the Nordic countries

The Nordic countries, including Greenland, have a long tradition in mining. The industrial minerals sector is expanding in most Nordic countries and extensive development has taken place during the last few years. The main commodities mined are carbonate rocks, quartz, feldspar, apatite, olivine and talc.
A number of diferent types of dimension stones are quarried in all countries. Rock aggregates are increasingly important, replacing sand and gravel aggregate as construction materials in some countries due to the need to protect ground water supplies.     

Quaternary of Norden

The Nordic countries have experienced multiple glaciations and intervening interglacials during the last ca. 2.5-3 million years. Although evidence from Greenland and Iceland shows that ice sheets started to expand some time before 3 Ma, little is known about the glaciations and intervening interglacials older than the last Glacial Maximum due to repeated phases of glacial erosion and reworking. The extensive Saalian glaciation （c. 140 ka BP） contributed to high sea levels in Greenland and in the Baltic area during the early part of the last interglacial （Eemian）. Temperatures were about 5 ℃ higher during the Eemian than they are today and the Greenland ice sheet was reduced to about half of its present size, causing globally higher sea levels than we have today. Ice extent in Fennoscandia was restricted during early Weichselian stadials, but middle Weichselian ice advances in Scandinavia reached as far as Denmark. During the Last Glacial Maximum, large ice sheets were present in all Nordic countries and coalesced with neighboring ice sheets. Deglaciation commenced around 17-15 ka BP in most areas and was promoted by rapidly rising global sea level and glacial isostasy. The Younger Dryas cold event（c. 12.6-11.5 ka BP） is seen as a short-term re-advance, still-stand or fluctuation of land-based ice sheet margins. Around 7-9 ka BP ice sheets had disappeared or had attained their present size. While uplift is still going on in some regions, others are subject to submergence. The different stages of development of the Baltic Sea are an example of how the intricare interplay between glacial eustasy and isostasy influences sedimentation, basin size and drainage patterns.     

Science and Honour： The 11th International Geological Congress in Stockholm 1910

In the late 19th and the early 20th century, with expanding industrialism and urbanisation, the idea of the nation state grew strong in Sweden. In this nationalistic environment, nature and the natural sciences assumed an important unifying role. The search for natural resources and sources of energy inspired political support and research. The exploitation of nature was looked upon as a prerequisite for the modernization of the country, and indeed was to become the basis for Sweden‘s welfare. It was under these circumstances that, in 1906, the 11th IGC was invited to Stockholm in 1910. A request for a Government grant focused on the international development of science but also stressed the national importance. Sweden had, it was said, its ranking position among nations to defend, to uphold its position among civilized nations, and to maintain its distinguished tradition in the spheres of natural sciences and mining operations. The main topics of the Congress were iron ore resources, post-glacial climate change, glacial erosion, the Cambrian fauna, geology of the Precambrian, and geology of the polar regions. Three exhibitions and 24 excursions were arranged, and 41 guidebooks printed. The number of members present was 625, from 37 countries and six continents. The final cost for arranging the 11th IGC was SEK 125,000 (approximately ∈540,000 today). A novel experience in the tradition of the IGCs was the world-wide inquiries about the resources of iron ore and about climate change. Such thematic, worldwide investigations subsequently came to attract the attention of many IGCs. A proposition to establish a commission for the publication of an international stratigraphic dictionary was approved by the Congress, and a subcommission was set up with commissioners from ten countries, but it was not until 1956 that the first volumes of Lexique Stratigraphique International appeared. From a Swedish point of view, the Congress compelled Swedish geologists to carry out an inventory of the results of Swedish geological research of about half a century. The Congress was, in other words, an incentive to finish ongoing projects and bring together summaries of the major research areas. In the history of Swedish geosciences there is thus reason to speak about a pre- and a post-1910.     

2 nd Mid-European Clay Conference

The 2nd Mid-European Clay Conference (MECC‘04) was held between 20-24th September 2004, in Miskolc, Hungary. The idea to hold common conferences was accepted by the national clay groups of four neighbouring countries, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Croatia, during the EUROCLAY Meeting in Cracow, Poland, in 1999. The first conference was held in 2001 at Stará Lesná, in the High Tatra Mts. in Slovakia.     

The medical geology revolution

Because of the importance of geological factors on health an International Working Group on Medical Geology was established in 1998, with the primary aim of increasing awareness of this issue among scientists, medical specialists, and the general public. In 2000 a new project was established by UNESCO. The primary aim of the projects was to bring together, on a global scale, scientists working in this field in developing countries with their colleagues in other parts of the world. The International Council of Scientific Unions （ICSU） also sponsored international short courses in this subject, a cooperation involving The Geological Survey of Sweden, US Geological Survey and the US Armed Forces of Pathology. In 2006 a new association was established： International Medical Geology Association, IMGA. Regional Divisions all over the world have been established. Two text books have been published, the most recent one by Elsevier 2005： Essentials of Medical Geology which has received two prestigious international awards. A website （ http：//www.medicalgeology.org ） and regular newsletters have been published. Short courses on medical geology, have been held since 2001 in more than 30 countries. Medical geology will also be one of the ten main topics within the Year of Planet Earth declared by UN General Assembly December 22, 2005. Medical geology is also one of the five topics within the GeoUnion initiative. The international impact has been tremendous. Universities all around the world are starting courses and education in medical geology, the first centers are under construction, symposias have been held and a world wide collaboration has started between geoscientists, environmental researchers, epidemiologists, toxicologists, pathologists and other scientists.     

The 33rd International Geological Congress, Oslo 2008

The 33rd International Geological Congress is being organised jointly by the Nordic countries and to be held in Oslo, Norway, August 6-14th, 2008. This ＂Geoscience World Congress 2008＂ will run up to 40 parallel science sessions, poster sessions, an extensive exhibition, short-courses, workshops, and business meet- ings; about 50 exciting preand post-Congress excursions are planned. The excursions include all the Nordic countries, as well as Greenland, Svalbard, the Faeroes, Russia and Ukraine. All major geoscientific themes are being covered by the Congress which has been divided into two parts, Sunday lOth August being without Symposia and dedicated to workshops, short courses, business meetings and excursions. Through a series of ＂Themes of the Day＂, seven themes with major societal impact will be covered in plenary sessions with invited lecturers, including a key-note ＂StatoiIHydro lecture＂ given each day during the lunch interval. The venue is set up to offer a compact Congress with easy access to all sessions and other events. An extensive social and cultural programme is also being arranged.     

Foreword

The International Geological Congress held every four years is a grand event for displaying the latest achievements in geological science and technology and carrying out academic exchange.After the 31st IGC, the Chinese geologists, like their counterparts in the rest of the world, started to pay more attention to the issues facing the world today, including the shortage of energy and     

New Progress in Deep Earth Exploration and Application

正During October 24~(th)-26~(th) of 2018, the International Symposium on Deep Earth Exploration and Application was held in Beijing, China (Fig. 1). More than 300 experts from more than 20 countries and regions participated in the symposium. Well-known experts were invited to discuss important topics such as the evolution of the continents, the rheology of the lower crust, the deep carbon cycle, plate tectonics, deep seismic exploration,     

Foreword

The International Geological Congress held every four years is a grand event for displaying the latest achievements in geological science and technology and carrying out academic exchange.After the 31st IGC, the Chinese geologists, like their counterparts in the rest of the world, started to pay more attention to the issues facing the world today, including the shortage of energy and resources, geological hazards, environmental degradation and sustainable socio-economic     

Foreword

The International Geological Congress held every four years is a grand event for displaying the latest achievements in geological science and technology and carrying out academic exchange.After the 31st IGC, the Chinese geologists, like their counterparts in the rest of the world, started to pay more attention to the issues facing the world today, including the shortage of energy and resources, geological hazards, environmental degradation and sustainable socio-economic     

Foreword to the Collection of Academic Papers of the Chinese Geological Delegation

I wish to express my warmest congratulations, on behalf of the Ministry of Land and Resources of China and the Chinese geological community, on the opening of the 31st International Geological Congress. Four years ago, geologists from all over the world gathered in Beijing, China, for the 30th IGC, where discussions were held on a number of frontier issues in the development of geosciences, particularly problems of fundamental geological theories on continent-related     

BARON FERDINAND VON RICHTHOFEN

The 5th of May this year the Centenary Anniversary of Ferdinand vonRichthofen was celebrated in all the geographical and geological institutionsof Germany and probably of many other countries.For he was not only the     

BARON FERDINAND VON RICHTHOFEN

The 5th of May this year the Centenary Anniversary of Ferdinand vonRichthofen was celebrated in all the geographical and geological institutionsof Germany and probably of many other countries.For he was not only the     

Metallic mineral deposits in the Nordic countries

The Nordic countries, including Greenland, have a long tradition in mining. Documented mining dates back to the 8th century AD. Today this region is the most important metallic mining district of the European Union. Metals are produced from active mines in all countries except Iceland and related industries are thriving in all countries.
Important ore deposit types include： volcanogenic massive sulphide deposits （Cu, Zn, Pb, Au, Ag）, orogenic gold deposits （Au）, layered intrusions （Ni, PGE, Ti±V）, intrusive hosted Cu-Au, apatite-Fe deposits, Cr- and anorthosite hosted Ti deposits. Besides these well- documented deposits, new kinds of deposits are being explored, e.g., iron oxide-copper-gold （IOCG）, shale-hosted Ni-Zn-Cu and different types of uranium deposits.     

Megaclasts from the Carboniferous-Permian Rocks in the Langkawi Islands,Malaysia, and Their Implications

The Ninth Regional Congress on Geology, Mineral andEnergy Resources of Southeast Asia was held in KualaLumpur of Malaysia in August of 1998. After the Con-gress, the author participated in the geological fieldexcursion and investigation in the Langkawi Islands,and noted that the Carboniferous-Permian rocks con-tain megaclasts of metamorphic and pegmatitic rocks,which indicate the existence of pre-Carboniferousmetamorphism and magmatism. The observation resultsare as follows: