International Geoscience Programme Research Articles

The IGCP 714 Project “3GEO – Geoclimbing & Geotrekking in Geoparks” – Selection of Geodiversity Sites Equipped for Climbing for Combining Outdoor and Multimedia Activities

The IGCP 714 project “3GEO – Geoclimbing & Geotrekking in Geoparks” is financed by the International Geoscience Programme (IGCP) and supported by the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS). In this paper, we report on the results of the first phase of the project focused on the criteria to be adopted to select geodiversity sites equipped for climbing or trekking. The selection of geoclimbing sites and geotrekking routes is aimed at combining multimedia tools and outdoor activities for Geosciences promotion and conservation in UNESCO Global Geoparks, aspiring geoparks or geoparks project, and also in protected areas featuring geoheritage sites. Indeed, both outdoor activities and multimedia tools favour the pursuing of many of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (e.g., 3, 4, 8, 11). An international consortium of geoscientists from 12 different countries selected, through the proposed procedure, 22 geoclimbing sites, and then they also detected 30 geotrekking routes mirroring Earth geodiversity. At some test sites (geoclimbing and geotrekking) multimedia tools and digital outcrop models have been developed through different methodological approaches (e.g., Structure from Motion and Multi-View Stereo photogrammetry), to open the way to the second part of the project still in progress. These sites and the relative virtual models are herein also shown. The final aim of the IGCP 714 project is indeed to create an open data repository (digital outcrop models, videos, virtual tours, photos, scientific information, and interpretations) to upload data of the selected sites to mirror Earth geodiversity for different users including tourists and school groups.

Community Engagement in UNESCO Biosphere Reserves and Geoparks: Case Studies from Mount Hakusan in Japan and Altai in Russia

UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) and the International Geoscience and Geoparks Programme (IGGP) are two themes in UNESCO’s Natural Science Sector. Biosphere Reserves of the MAB Programme are more focused on building international, regional, sub-regional, and ecosystem-specific cooperation as “learning places’’ for sustainable development with a focus on biodiversity. The IGGP supports research and capacity development in Earth Sciences and comprises two sub-programmes: the International Geoscience Programme (IGCP) and the UNESCO Global Geoparks Programme (UGGP). UNESCO Global Geoparks (UGGps) use a bottom-up approach to engage local communities in capacity building, via tourism development, with the common goal of promoting and protecting the area’s geological and cultural heritage. Here, we present the results of comparing local involvement from two case studies from Japan, the Mount Hakusan Biosphere Reserve and the National Mount Hakusan Tedori-river Geopark, along with two case studies from Russia, the Altaisky Biosphere Reserve and the regional Geopark Altai. In this study, we found more involvement by local community members in the Geopark than in the Biosphere Reserve in Japan. The Russian case studies show a complete opposite result with more involvement of local communities in the BRs, and less participation in Geopark management. The purpose of this project was to provide information to improve local involvement in both Japanese and Russian Biosphere Reserves and Geoparks through changes in education and management styles.

Advances and Practices on the Research, Prevention and Control of Land Subsidence in Coastal Cities

AbstractLand subsidence severely threatens most of the coastal plains around the world where high productive industrial and agricultural activities and urban centers are concentrated. Coastal subsidence damages infrastructures and exacerbates the effect of the sea‐level rise at regional scale. Although it is a well‐known process, there is still much more to be improved on the monitoring, mapping and modeling of ground movements, as well as the understanding of controlling mechanisms. The International Geoscience Programme recently approved an international project (IGCP 663) aiming to bring together worldwide researchers to share expertise on subsidence processes typically occurring in coastal areas and cities, including basic research, monitoring and observation, modelling and management. In this paper, we provide the research communities and potential stakeholders with the basic information to join the participating teams in developing this project. Specifically, major advances on coastal subsidence studies and information on well‐known and new case studies of land subsidence in China, Italy, The Netherlands, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand are highlighted and summarized. Meanwhile, the networking, dissemination, annual meeting and field trip are briefly introduced.

An introduction to causes and consequences of Cretaceous sea-level changes (IGCP 609)

Abstract The International Geoscience Programme Project IGCP 609 addressed correlation, causes and consequences of short-term sea-level fluctuations during the Cretaceous. Processes causing several ka to several Ma (third- to fourth-order) sea-level oscillations during the Cretaceous are so far poorly understood. IGCP 609 proved the existence of sea-level cycles during potential ice sheet-free greenhouse to hothouse climate phases. These sea-level fluctuations were most probably controlled by aquifer-eustasy that is altering land-water storage owing to groundwater aquifer charge and discharge. The project investigated Cretaceous sea-level cycles in detail in order to differentiate and quantify both short- and long-term records based on orbital cyclicity. High-resolution sea-level records were correlated to the geological timescale resulting in a hierarchy of sea-level cycles in the longer Milankovitch band, especially in the 100 ka, 405 ka, 1.2 Ma and 2.4 Ma range. The relation of sea-level highs and lows to palaeoclimate events, palaeoenvironments and biota was also investigated using multiproxy studies. For a hothouse Earth such as the mid-Cretaceous, humid–arid climate cycles controlling groundwater-related sea-level change were evidenced by stable isotope data, correlation to continental lake-level records and humid–arid weathering cycles.

About this title - Cretaceous Climate Events and Short-Term Sea-Level Changes

Sea-level constitutes a critical planetary boundary for both geological processes and human life. Sea-level fluctuations during major greenhouse phases are still enigmatic and widely discussed in terms of changing climate systems. The geological record of the Cretaceous greenhouse period provides a deep-time view on greenhouse-phase Earth system processes that facilitates a much better understanding of the causes and consequences of global, geologically short-term, sea-level changes. In particular, Cretaceous hothouse periods can serve as a laboratory to better understand a near-future greenhouse Earth. This volume presents high-resolution sea-level records from globally distributed sedimentary archives of the Cretaceous involving a large group of scientists from the International Geoscience Programme IGCP 609. Marine to non-marine sedimentary successions were analysed for revised age constraints, the correlation of global palaeoclimate shifts and sea-level changes, tested for climate-driven cyclicities, and correlated within a high-resolution stratigraphic framework of the Geological Timescale. For hothouse periods, the hypothesis of significant global groundwater-related sea-level change, i.e. aquifer-eustasy as a major process, is reviewed and substantiated.

The UNESCO–IUGS International Geoscience Programme (IGCP) in the service of society since 1972

Abstract Developing an advanced understanding of the Earth's fundamental processes and resources is essential to fulfil the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The International Geoscience Programme (IGCP) is the oldest and most successful example of scientific co-operation between a non-governmental organization, the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS), and an intergovernmental organization, UNESCO. During almost 50 years, this programme has been the gateway to successful scientific careers in pioneering research for thousands of IGCP project scientists. After almost 50 years of evaluating IGCP projects, the programme itself was evaluated through statistical analysis of the annual progress report during four periods: 1981–82, 1991–92, 2001–02 and 2011–12. Subsequently, these trends were compared to the trends of the last four years (2015–18). This study provided insight into trends and changes in the location of studies, participating countries, involvement of developing countries, gender equality, etc. To fully understand the added value of the IGCP brand identity and its seed funding, project leaders over a period of five years (2008–12) were asked to complete a survey about its work. Overall, both studies confirmed the value of the main aim of the IGCP: enabling and facilitating international collaboration between Earth scientists. Even though IGCP funding has been reduced, the IGCP brand still opens doors to new collaborators, new research and national funding agencies, often impacting the career of the involved researchers very positively.

유네스코 국제지구과학프로그램(IGCP)과 IGCP 한국위원회 활성화

이 논문은 유네스코 국제지구과학프로그램(IGCP)의 전반적인 소개와 IGCP 한국위원회의 활성화를 통해 국내 지구과학자들이 국제협력 네트워크 구축과 국제공동연구사업에 적극 참여함으로써 우리나라 지구과학기술의 글로벌 연구역량을 고도화하는데 목적이 있다. IGCP 프로그램은 유네스코가 국제지질연맹(International Union of Geological Sciences, IUGS)과 공동으로 지원하는 다학제적 국제협력연구 프로그램으로서 공동연구, 국제회의, 현장답사, 워크샵 등을 통해 자원고갈, 환경파괴, 자연재해 예방·방지, 기후변화 대응 등 지질학적인 문제를 해결하기 위한 선진국과 개발도상국간 지구과학자들의 네트워크 및 국제협력연구를 촉진한다. 이를 위해 IGCP는 사회에 대한 기여, 역량강화, 남북‧남남협력에 중점을 둔 지구과학자들이 글로벌 이슈와 관련된 지질자원, 지구환경변화, 지질재해, 수리지질, 지구역학 등 5개 지구과학분야에서의 국제공동연구를 지원한다. IGCP 프로그램은 1972년에 설립되어 2018년 현재 27개의 프로젝트에 105개국 4,485명이 참여하고 있으며, 이 중에 56%는 젊은 과학자(35세 미만), 32%는 여성과학자, 65%는 개발도상국 연구자로 구성되어 있다. 또한 IGCP 프로젝트에는 57개국에서 160여명의 연구책임자가 참여하고 있는데, 아시아국가 중 중국과 일본의 참여가 주를 이루고 있으며 특히 중국은 현재 수행 중인 27개의 프로젝트 중에 주요 사업책임자가 7인(26%)으로 다른 참여 국가(미국, 프랑스 3인; 영국, 칠레 2인; 일본, 호주 등 1인)에 비해 우위에 있는 반면에 우리나라는 단 한명도 없다. 우리나라 지구과학자들의 IGCP 프로그램의 주도적인 참여가 없는 이유는 IGCP 한국위원회 활동의 부재, IGCP 프로그램에 대한 인식 부족, 지구과학기술 커뮤니티의 무관심, 국제협력 전략 방안 제시 부족 등을 들 수 있다. IGCP 한국위원회의 활성화를 위해 위원회를 유관 학회, 연구기관, 산업계, 정부 부처 등으로 구성하여 재조직하고 사무국을 국내 유관기관에 설립하여 지구과학자들과의 체계적인 연계 및 중계역할을 해주는 중간매개체의 역할을 해야 한다. 이를 통해 국내의 다양한 유관 기관 및 전문가들이 IGCP 프로젝트에 적극적으로 참여하고 활동함으로써 국제 네트워크 구축 및 공동연구를 활성화 할 수 있다. 이러한 IGCP 활동은 앞으로 젊은 지구과학자들이 세계무대를 이끌어 갈 글로벌 과학자로서 역할을 하는데 기반이 될 것이다.

The Influence of Crustal Properties on Patterns of Quaternary Fluvial Stratigraphy in Eurasia

Compilation of empirical data on river-terrace sequences from across Eurasia during successive International Geoscience Programme (IGCP) projects revealed marked contrasts between the records from different crustal provinces, notably between the East European Platform (EEP) and the Caledonian/Variscan/Alpine provinces of western/central Europe. Well-developed terrace staircases, often indicative of hundreds of metres of Late Cenozoic uplift/fluvial incision, are preserved in many parts of the European continent, especially westward of the EEP. In contrast, rivers within the EEP have extensive sedimentary archives that are not preserved as terrace staircases; instead, they form sets of laterally accreted sediment packages, never more than a few tens of metres above or below modern river level. There are parallels in Asia, albeit that the crust of the Asian continent has a greater proportion of tectonically active zones, at one extreme, and stable platforms/cratons at the other. The observed patterns point strongly to the mobility of lower-crustal material within younger provinces, where the continental crust is significantly hotter, as a key part of the mechanism driving the progressive uplift that has led to valley incision and the formation of river terraces: a process of erosional isostasy with lower-crustal flow as a positive-feedback driver. The contrast between these different styles of fluvial-archive preservation is of considerable significance for Quaternary stratigraphy, as such archives provide important templates for the understanding of the terrestrial record.

地質科学国際研究計画(IGCP)と国際貢献(ぱれおんとエッセイ)

地質科学国際研究計画(IGCP)と国際貢献(ぱれおんとエッセイ)

Integrated stratigraphic, geochemical, and paleontological late Ediacaran to early Cambrian records from southwestern Mongolia: Comment

Global correlation of sedimentary rock successions requires an integrated approach that uses all fossil-based and alternative (lithostratigraphic, geochemical, paleomagnetic, geochronologic, sequence stratigraphic) data (e.g., Van Couvering and Berggren, 1977). Proposed global correlations and their role in interpreting Earth and biotic history require a thorough examination of the utility and temporal resolution allowed by each correlation technique in comparison to the others. The article by Smith et al. (2016) is a welcome contribution to understanding the Upper Ediacaran(?)‒Lower Cambrian succession of the Zavkhan terrane in the Khasagt-Khairkhan Range of southwestern Mongolia. Their work complements earlier syntheses on the Zavkhan terrane completed by Soviet-Mongolian teams (e.g., Voronin et al., 1982; Esakova and Zhegallo, 1996) and under International Geoscience Programme (IGCP) Project 303, “Late Precambrian−Cambrian Event Stratigraphy” (Brasier et al., 1996a; see associated papers in Geological Magazine , v. 133, no. 4).

Early–Middle Paleozoic ecosystem evolution and revolution (Part 2 of 2): an introduction

Papers included in this special issue have been derived and developed mostly from contributions presented at the 5th Annual Meeting of the International Geoscience Programme (IGCP) Project 591, held jointly with the 5th International Symposium on the Silurian System, sponsored by the International Subcommission on Silurian Stratigraphy (ISSS). The joint meeting was hosted by the Institut national de la recherche scientifique – Eau Terre Environnement (INRS–ETE) in Quebec City, Canada, including 3 days of scientific sessions, a pre-conference field excursion to the Gaspe Peninsula, a mid-conference excursion to the vicinity of Quebec City, and a post-conference excursion to Anticosti Island, Quebec. The goals of IGCP 591 and the joint meeting with ISSS were outlined in the first volume of this two-volume series (Jin and Melchin 2016). The papers in this volume cover a range of topics in Early–Middle Paleozoic paleontology, stratigraphy, and geochemistry. Microfossils, particularly conodonts, …

Early–Middle Paleozoic ecosystem evolution and revolution (Part 1 of 2): an introduction

Papers included in this special issue have been derived and developed mostly from contributions presented at the 5th Annual Meeting of the International Geoscience Programme (IGCP) Project 591, held jointly with the 5th International Symposium on the Silurian System sponsored by the International Subcommission on Silurian Stratigraphy (ISSS). The joint meeting was hosted by the Institut national de la recherche scientifique – Eau Terre Environnement (INRS–ETE) in Quebec City, Canada, including 3 days of scientific sessions, a pre-conference field excursion to the Gaspe Peninsula, a mid-conference excursion to the vicinity of Quebec City, and a post-conference excursion to Anticosti Island, Quebec. Built on the tremendous success and momentum gathered by its two predecessors, the IGCP Project 410 (The Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event, 1997–2002; Webby et al. 2004) and Project 503 (Ordovician Palaeogeography and Palaeoclimate, 2004– 2009; Harper et al. 2011), the current IGCP Project 591 (The Early to Middle Paleozoic Revolution) aims to enrich our knowledge about the geological interval from the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event (GOBE) to the expansion of the terrestrial ecosystems in the Devonian. After the Cambrian Explosion that saw the origin of nearly all animal phyla, the GOBE was marked by an exponential increase in diversity in terms of ordinal, superfamilial, and familial taxonomic units. Life evolution from the Early Ordovician to the Early Devonian, the key geological interval targeted by IGCP 591, was associated with a large number of significant paleoenvironmental events in Earth history, leading to global ecosystem revolutions, …

Comparing management actions in groundwater related wetlands that provide significant services to human welfare in Ibero-America

Wetlands are important features of the landscape with a high intrinsic value from geological, hydrological, hydrogeological, ecological and social points of view; this last point is related to the services they provide to mankind. If in the past wetlands were subjected to destructive actions, putting them at risk of degradation and further reduction, currently they are the subject of preferential protection in many countries as a consequence of the recognition of their intrinsic value. Wetlands are especially important in arid and semiarid areas, where many of them are related to, and depend greatly on, groundwater. Also, in wet areas groundwater may play an important role, especially providing resilience to rainfall changes. UNESCO's International Geoscience Programme Project 604 (IGCP 604) has been directed to the consideration of selected wetlands of Ibero-America,the Iberian Peninsula and related archipelagos to relate their physical and water quality characteristics with the services they provide and the drivers of change. After preparing a detailed form based on the objectives of the project and distributing it to selected experts, a total of 64 cases from 13 countries have been gathered. The main characteristics, the services provided, the conservation institutions are discussed and some summarized results are given. These are expected to be a contribution to the systematics of IGCP type studies on wetlands and to establish a common methodology and language among Earth Science and Biological Science researchers and managers. Results indicate that deterioration of the condition of wetlands is mainly due to the lack of integration of protection activities with management. This is crucial for more effective conservation.

About this title ‐ Devonian Climate, Sea Level and Evolutionary Events

The geological and palaeontological records of climate change and evolutionary events reflect Earth's widely fluctuating climate systems. Past climates hold the clues to understanding future developments. In this context, research on linked climate, biodiversity and sea-level fluctuations of the Devonian contributes to the general knowledge of deep-time climate dynamics. A fruitful co-operation between the International Geoscience Programme IGCP 596 and the International Subcommission on Devonian Stratigraphy (SDS) addressed the complex succession of climate-linked Devonian global events of varying magnitude. The primary goal of IGCP 596 was to assess mid-Palaeozoic climate changes and their impact on marine and terrestrial biodiversity using an interdisciplinary approach. The focus of SDS includes a revision of the eustatic sea-level curve and the integration of refined chrono- and biostratigraphy with modern chemo-, magneto-, cyclo-, event- and sequence stratigraphy. This enabled the much improved dating and correlation of abiotic perturbations, evolutionary changes, organism and ecosystem ranges. Results by 37 authors are presented in 14 chapters, which cover the entire Devonian.

Application of magnetic susceptibility as a paleoclimatic proxy on Paleozoic sedimentary rocks and characterization of the magnetic signal – IGCP-580 projects and events

The International Geoscience Program project IGCP-580 (started in 2009), focuses on the application of magnetic susceptibility (MS) as a paleoclimatic proxy on Paleozoic sedimentary rocks and on the characterization of the magnetic susceptibility signal. Here we provide a summary of the scientific targets behind the project and a summary of the organized activities. This project concerns three main issues: the first one consists of compiling the available MS data from the different researchers and continuing the collection of new data (with a main focus on the Devonian). The second issue focuses on the identification of the nature and origin of the magnetic minerals carrying MS signal. The last issue concerns the application of MS as a correlation, cyclostratigraphic and paleoclimatic tool. The IGCP-580 community consists of 245 researchers, from 45 countries (including Kenya, Namibia, Vietnam, Iran, Uzbekistan, Algeria, Tunisia, Colombia, Nigeria, India, etc.). During the project, we organized five meetings (Belgium, China, Czech Republic, Austria, Canada), three special sessions in international meetings and eight field workshops, as well as various training sessions.

Reconstructing pre-Pangean supercontinents

Twenty-fi ve years ago, initial plans for reconstructing the Rodinia supercontinent were being drafted, based on the growing recognition of correlatable mid-Neoproterozoic (0.8–0.7 Ga) rifted passive margins, many of which were established on the eroded remnants of late Mesoproterozoic (1.3–1.0 Ga) orogenic belts. The 1990s witnessed a surge of interest in Rodinia, with many regional studies of tectonostratigraphy and U-Pb geochronology generally conforming to the “inside-out” reconstruction model: juxtaposition of west Laurentia with east Australia/ Antarctica, north Laurentia with Siberia, and east Laurentia with Baltica and cratons that would later form West Gondwana. This standard model of Rodinia appeared to be converging toward a solution with only minor variations by the turn of the millennium, but new paleomagnetic data and tectonostratigraphic information obtained in the succeeding decade chipped away at various aspects of the reconstruction; several cratons seemed to require exclusion from the supercontinent (thus questioning its very validity), or the landmass might have assembled much later (≤0.9 Ga) than originally envisaged (thus weakening the link to global Mesoproterozoic orogenesis). Although a consensus model of Rodinia’s assembly and fragmentation has arisen from the International Geoscience Programme Project 440 working group, the reconstruction is supported by rather sparse defi nitive-quality data. As the quest for Rodinia matures to a third decade of scrutiny, the search for its predecessor Nuna (a.k.a. Hudsonland or Columbia) is only now reaching a stage of global synthesis between tectonostratigraphic and paleomagnetic data. According to most defi nitions, Nuna assembled at 1.9–1.75 Ga, or perhaps as late as 1.6 Ga, and fragmented during the interval 1.5–1.2 Ga. Because mafi c dike swarms are ideal targets for paleomagnetic study, and because they are now amenable to routine dating by U-Pb on baddeleyite, the global abundance of Paleo-Mesoproterozoic dike swarms might make Nuna more imminently solvable than Rodinia. Prior to the assembly of Nuna, various “supercraton” connections such as Vaalbara, Superia, and Sclavia are only beginning to take form. Unmetamorphosed, early Paleoproterozoic (2.5–2.0 Ga) mafi c dike swarms are commonplace features across the interiors of Archean cratons, and their joint paleo magnetic and geochronologic study can help reassemble the cratons into their supercraton parent landmasses. Progressively older geologic times require consideration of a greater number of potentially independent terranes, each needing individual kinematic constraints. Furthermore, the initial stabilizing events of most extant cratons during Neoarchean time (3.0–2.5 Ga) therefore render global reconstructions older than that interval improbable.

Hydrochemical and PCO2 variations of a cave stream in a subtropical karst area, Chongqing, SW China: piston effects, dilution effects, soil CO2 and buffer effects

The role of CO2 in karst has been of interest for decades, and emphasized by IGCP 379, International Geoscience Programme, UNESCO started in 1995. There are still open questions about the dynamics of carbon in karst systems, particularly the flux of carbon between the surface and subsurface and between different components in the karst subsurface. This research report focuses on the variations of hydrochemistry and PCO2 (partial pressures of carbon dioxide) in subtropical karst groundwater, using high-resolution auto-monitoring hydrochemical data (15-min intervals). The aim of this study was to understand how hydrochemistry and PCO2 in karst systems respond to recharge over different time scales and what the controlling factors are. An auto-monitoring hydrochemistry station was installed about 300 m upstream from the exit in the active stream channel of Xueyu Cave, a typical subtropical karst cave. Four years of high-resolution continuous pH, specific conductivity (Spc), temperature and water-level data were collected. A thermodynamic model was used to link the continuous data to monthly water quality data, allowing the calculation of CO2 partial pressures and calcite saturation (SIc) levels on a continuous basis. Seasonal, diurnal and storm-scale variations were captured in the hydrochemistry and calculated PCO2 records, indicating that the cave stream is a dynamic and variable system. Seasonal features (higher specific conductivity and lower pH in summer; lower specific conductivity and higher pH in winter) tend to covary with temperature which influences the production of CO2 in soils, thus being the driving force for the variations (the soil CO2 effect). Due to the buffer effect of a thick vadose zone and large void cave space, diurnal variations are not obvious compared with epikarst springs in SW China. Storm-scale fluctuations due to storm events occur during the summer rainy season. Piston flow effects, dilution and soil CO2 effects determine the variations in different storm events. At the beginning of the rains, the piston effect drives the variations, characterized by increase in Spc, SIc and pH in the cave stream and decrease in PCO2. With heavy rainfall, decrease in Spc shows control by the dilution effect, while decrease in SIc and pH and increase in PCO2 indicates the greater influence of soil CO2. These results imply that the soil and cave voids are important factors influencing the hydrochemical evolution of karst groundwater. Future works need to use such high-resolution technology widely for tracing the PCO2 and hydrochemical variations in different karst aquifers.

Assessing the Effects of Climate Change on Tropical River Basins

The Tropical Rivers 2012 international conference (http://www.crearamazonia.org/tropicalrivers2012/) was part of the International Geoscience Programme 582 project of The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's International Union for Geological Sciences (UNESCO‐IUGS). The aim of the IGCP 582 is to provide an integrated assessment of long‐term direct effects of climate variability and human‐induced change and management of tropical river basins. This assessment is to be achieved by identification, quantification, and modeling of key hydro‐geomorphologic indicators during the past and present times, and assessment of the potential influences of global change on fluvial systems and the socio‐economic implications of these changes.

Chapter 1 Early Palaeozoic biogeography and palaeogeography: towards a modern synthesis

The benchmark volume edited by Christopher Scotese & Stuart McKerrow (1990), the so-called ‘Green Book’, marked a turning point in Palaeozoic biogeography and geography. The 40 papers in that volume included substantial new data and important syntheses on palaeoclimatology, palaeomagnetism and the distribution of climatically sensitive sediments, but the majority of contributions were on Palaeozoic biogeography. Since 1990 there have been major advances in the taxonomy of Early Palaeozoic organisms, the correlation of Lower Palaeozoic rocks together with numerical methods for the analysis of fossils and their distributions. Moreover and most significantly there has been a quantum leap in the accuracy and precision of palaeogeographic reconstructions, reconciling in many cases palaeomagnetic data and the distribution of fossil organisms. The Early or (Lower) Palaeozoic was an interval characterized by a major radiation of marine life, including not only the ‘Cambrian Explosion’, but also the ‘Great Ordovician Biodiversification’. An International Geoscience Programme (formerly International Geological Correlation Programme, IGCP) was dedicated to the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event (IGCP 410, 1997–2002). This programme focused on the Ordovician, but it also analysed the roots of the Ordovician biodiversification in the Cambrian, the first big mass extinction at the end of the Ordovician, and the Silurian recovery. A subsequent programme, the IGCP 503, ‘Ordovician Palaeogeography and Palaeoclimate’, followed from 2004 to 2009. Several special issues and review papers resulted from this programme, including special issues on Lower Palaeozoic palaeoenvironments (Servais & Owen 2010) and Lower Palaeozoic sea-level and climate (Munnecke et al. 2010). The papers presented here originated from the ‘Absolutely Final Meeting of IGCP 503: Ordovician Palaeogeography and Palaeoclimate’ in Copenhagen, September, 2009 (see Harper et al. 2011). That symposium focused especially on the palaeogeographical dimension of the Cambrian–Ordovician marine radiation; the current volume critically uses the available world pre-drift maps for the …

Preparing for coastal change

Coastal areas are dynamic environments that are home to billions of people worldwide and provide areas of unique natural importance. As such, coastal change is of considerable local and global interest, not only within the geological realm, but also in terms of socioeconomic and biodiversity impacts. An accurate understanding of how changes in relative sea level, geological processes and extreme events, such as storms and tsunamis, have interacted to shape and change the Earth's coastlines over millennia is fundamental to future projections of coastal change. On the basis of this, researchers in these, and various other aspects of coastal change were brought together in late 2010 at the University of Hong Kong for the first meeting of International Geoscience Program Project 588 (IGCP588) – Preparing for Coastal Change. This special issue showcases some of the results presented at this meeting.