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About INQUA
Quaternary Science (By S.C. Porter)The Quaternary Period spans approximately the last two million years of the Earth's history, an interval dominated by frequent changes in global climate that led to a succession of glacial and interglacial ages. Quaternary scientists study the complex environmental changes of the glacial ages and interpret them using analogies to present-day processes and environments. A major goal of these investigations is to document the pattern and timing of climatic changes in order to understand the causes of changing climate on various time scales. Such investigations are of prime importance: the Earth, influenced by human activities, is entering a time of unusually warm climate in which significant and potentially rapid environmental changes could pose major challenges for human habitability.
Because the study of environmental change is a strongly interdisciplinary one, Quaternary research involves a broad range of specialists in such fields as anthropology, climatology, geochronology, geography, geology, glaciology, isotope geochemistry, palaeocean-ography, palaeoecology, palaeontology, palynology, and soil science. Working collaboratively, Quaternary scientists bring their training and experience to bear in interpreting the changing world of the glacial ages, and their impact on our planet's surface environments, as well as their possible role in the human evolution. Quaternary palaeoclimatic investigations play a key role in helping evaluate the possible future course of climate change on our planet.
International Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA)INQUA, the International Union for Quaternary Re-search, was founded in 1928 by a group of scientists seeking to improve understanding of environmental change during the glacial ages through interdisciplinary research. Today, more than 35 member countries, spread throughout the world, contribute to IN-QUA's vitality. INQUA's basic goal -- promoting improved commu-nication and international collaboration in basic and applied aspects of Quaternary research -- is achieved mainly through the activities of its commissions and committees: Commissions (2007-2011)
Inter-commission activities are encouraged, as are research projects in regions where the Quaternary record is poorly known. The bulk of commission and committee work is carried on through scientific research projects in which international teams of spe-cialists attack a wide array of problems. Current INQUA commission/committee projects can be viewed by clicking here INQUA's financial support for Commission/Committee activities is used to help generate additional support from national and international funding agencies, to organize international work-shops and conferences, and to aid the participation of young scientists, especially those from developing countries. In addition to its own research activities, INQUA actively collaborates with other organizations and programs, including the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU) of which it is a full member, the Past Global Changes (PAGES) program of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program (IGBP), and the International Geological Correlation Program (IGCP).
INQUA CongressesINQUA's quadrennial international congresses, which bring together as many as 1000 scientists from around the world, provide a focus for its many activities. Past congresses have been held in Copenhagen (1928), Leningrad (1932), Vienna (1936), Rome (1953), Madrid (1957), Warsaw (1961), Boulder (1965), Paris (1969), Christchurch (1973), Birmingham (1977), Moscow (1982), Ottawa (1987), Beijing (1991), Berlin (1995), Durban (1999) Reno (2003) and Cairns (2007). At each congress, commissions, committees, and working groups organize symposia that review research results from the previous inter-congress period, and plan activities for the next one. The next INQUA Congress (XVIII) will be held in Bern, Switzerland, in July 2011.
Contact INQUAInquiries regarding INQUA may be sent to the Secretary General at the following address: INQUA Secretary General: Professor Peter Coxon Email: pcoxon@tcd.ie
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updated: Wednesday, March 15, 2006 by pcoxon@tcd.ie |
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An international team of scientists with expertise
in stratigraphy, geo-hronology, isotope geochemistry, invertebrate
paleontology, paleo-ecology, and paleomagnetism investigate sediments
along the desert margin in central China to unravel the history
of monsoon fluctuations during the past 15,000 years. This research
falls within the fields of interest of several of the INQUA Commissions listed above.