13th International Paleolimnology Symposium (IPS2015)
Welcome to IPS 2015
On behalf of the organizing committee and all Chinese paleolimnologists, we are pleased to announce that the 13th International Paleolimnology Symposium (IPS2015) will be held from August 4th - 7th 2015 in Lanzhou, China. Please mark these dates in your calendars now and pass on the information to your colleagues and students. We hope to launch the conference's official website in April this year with additional details.
The guiding theme of the IPS2015 is “Paleolimnological Perspectives on Environmental Change”, however we will also embrace all other aspects related to paleolimnological research. We aim to create an encouraging scientific environment for all paleolimnologists, and provide the opportunity to learn about
the most recent advances, share ideas, synthesize new knowledge and facilitatecollaboration in the paleolimnology community.
We are planning to have about 20 sessions/keynotes and up to 500 presentations (with 130 talks plus posters). We invite paleolimnologists to propose sessions on a topic that matches your research field. The topics can be methodological, regional, thematic, review or issues-based. The sessions will commence with a 30 minute keynote talk followed by 15 minute conference presentations. Your session topic proposal should comprise a title, a short abstract, conveners' name(s), and may also include suggestions for keynote speakers. The IPS2015 committee will select sessions to ensure they cover a diverse range of topics and some proposals may be merged with others if there are not enough scientists to attend the session. Could you please submit your proposal by email to fhchen-IPS2015@lzu.edu.cn by 15 June 2014. We really appreciate your support and contributions.
Brief Introduction to Lanzhou
Lanzhou is the capital and largest city of Gansu Province in Northwest China. It is situated on the upper reaches of the Yellow River that originates from two large lakes in the Tibet Plateau and flows through the city from west to east. Lanzhou is one of the major towns along the old 'Silk Road' connecting China to Central Asia, Mongolia and the Middle East. The city is located at the western margin of the Chinese Loess Plateau. The Mongolia Plateau is to the north and Gobi-sand desert field northwest, while Tibet Plateau, the "third pole" in the world, lies to the west and south. The area around the city has the thickest eolian loess accumulation (>300 m thick) and the oldest loess (older than 21 Ma) in the world. Summer is the monsoonal rainfall season, while the annual precipitation is only ca 400 mm. The summer temperature is around 25 °C. Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport (LHW) is located about 70 kilometers (43.5 miles) from the downtown area. About 30 airlines connect Lanzhou to more than 20 major cities in China (Fig. 1). It takes roughly an hour from the airport to Lanzhou University by the airport shuttle bus ($5 ? 30 RMB per person). The cost for a taxi is about $27(?160 RMB).
Pre-congress Workshops
Workshops will be organized for a 3-day period as part of the pre-congress (1st-4th, August, 2015). We invite you to propose workshop topics that you would like to see, particularly if you are interested in hosting a workshop. For example, Workshop Topic: Early Career Scientists (for graduate students and
post-docs).
Field Excursions
Mid-congress Excursion
We will have a mid-congress afternoon excursion to visit the loess section in Lanzhou, the Yellow River terrace, and the city of Lanzhou.
Post-congress Excursions
We are planning four post-congress field excursion routes (Fig. 2):
1) a 4-day trip to the world famous Dunhuang Caves, Gansu Province, dating from 366 A.D., containing Buddhist statues, frescoes, and valuable manuscripts, and other historical sites and Gobi landscapes along the ancient Silk Road. Delegates can leave from Dunhuang either by planes or by trains;
2) a 3-day trip to the largest inland lake in China, Lake Qinghai on the Tibetan Plateau, viewing the pasture on the Tibetan Plateau, bird island and some cultural sites. Delegates can leave from Xining by planes or by trains;
3) a 3-day trip to paleolake and desert landscapes in Tengger Desert in Minqin County, Gansu Province.
Delegates can leave from Lanzhou after returning from the field; and
4) a 1-day trip to the ‘stone forest’ along the Yellow River in Jintai County, Gansu Province. Delegates
can leave from Lanzhou after returning from the field.
Symposium Venue
The Symposium will be held in Lanzhou University (Fig. 3). There are 6 hotels (Lanzhou Hotel, Legend Hotel, Eastern Hotel, Hanting Hotel, Huachen Hotel and Cuiying Hotel) around the University, all within 15 minutes’ walk to the University. Meals will be served in the University Canteen. There are 5 meetingrooms in 2 buildings for the sessions.
The IPS2015 will be organized by the following institutes:
Host Institutes
MOE Key Laboratory of West China's Environmental System, Lanzhou University
State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology,
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Co-host institutes
Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Qinghai Institute of Salt Lakes, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Key Laboratory of Plateau Lake Ecology and Global Change, Yunnan Normal University
Environment Evolution Commission, Geographical Society of China
Chinese Association for Quaternary Research
National Natural Science Foundation of China
Local organizers:
Prof. Fahu Chen (Lanzhou University)
Prof. Ji Shen (Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology)
Prof. Jule Xiao (Institute of Geology and Geophysics)
Prof. Liping Zhu (Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research)
Prof. Zhongping Lai (Qinghai Institute of Salt Lakes)
Prof. Hucai Zhang (Yunnan Normal University)
The general secretaries: Prof. Cheng Zhao (Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology), Prof. Jiawu
Zhang (Lanzhou University)
Contacting Email: fhchen-ips2015@lzu.edu.cn
