This session offers stratigraphers, sedimentologists and palaeontologists an opportunity to present papers that do not fall within research areas covered by this year's special themes. The poster-only format provides the ideal opportunity to present research specifically targeted to the audience.

Public information:
During the chat, on Mon 04 May, 10:45–12:30, 4 abstracts with uploaded display material will be open for discussion. The conveners will moderate the chat discussion. We will discuss the abstracts in the order in which they appear in the program. After we call an abstract, we ask the author to provide the chat room with a 1-2 line summary of their work (best to copy-paste a pre-written sentence). Then we can proceed to Q&A. We kindly ask all chat room participants to keep the chat on subject, and not to disrupt the Q&A.

Directly observable relative sea-level (RSL) indicators (e.g. shore platforms, coral reef terraces, beach deposits, etc.) are used to constrain paleo sea levels and ice sheet extents and to improve GIA models and future projections of sea-level and ice-sheet responses. Biological proxies associated with and the physical characteristics of RSL indicators can be used to infer paleoclimate and together help inform climatic change and sea-level fluctuations throughout the Pleistocene. The preservation and distribution of these records assists in understanding regional earth surface processes following their deposition.

Recent advances in sea-level studies have called for increased spatiotemporal density of RSL indicators, including submerged and near-field localities, analyzed using standard definitions and methods. This session welcomes contributions to the global record of well-constrained Pleistocene sea-level indicators and associated proxies from a variety of coastal environments, not limited to peak interglacial periods. Re-interpretations of previously described records due to advancement in methods are also welcome.

This session falls within the purview of PALSEA (PALeo constraints on SEA level rise), a PAGES-INQUA Working Group, and the ERC-funded projects, WARMCOASTS and RISeR.

Public information:
The live chat session will be structured to allow abstract authors, who have uploaded display materials, a specific time slot to chat about their research. Four authors will not be presenting their abstracts. Two of them, Jennifer Walker and Andrei Briceag, have uploaded displays and you are encouraged to initiate chat with them through the abstract link.

The final timetable for the session is below. Time is included for general discussion at the end of the session.

Introduction 8:30-8:34
Martina Conti 8:35-8:44
Gino de Gelder 8:45-8:54
Ciro Cerrone 8:55-9:04
Kim Cohen 9:05-9:14
Patrick Boyden 9:15-9:24
Alessio Rovere 9:25-9:34
Teresa Bardaji 9:35-9:44
Carlos Melo 9:45-9:54
Natasha Barlow 9:55-10:04
General Discussion 10:05-10:15

Information about macroevolutionary history, past biodiversity, ecology, biogeochemical cycles, climate and environmental change is enclosed in the sedimentary rock record. This information can be extracted with traditional palaeontological, sedimentological and geochemical techniques. Nonetheless, preservation, diagenesis, erosion, sea-level changes, sampling strategies, and analytical approaches can distort this information and introduce biases in the reconstructions of past Earth processes. This problem has gained wider recognition with respect to palaeontological patterns, particularly in the field of stratigraphic palaeobiology addressing the impact of the sequence-stratigraphic architecture on fossil data. However, similar aspects can as well alter geochemical proxy records. For example, diagenetic trajectories specific to certain lithologies can dictate stratigraphic patterns in stable and radiogenic isotope as well as (trace) elemental composition. Hence, approaches that correct for these artifacts in palaeontological, sedimentological and geochemical time series might share many commonalities. We invite contributions that use frequentist statistics, Bayesian statistics, mechanistic models, and machine learning to tackle these problems across different timescales and disciplines, ranging from the Precambrian up to the Holocene, and which contribute to a holistic understanding of the Earth system.

Public information:
The geological information, obtained through traditional palaeontological, sedimentological and geochemical techniques, is often taken at face value. There is little doubt, that there is valuable information about evolutionary history, past biodiversity, ecology, biogeochemical cycles, climate and environmental change is enclosed in the sedimentary rock record. However, preservation, diagenesis, erosion, sea-level changes, sampling strategies, and analytical approaches can distort this information and introduce biases in the reconstructions of past Earth processes. This problem has gained wider recognition with respect to palaeontological patterns, particularly in the field of stratigraphic palaeobiology addressing the impact of the sequence-stratigraphic architecture on fossil data, as well geochemical proxy records. For example, diagenetic trajectories specific to certain lithologies can dictate stratigraphic patterns in stable and radiogenic isotope as well as (trace) elemental composition. Hence, quantitative approaches that correct for these artifacts in palaeontological, sedimentological and geochemical time series might share many commonalities. We herein highlight novel developments, which can greatly contribute to a more holistic understanding of the earth system. Examples range from the Paleozoic up to the Holocene.

This is a short description of how we will handle our session chat. We have allocated at least 4 minutes of time to discuss individual contributions after a brief introduction (5 minutes). We will finish our session with an open discussion (min. 25 min) allowing for more questions for individual talks (if necessary) as well as more general remarks on topics related with our session.

Scientific drilling through the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) and the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) continues to provide unique opportunities to investigate the workings of the interior of our planet, Earth’s cycles, natural hazards and the distribution of subsurface microbial life. The past and current scientific drilling programs have brought major advances in many multidisciplinary fields of socio-economic relevance, such as climate and ecosystem evolution, palaeoceanography, the deep biosphere, deep crustal and tectonic processes, geodynamics and geohazards. This session invites contributions that present and/or review recent scientific results from deep Earth sampling and monitoring through ocean and continental drilling projects. Furthermore, we encourage contributions that outline perspectives and visions for future drilling projects, in particular projects using a multi-platform approach.

Public information:
Please find below messages to the international scientific drilling community from Gilbert Camoin (Director of the ECORD Managing Agency) and Marco Bohnhoff (ICDP Executive Director), at this most difficult time resulting from the COVID-19 crisis:

Message from ECORD/IODP, Director ECORD Management Agency:

Science knowledge over the last 50 years of ocean drilling has greatly enhanced our understanding of the Earth system. Since its creation in 2003, ECORD has played a leading role in the successive ocean drilling programmes. During 2019, the scientific ocean drilling community took a unique multi-decadal approach to formulating the future of this international program in the new 2050 Science Framework: Exploring Earth by Scientific Ocean Drilling. The unprecedented health crisis related to the COVID-19 disease outbreak is severely affecting the activities of our programme, but the scientific ocean drilling community remains mobilized for a brighter future. In these different times, I do hope that you and your loved ones will stay safe and healthy.

Message from the ICDP Executive Director Marco Bohnhoff:

COVID-19 is having a huge impact on society as a whole and the personal life of most of us has been turned upside down. However, ICDP is also active in times of COVID-19. A new ICDP Science Plan for the time after 2021 is currently being prepared and will be published in the second half of 2020. For those who submitted drilling or workshop proposals this year: the ICDP Panels will meet online between May 11-16 and decide about your proposals. Good news is also that the COSC-2 drilling is Sweden runs very successful, passing a depth of 500 m on April 30. Whether the ICDP training course can take place in October as planned is currently still open. Please check the ICDP website or our social media channels regularly for updates. I wish you a successful EGU session, stay healthy, and I look forward to seeing you again, hopefully soon.

(Bio)minerals, in particular carbonates (but also others e.g. phosphates), play an essential role in shaping our understanding of the evolution of life and the Earth System, and constitute one of the most important archives of past climatic and environmental conditions. Geochemical, petrographic or crystallographic approaches have yielded new insights into the physico-chemical conditions governing their formation, including through biomineralisation pathways. These capture vital information about the environment and fluid chemistry during precipitation in the form of their specific elemental or isotopic signatures, mineralogies or micromorphologies. Over the past decades, a refined understanding of both biogenic as well as abiotic carbonates and other mineral archives, together with the development of new analytical methods and palaeo-proxies, has led to numerous breakthroughs in palaeoclimate research. However, the quality and reliability of the climatic and environmental information we extract from these records depends, critically, on careful proxy calibrations and the evaluation of secondary controls such as kinetic or vital effects and diagenetic influences. This session seeks contributions from sedimentology, geochemistry, (palaeo)biology, and mineralogy that utilise carbonate or other relevant (bio)minerals to improve our understanding of past environmental conditions over a broad range of timescales, including (but not limited to) microbialites, mollusc shells, coral skeletons or foraminifera. We welcome experimental or theoretical studies dealing with culturing of calcifying organisms, synthetic mineral precipitation, transformation or alteration processes, elemental partitioning or isotopic fractionation (to give but a few examples). The aim of this session is to synthesize recent progress on the investigation as well as application of these important archives, and to showcase methodological advances that will help us to build a more comprehensive understanding of past global changes.

Soil-forming processes can be observed at various spatial and temporal scales, including molecular - microscopic - pedon - landscape scales, and a similarly wide range of temporal scales. They are influenced not only by the “classical five” soil-forming factors, but also by the factor “humans”. This holds true not only for the industrial period and urbanized areas, but also for palaeopedological and archaeological contexts.
In this session, we seek abstracts on all of these aspects of “soils as records in time and space”:
- soil processes proceeding at different scales, incl. interactions across scales (both spatial and temporal)
- human-induced soil changes (incl. mechanical and chemical changes, as well as the introduction of artificial parent materials)
- advances in understanding weathering mechanisms and mineralogical changes in time and space
- linkages of spatial patterns and processes in soil landscapes over time
- processes taking place on short time scales, thereby contributing to long-term soil changes
- aeolian inputs to soils, implications for soil genesis and ecologically relevant soil properties
- palaeosols and geomorphic features as records of former environments and human activity
- use of soil classification and soil maps, and possibly links to digital soil mapping and novel soil survey techniques such as proximal sensing technologies and detailed digital elevation models.

Microscopic analysis of sediment micro fractions requires skilled scientists and is a very time consuming and expensive process. As micro particles are diagnostic of paleoenvironments, sedimentological processes and time ranges (biostratigraphy), image recognition through machine learning holds great potential for automating the identification of microfossils, mineral grains, anthropogenic remnants (micro plastics), and other micro particles. Therefore, automatic image recognition and sorting is likely to render data acquisition more cost- and time-effective, not only increasing traceability and reproducibility but also further reducing identification errors.
The purpose of this session is to gather experts from the geoscientific, engineering, and deep learning communities who are collaborating to apply machine and deep learning techniques to microscopic analysis. Given the novelty of this technique, we encourage contributions addressing development in this field ¬¬– for example, production of training sets, laboratory and camera/video setups/designs, applied robotics, and algorithmic developments. We also welcome any geological studies applying machine learning and numerical approaches (including biometric studies) via image recognition of microscopic images.

What role did climate dynamics play in human evolution, the dispersal of Homo sapiens within and beyond the African continent, and key cultural innovations? Were dry spells, stable humid conditions, or rapid climate fluctuations the main driver of human evolution and migration? In order to evaluate the impact that different timescales and magnitudes of climatic shifts might have had on the living conditions of prehistoric humans, we need reliable and continuous reconstructions of paleoenvironmental conditions and fluctuations from the vicinity of paleoanthropological and archaeological sites. The search for the environmental context of human evolution and mobility crucially depends on the interpretation of paleoclimate archives from outcrop geology, lacustrine and marine sediments. Linking archeological data to paleoenvironmental reconstructions and models becomes increasingly important.

As a contribution towards a better understanding of these human-climate interactions the conveners encourage submission of abstracts on their project’s research on (geo)archaeology, paleoecology, paleoclimate, stratigraphy, and paleoenvironmental reconstructions. We especially welcome contributions offering new methods for dealing with difficult archive conditions and dating challenges. We hope this session will appeal to a broad audience by highlighting the latest research on paleoenvironmental reconstructions in the vicinity of key sites of human evolution, showcasing a wide variety of analytical methods, and encouraging collaboration between different research groups. Conceptual models, modelling results and model-data comparisons are warmly welcomed, as collaborative and interdisciplinary research.

Keynote speaker:

Prof. Dr. Andrew Cohen (University of Arizona) will talk on:
Continental scientific drilling: A game changer for understanding ecosystem evolution in Africa.

Dr. Annette Hahn (MARUM, University of Bremen) will talk on:
Driving forces of southern African hydroclimate: integrating source to sink and multi-archive studies.

Public information:
During the two time slots of our chat, on Fri 8 May, 08:30–10:15 (Block I) and 10:45–12:30 (Block II), all of the -so far- 10 abstracts with uploaded display material will be open for discussion. The conveners will moderate the chat discussion. We will discuss the abstracts in the order in which they appear in the program and within the allocated time slot of the Block. After we call an abstract, we will ask the author to provide the chat room with a 1-2 line summary of their work (best to copy-paste a pre-written sentence). Then we can proceed to Q&A. We kindly ask all chat room participants to keep the chat on subject, and not to disrupt the Q&A.

Kindly try to upload your display no later than Thursday evening, to avoid technical difficulties during the session, and we will also make time to discuss your contribution too. Don't hesitate to share your science!

The Ancient Silk Road was one of the most important passages for trans-Eurasia exchange and human migration, which witnessed the rise and fall of ancient civilizations in Central Eurasia. In the central part of the Ancient Silk Road, where the climate condition is extremely dry and the ecosystem is very fragile. The climate and environment changes, especially the water resources change in this area, can significantly influence the spatio-temporal distribution of Ancient Silk Road network, the trans-Eurasia exchange and human migration along the Ancient Silk Road, and the civilization evolution of these ancient cities and towns among the Ancient Silk Road network. This session aims to explore the history of trans-Eurasia exchange, human migration, Ancient Silk Road network spatial change, civilization evolution and climate and environment change, as well as relationship among them in the areas along the Ancient Silk Road. We welcome presentations concerning these issues from multi-disciplinary perspectives, to promote the advancements of research in the field.

Documenting the diversity of human responses and adaptations to climate, landscapes, ecosystems, natural disasters and the changing natural resources availability in different regions of our planet, cross-disciplinary studies in human-landscape interaction provide valuable opportunities to learn from the past. This session is targeted at providing a platform for scientists with common interests in geomorphology and geoarchaeology and, in particular, the complex and integrated nature of the relationship between landforms, geomorphological processes and societies during the Anthropocene, and how this has developed over time at different spatial and temporal scales.

This session seeks related interdisciplinary papers and specific geomorphological or geoarchaeological case-studies that deploy various approaches and tools to address the reconstruction of former and present human-environmental interactions from the Palaeolithic period through the modern. Topics related to records of the Anthropocene from Earth and archaeological science perspectives are welcome. We are inviting contributions that focus on the two-way interactions between geomorphological processes/landforms and human activity. These should show how the various factors of the physical environment interact with the Anthroposphere, and, in turn, how population and individuals may affect (and change) these factors. Furthermore, contributions may include (but are not limited to) insights about how people have coped with environmental disasters or abrupt changes; defining sustainability thresholds for farming or resource exploitation; distinguishing the baseline natural and human contributions to environmental changes. In this context, topics of different fields may be addressed in the session such as landform evolution, landscape sensitivity and resilience in the overall context of the interrelation between geomorphology and society, geohazards, geoheritage and conservation, geomorphological responses to (and evidence for) environmental change, and applied geomorphology. Moreover, issues of scale and hierarchies may be addressed, and methods and applications of dynamic rather than equilibrium ideas and metaphors. Ultimately, we would like to understand how strategies of human resilience and innovation can inform our modern strategies for addressing the challenges of the emerging Anthropocene, a time frame dominated by human modulation of surface geomorphological processes and hydroclimate.

Salt giants are evaporite-dominated deposits that reach volumes of up to thousands of cubic kilometers. They are found throughout the geological record, with depositing ranging in age from the Paleo-Proterozoic (~2000 Ma) to the Messinian (~6.0-5.5 Ma). Salt giants are also widespread, being found on all continents and under the seafloor of the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, the North Sea, the Baltic Sea, and even in certain areas of the Arctic Ocean. Evaporites carry fingerprints of the chemical properties of the water body from which they precipitated. Their study provides important clues to reconstruct extreme paleoenvironmental conditions. Frequently associated with organic matter, they may be a key element to study deep life but also many petroleum systems and waste repositories due to their low permeabilities and excellent cap rock properties
The unique mechanical and chemical properties of halite, the dominant mineral in most salt giants, impacts many aspects of the related (marine) geology. Syn- and post-depositional viscous flow of salt and density contrasts cause diapirism; non-diapiric salt can act as an intra-stratal detachment surface, ‘lubricating’ sedimentary basins. Despite their great scientific and societal relevance, the origins of many salt giants are poorly understood, as is their subsequent development. This session aims to bring together scientists from various disciplines who work on salt giants of different age, provenance and stage of development. By doing this, we will collectively identify common challenges and possible solutions, and foster interdisciplinary collaboration.

This session welcomes contributions from geophysical, geochemical, microbial, numerical, and laboratory studies to promote a better understanding of geological processes and Life in modern and fossil extreme environments, with a special emphasis on mud volcanoes and hydrothermal systems. We encourage multidisciplinary studies related to environments that promoted Life emergence on the Hadean Earth both in past and present extreme terrestrial environments including planetary analogues. We welcome discussion about new approaches to detect and characterise Life in such conditions ranging from biology to geophysics. This also includes geochemical, geological and multidisciplinary datasets investigating piercement structures and their geochemical reactions occurring at depth and at the surface as well as microbiological studies. The session will also discuss the effects of extreme environments on palaeo-climate and how external forcing may affect such systems.

Temperature is a critical parameter in sedimentary basin evolution. Its distribution through time and space highly contributes to address complex geodynamic topics in different settings through realistic thermal history reconstructions. Conventional thermal modeling constraints derived from the inorganic and organic fraction of sedimentary rocks (vitrinite %Ro, apatite fission-tracks, fluid inclusions, etc.) can be affected by important limitations.
Moreover, fluids circulation in fault zones and sediments is often disregarded. In the last years new modelling approaches, innovative thermo-chronology proxies (carbonate clumped isotopes thermometry coupled with laser ablation U-Pb chronometry) as well as Raman and FT-IR on organic matter and biomarker studies have been widely used to overcome these pitfalls. Aim of the session is to provide a worldwide panorama on sedimentary basins whose geodynamic evolution has been constrained by merging conventional and brand-new calibration techniques and thermal modelling approaches. Contributions on different scale mechanisms, also dealing with uncertainties of fluids and technique validation are warmly welcome and would allow for discussion on technique development and presentation of new pilot data.

Plate tectonic processes and associated rates of deformation can be quantified using geomorphological and sedimentary evidence in actively deformed landscapes. A variety of geomorphic markers (e.g., topography and rivers, fluvial deposits, marine terraces) and sedimentary archives (e.g., syntectonic sedimentation, stratigraphic evidence) can be used to constrain rates and dates of tectonic deformation and its processes. Any of these and their combinations, when used in key natural laboratories at adequate time spans, can provide essential clues to understand the tectonic activity and large-scale geodynamic evolution of tectonic plates, and unravel the dynamic changes and tip-points in plate boundary conditions.

We invite contributions that aim to understand the dynamics and evolution of active plate boundaries and deforming plate interiors through geomorphic and/or sedimentary evidence. We welcome all types of studies regardless of their methodology, and especially interdisciplinary efforts, that use geomorphic and sedimentary records to quantify the rates of active deformation and tectonic events, at key sites and across various spatial and temporal scales.

Orogenic plateaus and their margins are integral parts of modern mountain ranges and offer unique opportunities to study the feedback between tectonics and climate through the Earth’s surface. Complex interactions and feedbacks occur among a wide range of parameters, including crustal and deep-seated deformation, basin growth, uplift, precipitation and erosion, landscape and biological change; and lead to (i) the growth, recycling, and destruction of the lithosphere; (ii) shifts in surface elevation; and (iii) high topography that can affect atmospheric circulation. These controlling factors result in plateau lateral growth and its characteristic morpho-climatic domains: humid, high-relief margins that contrast with (semi-)arid, low-relief plateau interiors.

This session aims at creating a discussion forum on the complex interactions and feedbacks among climatic, surficial and geodynamic processes that challenge the notion of a comprehensive mechanism for surface uplift and topographic growth in orogenic plateaus and their margins. To fuel the exchange, we welcome studies of orogenic plateaus worldwide at various scales, from the Earth’s mantle and crust to its surface and atmosphere. We particularly encourage contributions that aim at bridging temporal and spatial gaps between datasets using an interdisciplinary approach or novel techniques.

The nature of science has changed: it has become more interconnected, collaborative, multidisciplinary, and data intensive. The main aim of this session, now in its third edition, is to create a common space for interdisciplinary scientific discussion where EGU-GA delegates involved in recent and ongoing COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology)* Actions can share ideas and present the research activities carried out in their networks. The session represents an invaluable opportunity for different Actions and their members to identify possible synergies and establish new collaborations, find novel links between disciplines, and design innovative research approaches. So far, this session has hosted contributions stemming from 26 Actions, covering different areas of the geosciences (sky, earth and subsurface monitoring, terrestrial life and ecosystems, earth's changing climate and natural hazards, sustainable management of resources and urban development, environmental contaminants, and big data); we are looking forward to receiving new contributions this year.

Same as in past editions, part of this session will be dedicated to presenting and discussing activities carried out in further national and international scientific networks, associations, and collaborative projects.

Moreover, this session is of course open to everyone and abstracts authored by individual scientists or small research teams are most welcome, too. Actually, in 2018 and 2019 we received a very good number of such abstracts, submitted by researchers who wanted to disseminate the results of their studies in front of the multidisciplinary audience that characterizes this session, as an alternative to making a presentation in a thematic session. In fact, contributing to this session can be a productive way to broaden the perspective and find new partners for future interdisciplinary research ventures.

-- Notes --

* COST (www.cost.eu) is funded by the EU and enables researchers to set up their interdisciplinary and international scientific networks (the “Actions”). Academia, industry, public- and private-sector laboratories work together in the Actions, sharing knowledge, leveraging diversity, and pulling resources. Every Action has a main objective, defined goals and deliverables. This session is a follow-up initiative of COST Action TU1208 “Civil engineering applications of Ground Penetrating Radar” (www.gpradar.eu).

This session aims to showcase an interesting diversity of state-of-art advances in all aspects of Phanerozoic stratigraphy, paleoceanography, paleoclimatology, eustasy, and orogeny on long- and short timescales in marine and terrestrial environments. Within this broad topic, contributions include but are not limited to, case studies of organic and inorganic geochemistry, sedimentology, paleontology, and modeling, alongside integrated approaches to understanding evolving earth processes, particularly climate transitions and their consequences. The session will potentially be organized into thematic blocks to allow more in-depth exploration and discussion of topics.

Earth history is punctuated by major extinction events, by perturbations of global biogeochemical cycles and by rapid climate shifts. Investigation of these events in Earth history is based on accurate and integrated stratigraphy. This session will bring together specialists in litho-, bio-, chemo-, magneto-, cyclo-, sequence-, and chronostratigraphy with paleontologists, paleoclimatologists and paleoceanographers. An emphasis is placed upon the use of a variety of tools for deciphering sedimentary records and their stratigraphy across intervals of major environmental change. This session is organized by the International Subcommission on Stratigraphic Classification (ISSC) of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) and it is open to the Earth science community at large.

Public information:
During the chat, on Tue 05 May, 16:15–18:00, all 10 abstracts with uploaded display material will be open for discussion. The conveners will moderate the chat discussion. We will discuss the abstracts in the order in which they appear in the program. After we call an abstract, we ask the author to provide the chat room with a 1-2 line summary of their work (best to copy-paste a pre-written sentence). Then we can proceed to Q&A. We kindly ask all chat room participants to keep the chat on subject, and not to disrupt the Q&A.

Of course, if you upload your display last-minute, we will also make time to discuss yours. Don't hesitate to share your science!

Reconstructions of past climate conditions have clearly demonstrated that the spatio-temporal variability of Earth´s climate is paced by orbital forcing and tectonic processes. However, the mechanisms that translate these forcing signals into climate changes and subsequently geoarchives continue to be debated. We invite submissions that explore the climate system response to various forcing mechanisms, and that test the stability of these relationships under different climate regimes or across evolving climate states during the Phanerozoic. A special focus is given to the Pliocene epoch between ~5.3 to 2.7 Ma, which has been proposed as an analogue for future climates, since it is characterised by CO2 concentrations which align with those recorded today and projected for the end of this century under moderate emissions scenarios.
Submissions exploring proxy data and/or modelling work are welcomed, as this session aims to bring together proxy-based, theoretical and/or modelling studies focused on global and regional climate and ecosystem responses to orbital, tectonic and ocean gateway forcing at different time scales. We also encourage contributions linked to the PAGES-PlioVAR and PlioMIP2 programmes.

Orbital forcing is the most important known external driver of the climate system. Nevertheless, resultant internal climate feedbacks that invoke different climate components across different time scales play a critical role in defining the climate response to orbital forcing. These internal climate feedbacks are particularly apparent at past climate transitions, which cannot be simply explained by orbital changes alone (e.g. glacial inception and termination, the mid-Brunhes transition, the mid-Pleistocene transition, Pliocene-Pleistocene transition).

In this interdisciplinary session, we aim to bring together studies of centennial-to-orbital scale interactions among the atmosphere-ocean system, cryosphere, and carbon cycle that advance our understanding of the climate system during climate transitions. Modeling, theoretical and proxy-based studies as well as novel methodologies that combine the above approaches are especially encouraged.

Keynote talk "Ocean carbon storage and release over a glacial cycle" by Dr. James Rae, School of Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of St Andrews

The geological record provides insight into how climate processes may operate and evolve in a high CO2 environment and the nature of the climate system during a turnover from icehouse to greenhouse state — a transition that may potentially occur in the near future. Palaeoenvironmental records and climate models are two contrasting and yet complementary sources of information on past climates. Both approaches independently generate insights into the dynamics of the climate system. However, more information can be extracted about the drivers of climate variability and change when the two approaches are combined. The aim of this session is to share progress in our understanding of global changes based on the integration of geochemical/paleobotanical/sedimentological techniques and numerical models. We invite abstracts that reconstruct Earth’s climate, investigate how the interconnections of the key surface reservoirs (vegetation-ocean-atmosphere-cryosphere-biogeochemistry) impact climate, identify tipping points and thresholds and studies that use climate model outputs to understand the physical controls of climate variability. Pertinent themes may include greenhouse-icehouse transitions and intervals testifying for extreme changes.
We are pleased to have Martin Ziegler as our invited speaker talking about "Cenozoic climate evolution revealed by clumped isotope thermometry".

Today the Indo-Pacific Warm Pool (IPWP) represents a crucial part of the global thermohaline circulation by acting as a low latitude heat source for the polar regions. The IPWP’s importance in deciphering past and future coupled ocean-atmosphere dynamics is highlighted by the complex interactions between this region and globally significant climatic systems like the Australasian Monsoon, Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD).

This session will explore the IPWP’s role in global climate change and its emergence as a biogeographic diversity hot spot from the geological past to the present. We invite submissions on a broad range of topics in sedimentology, palaeontology, paleoclimatology/-oceanography, and data-model comparisons to assemble a comprehensive view of the Cenozoic evolution of the entire Indo-Pacific Region. We encourage submissions stratigraphically synthesising marine-terrestrial multi-proxy archives, and those investigating teleconnections between the IPWP, zonal (ENSO/IOD), and high latitude processes. Finally, this session will examine how the long-term evolution of the global monsoons and the ITCZ affected feedbacks between IPWP, Australasian hydroclimate and tectonic/weathering processes.

Mountain glaciations provide an invaluable record for past and present climate change. The utilization of this potential is, however, not trivial because of the wide diversity of formerly and currently glaciated mountain ranges. In addition to their dynamic, complex, and interacting geomorphological process-systems, the specific different climatic and glaciological conditions make any subsequent global or intra-hemispheric correlations incredibly challenging. This problem is further enhanced by ongoing specialisation within the scientific community. Working groups primarily focusing on either individual aspects or selected mountain regions often remain somewhat disconnected. Only if significant bridging between specialised research communities is guaranteed, progress with the understanding of the complex interactions within mountain ranges can be achieved.
The primary aim of this session is to evaluate the potential of mountain glaciations records and stimulate further research in this important field of research. Contributions on all relevant aspects of the topic are welcomed, for example: (a) glacial landforms and reconstruction of past glaciers, (b) dating techniques and geochronology compilations, (c) glacier dynamics and palaeoclimatic interpretations, or (d) impacts of ecosystems and human evolution/society. Submissions targeting these connections are specifically encouraged. While we encourage submitting abstracts from all abovementioned topics within the broad field of mountain glaciations, we would like to invite in particular those highlighting the specific conditions of mountain glaciations or addressing the relationship and connections between different of their aspects. To address the diversity of mountain glaciations, contributions from high-, middle-, and low-latitude mountain ranges as well as from continental to maritime regions are all welcomed. The time scale of the session will cover the whole time range from Early Pleistocene glaciations to the LGM and Holocene/modern glaciers.

Solicited talk: Ann Rowan "Accelerating recent mass loss from debris-covered Khumbu Glacier in Nepal, and projected response to climate change by 2200 CE"

The session is a platform for everyone interested in the emerging collaborative research network “The Legacy of Mountain Glaciations” and a related splinter meeting (SMP 1) is scheduled for Wednesday, May 6th at 12.45 in room: 0.51. Please use this opportunity to meet and exchange ideas and expertise.

Arid to sub-humid regions contribute ca. 40 % to the global land surface and are home of more than 40 % of the world’s population. During prehistoric times many important cultures had developed in these regions. Due to the high sensitivity of dryland areas even to small-scale environmental changes and anthropogenic activities, ongoing geomorphological processes but also the Late Quaternary palaeoenvironmental evolution as recorded in sediment archives are becoming increasingly relevant for geomorphological, palaeoenvironmental and geoarchaeological research. Dryland research is also boosted by methodological advances, and especially by emerging linkages with other climatic and geomorphic systems that allow using dryland areas as indicator-regions of global environmental change.
This session aims to pool contributions from the broad field of earth sciences that deal with geomorphological processes and different types of sediment archives in dryland areas (dunes, loess, slope deposits, fluvial sediments, alluvial fans, lake and playa sediments, desert pavements, soils, paleosols etc.) at different spatial and temporal scales. Besides case studies from individual regions and archives, methodical and conceptual contributions, e.g. dealing with the special role of eolian, fluvial, gravitational and biological processes in dryland environments, their preservation over time in the sedimentary records, and emerging opportunities and limitations to resolve past and current dynamics, are especially welcome in this session.

Interactions between tectonics, climate and biotic evolution are ideally expressed in Asian orogenies. The ongoing surge of international research on Asian regions enables to better constrain paleoenvironmental changes and biotic evolutions as well as their potential driving mechanisms such as global climate, the India-Asia collision and the tectonic growth of the Himalayan-Tibetan and other Asian orogens. Together these efforts allow for a comprehensive paleogeographic and paleoenvironmental reconstructions that enable to constrain climate modelling experiments which permit validation of hypotheses on potential interactions.
The goal of this session is to assemble research efforts that constrain Asian tectonic, climate (monsoons, westerlies, aridification), land-sea distribution, surface processes or paleobiogeographic evolution at various timescales. We invite contributions from any discipline aiming for this goal including broadly integrated stratigraphy, tectonic, biogeology, climate modelling, geodynamic, oceanography, geochemistry or petrology.

We are presently facing the 6th mass extinction, what can be learnt from the past ?
The session will focus on the six major Phanerozoic mass extinctions including the Anthropocene one, but contributions from other environmental crises (e.g. OAEs, PETM) are also welcome.

Seismic data analysis and interpretation is the key tool enabling the unravelling of the geometry and evolution of subsurface geology.
In the last decades, significant improvements in the acquisition and processing techniques have been combined with a growing coverage of high-resolution and broadband frequency seismic data, including the public release of large volumes of 2D-3D hydrocarbon industry-sourced data. This led to shedding genuine new light on the subsurface geology of large portions of the Earth’s continental margins, and enabled improved quantitative rock property parametrization.
In addition, seismic reflection data have recently appealed to an ever-growing scientific audience, including exploration geoscientists, marine geologists, seismic geomorphologists, stratigraphers and structural geologists. This growing community has been collectively working towards the integrated application of seismic interpretation techniques, including seismic attribute analysis, for industrial purposes as well as for environmental and academic research studies.
In this fast-developing context, it is fundamental to share the knowledge between different research and application approaches. Therefore, the aim of this session is to provide the state-of-the-art and new prospective in seismic data analysis and quantitative subsurface characterization for structural geology and tectonics, but also for exploration seismology, marine geology, seismic geomorphology, stratigraphy, etc.
We thus invite submissions that aim to present new insights in the seismic interpretation of: i) shallow high-resolution seismic data; ii) deep industrial subsurface data (e.g., for hydrocarbon exploration); and iii) ultra-deep lithospheric seismic data. Studies integrating different approaches and disciplines are particularly welcomed.

Tectonic models represent hypothesised approximations of past geological events that best fit and explain a pre-defined collection of data points. Incorporation of geological observations with an understanding and consideration of geodynamic concepts, geological processes, and physical properties of geological materials ensures that empirical models are consistent with physics and mechanics, and that numerical models are consistent with field observations and petrological constraints. Integrating these constraints and concepts within a plate kinematic framework that considers the size, distribution and past and present motions of tectonic plates ensures that models are consistent with global plate tectonics. Incorporating this information with interpretations of the distribution of subducted slabs and plumes in the upper and lower mantle allows for construction of tectonic models that consider the global tectonic-mantle system. We welcome state-of-the-art, multi-disciplinary, and multi-scale studies that combine geological and geophysical constraints from the bedrock record with interpretations of deep mantle structure and/or plate kinematic datasets to investigate geodynamic events of past and present. These may include, but are not limited to studies of rifting and ocean spreading, subduction, orogeny and terrane accretion, and dynamic topography. We expect this session to include a diverse range of multi-disciplinary studies united by a common goal of understanding the geological evolution of our planet’s tectonic-mantle system.

The acquisition of new datasets at Continent-Ocean-Transition (COT) of rifted margins show significant variability, highlighting the diversity of parameters controlling the rift-to-drift transition during continental breakup. This session aims at gathering new observations, concepts, and techniques to investigate deformation mechanisms, dynamics of continental breakup, and generation of the first oceanic crust. We invite presentations focusing on topics from rifting up to incipient seafloor spreading, including studies discussing the structure and nature of COT, tectonic, magmatic, rheological and thermal evolution, melt initiation, sedimentary records, deformation mechanisms, and alteration processes. We encourage contributions using multidisciplinary and innovative methods including marine geosciences, seismology, sedimentology, field geology, geochemistry, thermochronology, plate reconstruction, and modelling. We welcome studies based on worldwide natural examples from active rifts, fossil and present-day rifted margins. Special emphasis will be given to presentations that integrate comparisons of tectonic and magmatic processes between continental and oceanic settings that could improve our understanding of continental breakup and mid-oceanic ridge initiation.

Foreland basins archive the evolution of mountain belts, and fold-thrust belts are the linking elements between orogens and their forelands. One of the major challenges for understanding the dynamics of mountain belts is untangling the different driving mechanisms that can be responsible for exhumation of mountain belts and foreland basin deformation. In particular, the signals of plate convergence (i.e. tectonic processes), deep seated (mantle-related) processes, or climate differ with respect to their timing and spatial extent. Ensuing foreland deformation is also influenced by heterogeneity of the deforming material. For instance, stratigraphic variations of the foreland basin fill or its substrate or inherited structures add complexity to the system.

In this session we invite contributions focusing on linking mantle and crustal tectonic processes with foreland basin dynamics. This includes addressing the interplay between plate boundary forces and of inherited structures, sediment production, transport and deposition (source to sink studies), and studies constraining timing of orogen processes at different scales (ranging from short term deformation rates to longer term rates based on cosmogenic nuclides or thermochronometry). We particularly invite contributions linking geophysical with geological data including 3-D models and addressing their respective uncertainties. We encourage the presentation of field-based studies as well as analog and numerical models highlighting the link between foreland basin deformation and mountain building processes including deformation of fold-thrust belts.

The dynamics of the solid Earth and its surface are strongly affected by their interplays as well as biota and climate. These constant feedback systems operate at a variety of spatial and temporal scales that are regulated in a complex system of interactions. For instance, in the critical zone -the terrestrial surface environment ranging from the lower atmosphere to the solid parent material- interplays not only regulate manifold ecosystems and bio-geochemical cycles, but also shape the Earth’s surface at the interface between atmosphere and lithosphere, where soils develop. At much larger scales, plate tectonics and global geodynamics control the physiography, climate and hydrosphere, which in turn strongly affect the surface feedback processes via tectonic, biological, geochemical and hydrological processes. Ultimately, climate and tectonics are prominent macro-ecological drivers of landscape development. But even though the underlying geology and tectonic processes have long been recognized as driving parameters, this is much less so for biological processes. The driving force of microorganisms, plants and animals on the shape of land surfaces is still poorly understood.
Understanding the links between the solid Earth and the external spheres of the Earth has experienced a recent upswing due to advanced analytical techniques, but also thanks to fostered interactions between researchers from different disciplines. This session aims to bring together geoscientists, soil scientists, climatologists and biologists working at different spatial and temporal scales on the feedback interactions between geology, topography, soils, climate and biosphere at the surface of the Earth. The session covers a multitude of topics from the microbial to the geodynamics time and space scales.

Solicited speakers are:
Carina Hoorn, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Alexia Stokes, French National Institute for Agricultural Research – INRA, France
Veerle Vanacker, University of Louvain, Belgium

During the past decades numerous sediment records have become available from lakes and paleolakes through shallow and (ICDP) deep drilling. These records have proven to be valuable archives of past climate and environmental change, human activities as well as tectonic and volcanic activity. We invite contributions emphasizing quantitative and spatial assessments of rates of change, causes and consequences of long- and short-term climate variability, impact, magnitude, and frequency of tectonic and volcanic activity as deduced from sedimentological, geochemical, biological, and chronological tools.

Carbonate sediments have formed in a wide range of marine and non-marine settings through the complex interplay of biological, chemical and physical processes. Precisely-constrained high-resolution stratigraphic records are important for determining past global change and understanding the complex interactions between climatic processes, oceanographic and environmental changes, the biosphere, stratigraphic architecture and subsequent diagenesis. The complementary study of Recent carbonate depositional systems is crucial to the interpretation of these systems. This session invites contributions from general and interdisciplinary topics within the diverse fields of Carbonate Sedimentology, Stratigraphy and Diagenesis, the session will explore a broad range of geochemical, biological and stratigraphic proxies and their applications to understanding Earth history.

Sedimentary features are the result of a complex interplay between the erosion, transport and deposition of grains under the action of a current - unidirectional, oscillatory, combined or multidirectional. Each sedimentary structure represents a palaeo-surface expression, and therefore they contain a record of the geomorphology driven by the flow conditions, provided that one understands how to invert and read this history. Evidence for sedimentary processes have been identified on Earth but also on other planetary bodies, based on observations of geomorphic features and stratigraphy.

Bedforms and other sedimentary features are generated in a wide variety of environments, including: aeolian wind-driven transport, rivers, estuarine, lacustrine and deltaic settings, pyroclastic currents, sub- and pro-glacial environments, shorelines and continental shelves, offshore storms, turbidity currents and subaqueous mass flows, deep-sea currents and extra-terrestrial bodies.

This session will host contributions regarding many aspects of the complex interaction between flow, bedforms and sedimentary structures on Earth and planetary surfaces, from their description to interpretation, and from modelling to experiments to field quantification, with studies ranging across differing spatial and temporal scales, from large-scale organisation patterns down to the grain-scale, as well as the palaeo-dynamic and morphodynamic aspects of control and feedback between flow, sediment transport and bedform evolution, on Earth and on Mars.

The varied contributions from field, laboratory, theoretical, and numerical approaches are intended to advance our knowledge of how to decipher the information contained in terrestrial and extra-terrestrial sedimentary bedforms, and help foster fruitful discussions between sedimentologists, geomorphologists, hydrologists, physicists and all researchers working on understanding bedform dynamics and their sedimentary products.

The interactions between aerosols, climate, and weather are among the large uncertainties of current atmospheric research. Mineral dust is an important natural source of aerosol with significant implications on radiation, cloud microphysics, atmospheric chemistry and the carbon cycle via the fertilization of marine and terrestrial ecosystems.
In addition, properties of dust deposited in sediments and ice cores are important (paleo-)climate indicators.

This interdivision session is open to contributions dealing with:
(1) measurements of all aspects of the dust cycle (emission, transport, deposition, size distribution, particle characteristics) with in situ and remote sensing techniques,
(2) numerical simulations of dust on global and regional scales,
(3) meteorological conditions for dust storms, dust transport and deposition,
(4) interactions of dust with clouds and radiation,
(5) influence of dust on atmospheric chemistry,
(6) fertilization of ecosystems through dust deposition,
(7) any study using dust as a (paleo-)climate indicator including investigations of Loess, ice cores, lake sediments, ocean sediments and dunes.

We especially encourage to submit papers on the integration of different disciplines and/or modeling of past, present and future climates.

The consideration of entire “Source to Sink" systems is one of the most recent and challenging advance in earth surface dynamics and sedimentary geology. To understand S2S systems it is necessary to promote and enhance sharing of knowledge and concepts between previously separated disciplines that are involved in the analysis of S2S systems. In particular, studying S2S systems implies knowledge and skills from (1) geomorphology, which focuses on the understanding of erosion processes driving landform evolution and sediment fluxes, (2) stratigraphy/sedimentology, which focuses on the nature of sedimentary deposits and their distribution in time and space, and (3) tectonics and structural geology, which set the dimensions, geometry and dynamics of source/transfer areas and sedimentary basins (the sink). Understanding S2S systems also involves other Geosciences disciplines such as paleoclimatology and geochemistry, because they allow quantifying the factors controlling S2S systems dynamics (climatic controls on erosion, solid vs solute fluxes, etc.). The sedimentary record captures Earth’s environmental evolution through interactions with humans. Developing innovative strategies for shaping a sustainable future and responsible growth requires a holistic understanding of Earth’s resources and our impact on the environment that can be informed by the sedimentary archives.
The aim of this general session is to invite contributions from all S2S-related research fields in order to foster connections around a central theme and kickstart the emergence of a European S2S research community. In addition, we propose to use this session to initiate discussion on developing a strategy for S2S training of early-stage researchers to enable them to address the sedimentary system from source to sink and inform them of potential career opportunities in both the academic and non-academic sectors. We welcome all S2S-related and environmental signal propagation contributions, and in particular those addressing 1) perennial S2S dynamics in response to long-term tectonic and climatic signals in deep time, 2) transient S2S dynamics in response to short-term signals and extreme events, 3) generic S2S models inspired by nature, 4) relationships and feedbacks between human and S2S systems, 5) global to regional scale source-to-sink systems and the economic benefits of thinking in this mindset, and 6) innovative S2S training in academia and industry.

The erosion, transport, temporary storage, and deposition of sediment govern the fluxes and distribution of solid mass on the surface of the Earth. The rate and extent of these mass fluxes is controlled by the complex interplay of surface processes that act across a range of spatial and temporal scales. Understanding these processes and their dependence on external forcing (e.g. climate, tectonics) and internal feedbacks (autogenic dynamics) is instrumental for constraining the cycling of sediment from source-to-sink, and to invert sedimentary archives for past environments.
A growing body of studies continues to develop a process-based understanding of the coupling between climate, tectonics, erosion, and the transport of solids across large catchments. Important insights into sediment recycling and residence time have been provided by recent advances in geochemical and geophysical techniques, highlighting the dynamic nature of sediment transport. However, many challenges remain including; (1) fully quantifying the time- and spatial scales of sediment transport, (2) tracking signals across catchments and inverting sedimentary records, and (3) assessing the importance of large and infrequent events in controlling erosion and sediment transport.
In this session we welcome field-based, experimental, and modelling studies, that (1) constrain mechanisms, rates, and scales of erosion, transport, and deposition processes, (2) analyse the influence of internal and external forcing on these processes, (3) investigate the propagation of geochemical or physical signals across the earth surface (such as changes in sedimentary fluxes, grain size distributions, cosmogenic nuclide concentrations) and (4) invert sedimentary archives to learn about past environments. Contributions across all temporal and spatial scales are welcome. We particularly encourage early career scientists to apply for this session.

Solicited presenter: Elizabeth Dingle (Simon Fraser University)

Hydro-geomorphic connectivity has emerged as a significant conceptual framework for understanding the transfer of surface water and materials (e.g., sediment, plant propagules, and nutrients) through landscapes. The concept has had particular success in the field of catchment hydrology and fluvial geomorphology, but has also been employed in, for example, studies of soil erosion and hydrochory, and in neurosciences and social sciences. Connectivity as applied in various disciplines can be a transformative concept in understanding complex systems, allowing analyses of how such systems behave in terms of scaling, catastrophic/phase transitions, critical nodes, emergence and self-organization. However, recent research also highlights the widespread nature of natural longitudinal disconnectivity in river systems, such as beaver dams, log jams, lakes and wetlands. These and other forms of natural disconnectivity can have large spatial and temporal implications on ecological, geomorphic, hydrological and biogeochemical processes through buffering water and material fluxes. We aim to create a diverse interdisciplinary session that reflects a broad range of research seeking to illustrate the role of connectivity on various spatial scales as well as implications of and temporal and spatial variability of disconnectivity. We hope to use the session to develop a discussion of the dual roles of connectivity and disconnectivity to generate a basis for an integrated framework to be applied across the sciences in hydro-geomorphic systems and for managing complex systems and guiding river restoration.

This session provides a platform for cross-disciplinary science that addresses the continuum of the river and its catchment to the coastal sea. We invite studies across geographical borders; from the source to the sea including groundwater, and across the freshwater-marine water transition. The session welcomes studies that link environmental and social science, address the impacts of climate change and extreme events, and of human activities on water and sediment quality and quantity, hydromorphology, biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and ecosystem services of River-Sea systems, and that provide solutions for sustainable management of the River-Sea social-ecological system.
We need to fully understand how River-Sea-Systems function. How are River-Sea-Systems changing due to human pressures? What is the impact of processes in the catchment on marine systems function, and vice versa? How can we discern between human-induced changes or those driven by natural processes from climate-induced variability and extreme events? What will the tipping points of socio-ecologic system states be and what will they look like? How can we better characterise river-sea systems from the latest generation Earth observation to citizen science based observatories. How can we predict short and long term changes in River-Sea-Systems to manage them sustainably? What is the limit to which it is possible to predict the natural and human-influenced evolution of River-Sea-Systems? The increasing demand to jointly enable intensive human use and environmental protection in river-sea systems requires holistic and integrative research approaches with the ultimate goal of enhanced system understanding.

Physical erosion and chemical weathering dominate the evolution of surface and subterranean mountain landscapes over a wide range of temporal and spatial scales. Signals from processes such as glacial and periglacial erosion, chemical and mechanical weathering, rockfall, debris flow, and hillslope failure are preserved in downstream patterns of river and/or valley aggradation and incision as well as in the development of karst systems and their sediment deposits. These processes react to a wide spectrum of external and internal forcings (e.g. climatic variability, tectonic activity, spatial patterns of vegetation or sudden internal failure) often making it difficult to relate these records back to specific causal mechanisms.

Measuring the dynamical interplay of erosion, weathering and sedimentation as well as quantifying the rates and fluxes associated with the evolution of mountainous landscapes, is a crucial but challenging component of source-to-sink sediment research. Many of these processes also pose serious threats to the biosphere, mountain settlements and infrastructure. Understanding and quantifying these processes from both a societal and engineering point of view will lead to better preparation and responses to such threats.

We welcome contributions that (1) investigate the processes of production, mobilisation, transport, and deposition of sediment in mountain landscapes, (2) study the development of cave systems and their sedimentary archive in relation to external base-level conditions and internal dynamics (3) explore feedbacks between erosion and weathering due to natural and anthropogenic forcings, (4) address the role these processes play in the larger source-to-sink context, and (5) consider how these processes contribute to natural hazards specific to mountain landscapes. We invite presentations that employ observational, analytical or modelling approaches in mountain environments across a variety of temporal and spatial scales. We particularly encourage early career scientists to apply for this session.

Fluvial systems cover much of the Earth’s surface; they convey water, sediments, and essential nutrients from the uplands to the sea, intermittently transferring these materials from the river channel to the adjacent floodplain. The routing of sediment and water through the channel network initiates complex process-form interactions as the river bed and banks adjust to changes in flow conditions. Despite their ubiquity, little is known about the landform-driven morphodynamic interactions taking place within the channel that ultimately determine patterns of sedimentation and changes of channel form. Furthermore, an understanding of how these process-form interactions scale with the size of the fluvial system is also currently lacking. Recent technological advances now afford us the opportunity to study and to quantify these process-form interactions in detail across a range of spatial and temporal scales. This session aims to bring together interdisciplinary researchers working across field, experimental, and numerical modelling approaches who are advancing methods and providing new insights into: (i) sediment transport and morphodynamic functioning of fluvial systems, (ii) evaluating morphological change at variable spatial and temporal scales, such as at event vs. seasonal scales, and (iii) investigating the sedimentology of these river systems. We particularly welcome applications which investigate the morphodynamic response of fluvial systems in all types and sizes and we specifically would like to encourage submissions from early career researchers and students.

The ocean floor hosts a tremendous variety of forms that reflect the action of a range of tectonic, sedimentary, oceanographic and biological processes at multiple spatio-temporal scales. Being able to map the form and shape of the seabed and to understand the processes that shape it is a major prerequisite to ocean and coastal management, nature conservation and hazard assessment as well as a key objective of national and international research programmes and IODP expeditions.

High quality seafloor maps are integral to submarine geomorphic investigations. Acoustic remote-sensing technologies (singlebeam, multibeam, sidescan, interferometric and synthetic-aperture sonars), deployed on various platforms, are fundamental to seafloor mapping. In relatively shallow and transparent waters, optical methods such as aircraft and satellite-based remote sensing and LIDAR are being employed with increasing success. Seafloor maps, especially when combined with sub-seafloor and/or seabed measurements, provide an exciting opportunity to integrate the approaches of geomorphology and geophysics, and to extend quantitative geomorphology offshore. 3D seismic reflection data has also given birth to the discipline of seismic geomorphology, which has provided a 4D perspective to continental margin evolution. Innovative processing and classification software, image analysis, machine and deep-learning applications are advancing developments in seabed-recognition techniques.

The aim of this interdisciplinary session is two-fold: (i) to highlight recent advances in seabed mapping and classification, and (ii) to improve the understanding of the causes and consequences of geomorphic processes shaping underwater landscapes, including submarine erosion and depositional processes, submarine landslides, sediment transfer and deformation, volcanic activity, fluid migration and escape, faulting and folding, among others. Contributions to this session can include work from any physiographic region, ranging from shallow coastal settings to abyssal plains and deep-sea trenches. Datasets of any scale, from satellite-predicted depth to ultra-high resolution swath bathymetry, sub-surface imaging and sampling, are anticipated.

Tsunamis and storm surges pose significant hazards to coastal communities around the world. Geological investigations, including both field studies and modelling approaches, significantly enhance our understanding of these events. Past extreme wave events may be reconstructed based on sedimentary and geomorphological evidence from low and high energy environments, from low and high latitude regions and from coastal and offshore areas. The development of novel approaches to identifying, characterising and dating evidence for these events supplements a range of established methods. Nevertheless, the differentiation between evidence for tsunamis and storms still remains a significant question for the community. Numerical and experimental modelling studies complement and enhance field observations and are crucial to improving deterministic and probabilistic approaches to hazard assessment. This session welcomes contributions on all aspects of paleo-tsunami and paleo-storm surge research, including studies that use established methods or recent interdisciplinary advances to reconstruct records of past events, or forecast the probability of future events.

Examining coastal morphodynamics from the nearshore through to inland dune systems is fundamental in understanding their short- to long-term behaviour. Coastal processes operate across large spatial and temporal scales and therefore comprehending their resulting landforms is complex.

At the coast, dunes provide the physical barrier to flooding during high energy storms, while beaches and nearshore areas help dissipate storm impact through a series of dynamic interactions involving sediment transfers and at times rapid morphological changes. Investigation of complex interactions between these three interconnected systems has become essential for understanding coastal behaviour.

This session, sponsored by the IGU-UGI Commission on Coastal Systems, welcomes contributions from coastal scientists interested in the measurement and modelling of the nearshore 25-0 m zone (waves, currents and sediment transport) and terrestrial coastal processes (on beaches and dunes) and responses within the three sub-units at various scales. The session will highlight the latest research developments in this part of the planet's geomorphic system and facilitate knowledge exchange between the submerged and sub-aerial coastal zones.

Significant advances in our understanding of the Meso- and Cenozoic development of polar regions have been made over the last two decades by studying continental shelf, slope, or deep sea sediment sequences. These include more detailed reconstructions of the climatic, oceanographic, and tectonic evolution of high northern and southern latitudes over various time scales, as well as reconstructions of past ice-sheet dynamics and studies of marine geohazards. Data have been obtained from conventional and high-resolution 2D and 3D seismic surveying, as well as from a growing number of short sediment cores and targeted high-latitude deep drilling expeditions (e.g. IODP, MeBO). The same techniques have also been applied in fjords, which link the continental margins with the interiors of landmasses and act as “miniature ocean basins”. Fjord settings allow us to study similar geological processes to those that acted on glaciated continental margins but at smaller scales. The variety of sediment inputs (e.g. glacial, fluvioglacial, fluvial, biological) to fjord basins along with relatively high sedimentation rates provides the potential for high-resolution palaeoclimatic and palaeooceanographic records on decadal to centennial timescales.

The aim of this session is to bring together researchers working on both northern and southern high latitudes processes spanning various spatio-temporal scales, to provide a multi-disciplinary picture of polar regions. We welcome submissions focussing on (but not limited to) records of past climatic change, tectonics, oceanography and ecosystems, and the associated links with ice sheets and glacier behaviour, ice-ocean interactions and glacial-marine sedimentary processes. Studies that integrate different datasets, data types, or that marry observations with numerical modelling are also encouraged.

Bedrock depressions are common features of past and modern glacial landscapes. They are often referred to as overdeepenings and act as important terrestrial archives. Which processes control the formation and geometry of glacial overdeepenings? How did they evolve over time? Which chronological and environmental information can be derived from the sedimentary record? These are the questions that will be addressed in this session.

The timing, extent and driving mechanisms for the last major glacial cycle are increasingly better understood but remain poorly constrained for previous cycles. The early conceptual models, initially adopted to understand older glaciations, neglected much of the spatial and temporal complexity of glaciations. Furthermore, they suffered from a lack of constraining data, which is mainly due to the surficial incompleteness of the terrestrial records.
Some of these limitations may be overcome by studying the sedimentary infill of subglacially formed basins. It is generally accepted that glacial processes, supported by subglacial water, have carved these overdeepenings. However, considerable uncertainties remain concerning the erosional mechanisms and physical constraints.
The sedimentary record in overdeepenings is diverse, including glacial, glacio-lacustrine and fluvial sediments. Investigated records suggest that many overdeepened basins contain a multi-cycle infilling and erosion history. Overdeepenings may therefore act as sediment storages on the timescale of several glacial-interglacial cycles, and provide a valuable record of a landscape’s glacial history. The combination of sedimentological, geophysical, and chronological methods together with the application of landscape evolution models provides new insights into the development of these bedrock features and allows constraining the environmental conditions in the geological past.

This session shall stimulate discussions concerning the formation of subglacial depressions and that aim at deciphering the sedimentary fill of overdeepenings. Contributions may include investigations based on field observations and/or modelling of modern, Quaternary and pre-Quaternary glacial settings. Possible topics cover: (a) glacial and interglacial stratigraphic successions preserved in overdeepenings, (b) subglacial erosion and deposition, (c) glaciation chronology, and (d) landscape evolution.

The session presents applications of paleontology and paleoecology to evolutionary theory, environmental and paleoenvironmental reconstruction, biostratigraphy, paleoclimate, paleoceanography, sea-level change, and population dynamics, as well as modern experimental approaches and culture studies centered on the same fields. The diverse session program will stimulate discussions and the exchange of ideas which will lay the foundations for future paleontological research, particularly as a tool to understand the ongoing change of the global ecosystem.

Public information:
Three main themes: Episodes in the History of Life, Recent Impacts on Ecosystems, Macroevolution

Aquatic sediments are ecologically diverse and important environments, which shelter and support a variety of benthic animals and plants. Active reworking and ventilation by macrobenthic communities control the physical structure and biogeochemistry of sediment by redistribution of solids (e.g. organic carbon sources), solutes (e.g. oxygen), and microorganisms. Examples vary in scale and effect, including oxygen entrainment into riverbeds by nesting salmon, rapid bioirrigation of deep burrows by benthic invertebrates, large-scale sediment remodelling by tunnelling crustaceans (bioturbation), and oxidation of metals in the rhizosphere of macrophytes. Much of our knowledge on sediment biogeochemistry, hydrodynamics and geomicrobiology is derived from studies on undisturbed sediments, yet the majority of sediments are in some way affected by the macrobenthos. We therefore aim to gather novel research that links physico-chemical and microbial properties of the sediment to its (macro)biological community. This session invites contributions describing interactions between benthic fauna and the sediment, with emphasis on sediment biogeochemistry, hydrodynamics, geomicrobiology or molecular interactions. We aim to balance research that is field-, laboratory- and computational-focussed.

In an era of science that uses numerical models to better understand physical processes occurring on Earth, there is an increasing demand for robust empirical datasets to constrain these simulations. Generating robust datasets, especially data sets that express stratigraphic positions of sedimentary deposits as ages, often involves the use of multiple, independent geochronological techniques (e.g. different kinds of radioisotopic dating, magneto-, bio-, cyclostratigraphy and sedimentologic relationships along the succesion). The integration of these different kinds of geochronological information often poses challenges.

Age-depth models are the ultimate result of the integration of different geochronological techniques, and range from linear interpolation to more complex Bayesian techniques. We will introduce several modelling concepts and their application in a range of paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic records. The Short Course will provide an introduction to the field of (Bayesian) age-depth models and will highlight the assumptions, benefits and limitations of different model approaches. It will prepare participants for independent application of suitable age-depth models to their data.