News & reports
Prof. Dalziel awarded prestigious GSA Penrose Medal
The Geological Society of America has recently awarded its highest award for 2021, the Penrose Medal, to Prof. Ian Dalziel of the University of Texas at Austin and a distinguished member of IGCP 648.
Nature Review of State-of-the-Art Supercontinent Research
An article published in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment presents the current state-of-the-art in supercontinent research. The review, led by Prof Ross Mitchell, also includes many current or previous Earth Dynamics Research Group members as co-authors.
Pannotia to Pangaea Special Publication!
This Geological Society, London, Special Publication celebrates the career of R. Damian Nance. The contents include articles that discuss the processes responsible for the formation and breakup of supercontinents and the controversies concerning the status of Pannotia as a supercontinent.
This volume arose from IGCP 648.
Prof. Michael Brown recognised in 2020 Class of AGU Fellows
We are please to announce that IGCP648 member Prof. Michael Brown, from the University of Maryland, has been named in the 2020 list of AGU Fellows. The 62 new Fellows will be honored in a virtual ceremony (since the AGU Fall Meeting is online everywhere this year) on Wednesday, 9th December, at 23:00 UTC.
Congratulations Prof. Brown!
Deep mantle unveils a two-faced Earth
Research led by scientists in the Earth Dynamics Research Group, and published in Nature Geoscience, suggests that the Earth has two chemically distinct hemispheric ‘faces’ or domains.
Image credit: modifed from animation by Sanne Cottaar.
Early whole mantle remixing suggests a start of global plate tectonics before three billion years ago
New work, published in the journal Scientific Reports, found that after the initial chemical stratification and formation of a hard shell in the first billion years of our planet’s history, there was a major chemical ‘stir-up’ some 3.2 billion years ago.
Image credit: National Geographic
New article in Nature Geoscience!
A recently published Nature Geoscience article outlines the critical importance of water in the melting that occurs in subduction zones. This work, lead by Prof. Bill Collins, also discusses how this fluid-fluxed melting influences the mineralogical and geochemical signatures of the continental crust.
Prof. Zheng-Xiang Li recognised in 2019 Class of AGU Fellows
Each year AGU elects Fellows whose visionary leadership and scientific excellence have fundamentally advanced research in their respective fields. Professor Zheng-Xiang Li has been named in the list of 62 new AGU Fellows to be honored at the AGU Fall Meeting 2019 in San Francisco, California.
Congratulations Prof. Li!
IGCP 648 2019 Field Symposium – A Geologic Transect of Madagascar
The IGCP 648 2019 Field Symposium on the Precambrian evolution of Madagascar was well attended, with 31 geoscientists representing 11 countries. Read an entertaining account of the symposium written by Prof. Damian Nance.
Prof. Dietmar Müller awarded the Jaeger Medal
The Australian Academy of Science recently acknowledged the outstanding contributions of 20 of Australia’s leading scientists and future superstars. Prof. Müller was awarded the Jaeger Medal for lifelong achievement, which recognises research on the Earth or its oceans carried out in Australia or with a connection to Australian Earth science.
Decoding the Earth’s rhythms
A new IGCP 648 publication in Precambrian Research highlights how the supercontinents appear to have assembled and broken up through alternating processes of ‘introversion’ and ‘extroversion’. The process spans twice the period of the supercontinent cycle and involves either the survival or regeneration of superoceans and the subduction girdle.
IGCP 648 2018 Field Symposium – From Rodinia to Pangea: Geodynamics, Life and Climate
The IGCP 648 annual field symposium was held in the Three Gorges and Shennongjia regions in South China between 1 – 9 Nov., 2018. A wonderful recount of the symposium has been written by one of the student attendees, Ms Georgina Virgo.
Australian Geoscience Council Convention, 14-18 Oct., 2018
Memebers from IGCP project 648 made a strong showing at the inaugural Australian Geoscience Council Convention (AGCC 2018) held in Adelaide, South Australia.
1.6 Ga crustal thickening along the final Nuna suture
Newly published results in GEOLOGY outline the evidence for the collision of proto-Australia and Laurentia during the final assembly of supercontinent Nuna.
A piece of America found in northern Australia: Legacy of the 1.6-billion-year-old supercontinent Nuna
Some recently published results in the journal GEOLOGY links North Queensland to North America at 1.6 billion years ago during the supercontinent Nuna.
Rodinia 2017 a great success! Townsville, 11-14 June, 2017
The Rodinia 2017 Conference, organised by Professor Peter Betts and the IGCP648 team, was successfully held over 11 – 14 June in tropical North Queensland, Australia.
Workshop on publishing your research by Prof. Murphy
On 11 April, Professor Brendan Murphy (Haydn Williams Fellow) gave a seminar at the Curtin Applied Geology Department on the art of getting published in geoscience journals.
IGCP 648 China National Working Group kick started the compilation of the Asian database
On 24 February 2017, the IGCP 648 China National Working Group was formed in Beijing.
2016 Annual report for IGCP 648
Please click below to read about all of the successes over the past year for project 648.
35th International Geological Congress in Cape Town, 27 August – 4 September, 2016
IGCP project 648 was well presented at the 35th IGC, held during 27 August–4 September 2016 in Cape Town, South Africa.
New Video Log from the Project Secretary
A new video log (vlog) has been established where we hear from the project secretary about some interesting recent publications/outcomes from the IGCP Project 648 community. We welcome any comments or suggestions for furture Six-Forty-Eight vlog posts.
Seventh International Dyke Conference (IDC7) in Beijing, 18-20 August, 2016
IGCP 648 co-sponsored a successful Seventh International Dyke Conference (IDC7) in Beijing (http://idc7.csp.escience.cn).
CCFS Short Course on Snowball Earth by Professor Paul Hoffman
A CCFS-sponsored short course on the global climatic phenomenon known as Snowball Earth was held at Curtin University on 15 July, 2016. The seminars were recorded and are available to view online.
2016 Australian Earth Sciences Convention session – Adelaide, 26–30 June, 2016
IGCP 648 sponsored session on “Supercontinent Cycles and Global Geodynamics” at the Australian Earth Sciences Convention (AESC) 2016 was a success.
2016 GAC-MAC meeting – Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada, 1-3 June, 2016
A project-specific session, convened by IGCP 648 project co-leaders Bruce Eglington and Zheng-Xiang Li, was held during the 2016 GAC-MAC meeting at Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada.
Tectonophysics Special Issue 681 Out Now!
A special, IGCP 648 related, issue of Tectonophysics celebrating the career of Cecilio Quesada was recently published. It was edited by Guest Editors J. Brendan Murphy, R. Damian Nance, and Stephen T. Johnston.
GSL Special Publication 424 Now Available!
The 1st IGCP 648-sponsored volume on Supercontinent Cycles Through Earth History is now available. Edited by Z.X. Li, D.A.D. Evans, and J.B. Murphy.
Hawaii Field Symposium Kailua-Kona, 9-13 December 2015
The first field symposium of Project 648 was successfully (and also enjoyably) held on the Big Island of Hawaii, one of the world’s most active volcanoes, near the center of the Pacific Plate and atop one of the two large low shearwave-velocity provinces (LLSVPs, or superplumes) in the Earth’s mantle.
First Business Meeting of IGCP 648, Montreal, 5 May 2015
The first business meeting of the IGCP 648 project was held at the AGU-GACMAC Joint Assembly in Montreal on 5 May 2015. To read the minutes of the meeting please click below.