Date

Session Announcement and Call for Papers
Holocene and Present-day Sediment Budgets in Cold Environments
33rd International Geological Congress
5-14 August 2008
Oslo, Norway

Abstract Submission Deadline: 1 February 2008

For further information, please go to:
http://www.33igc.org


Papers are invited for "Holocene and present-day sediment budgets in
cold environments (HPQ-03)" a symposium being held at the 33rd
International Geological Congress on 5-14 August 2008, in Oslo, Norway.

Session description:
Climate change affects all Earth surface systems but with arguably the
greatest impact in high-latitude and high-altitude cold environments. In
these areas, climate change shapes Earth surface processes not just by
altering vegetation cover and human activities but also through its
impact on frost penetration and duration within the ground surface
layers. All of these factors influence patterns of erosion, transport,
and deposition of sediments and related fluxes (e.g., nutrients,
solutes, carbon). It is a challenge to develop a better understanding of
how these factors combine to affect sedimentary transfer processes and
sediment budgets in cold environments. Baseline knowledge on the
erosion, sedimentary transfer, and depositional processes operating
within Holocene and present-day climates, as landscape systems evolved,
and under given vegetation covers forms our basis for predicting the
consequences of predicted future climate change and related vegetation
cover changes. Much of this information, however, is limited in terms of
spatial and temporal coverage and needs to be extended and consolidated.
Only when these reliable models respond to landscape and climate change
will there be a more complete understanding of probable future changes
to these regions.

Conveners: Achim A. Beylich (achim.beylich [at] ngu.no) and Scott F.
Lamoureux

Abstracts should be submitted by 1 February 2008, at:
http://www.33igc.org