4th International Symposium of IGCP507: “Paleoclimates of the Cretaceous in Asia and Their Global Correlation”

Abstract

The fourth international symposium of IGCP507, “Paleoclimates of the Cretaceous in Asia and their global correlation” was held in Kumamoto, on December 1-6, 2009. The purpose of the symposium, which was organized by the Scientific Committee of the IGCP507 Symposium, was to investigate Cretaceous biodiversity, faunal changes, environments, and climate in Asia through geological analyses of rock and fossil records. Seventy participants registered to attend the conference from 10 countries, and gave 28 oral and 28 poster presentations, two keynote speeches, one workshop “Cretaceous to Recent bryozoans”, and five sessions addressing (1) Vertebrate evolution in Asia during the Cretaceous (thematic session), (2) Paleontology, (3) Paleoclimate, (4) Sedimentology, and (5) Tectonics, on December 4-5. There was a pre-symposium field excursion, “Cretaceous non-marine and shallow marine facies and fossils in western Kumamoto, Kyushu, Japan”, to northern parts of Amakusa Islands (December 1-3). The excursion focused on sedimentary processes, faunal changes in benthic molluscan fossils, and biostratigraphy in the mid-Cretaceous Goshoura and the Upper Cretaceous Himenoura groups. During the post-symposium field excursion, “Mifune Dinosaur Museum and Upper Cretaceous Dinosaur site in the Mifune Group, Kumamoto (December 6)”, participants visited a typical terrestrial vertebrate site and museum exhibitions.