Newsletter items: 1. Summer 2023 Update; 2. NORDQUA at INQUA Roma 2023; 3. Meetings of interest.
Dear NORDQUA colleagues,
Many of you will have already heard the sad news that Professor Svante Björck passed away in May this year (https://www.geology.lu.se/article/professor-svante-bjorck-has-passed-away).
Svante was known to many of you as an active member of the Nordic Quaternary community and made numerous significant contributions to Quaternary Research. We plan to take some time to remember him during the upcoming NORDQUA Meetings at INQUA and NGWM. Our condolences and thoughts are with all Svante’s family, friends and colleagues.
1. Summer 2023 Update
We hope all NORDQUA members are enjoying the summer break and/or any planned fieldwork activities. For those attending INQUA in Rome, please keep reading for details on a NORDQUA gathering during the Congress.
- New Early-Career Representative: We are delighted to announce a new member of the NORDQUA Secretariat team. Aloïs Revéret based at The Arctic University Museum of Norway has joined us as our new ECR Representative. Aloïs is a PhD student studying palaeoecosystems, and specialising in the use of ancient plant DNA from lake sediment cores. His geographical focus is on the ecological communities of northern Europe and how they changed with the end of the last glacial period. We welcome Aloïs to the Secretariat!
- Vacancies in the Secretariat: As previously announced, we believe that the time has come for a refresh of some of the Secretariat team. To allow for some continuity we propose not to have a complete change in the leadership, but are planning for both Anna and Ívar to step down as Leader and Excursions Officer, respectively. While we have enjoyed our tenure, we believe in bringing new ideas to NORDQUA and are looking for volunteers to take over both positions, ideally following the NGWM in January 2024. If you are interested in getting more involved in NORDQUA leadership then please do get in touch!
2. NORDQUA at INQUA Roma 2023
- Anna and Alois will be attending in Rome and we hope to meet many of you there. We have arranged a NORDQUA members meeting after the end of the sessions at 18:15 on Saturday 15th July. You will find us in room 9, 2nd floor of the Scienze della Terra building (use entrance Mineralogia). Details can also be found in the online programme here: https://inquaroma2023.exordo.com/programme/session/425
- We have invited the INQUA Representatives from the three Nordic countries who currently have representation with INQUA, and they will give some brief updates about the INQUA Committee activity that is occurring in tandem to the scientific sessions. In case you are not aware the national representatives are as follows:
- Finland – Niko Putkinen, GTK
- Norway – Inger Alsos, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Josten Bakke, University of Bergen, and Fredrik Høgaas, NGU
- Sweden – Stefan Wastegaard, Stockholm University
- We will take a members photo and, for anyone who is interested, expect to move on to an informal social gathering for some drinks and food afterwards.
- You can find a schedule and list of presentations here: https://inquaroma2023.exordo.com/programme/at-a-glance
- We highlight that NORDQUA-member Inger Alsos will give a Plenary on Tuesday 18th July 14:00-14:45.
- Note that updates on organisation and practicalities for the congress are being communicated via the @INQUARoma2023 Twitter: https://twitter.com/inquaroma2023
- To all members not attending in Rome we hope to see you in Iceland in August, or at the NGWM in Gothenburg in the new year!
3. Upcoming meetings of potential interest
- PalaeoArc conference and 2023 NORDQUA Excursion, Akureyri Iceland, 27 August to 2 September 2023.
- You can find updates and further details here: https://www.palaeoarc-nordqua2023.is/
- Registration to both the conference and excursion (or both) is still open, though we advise participants to book accommodation and travel as soon as possible: https://www.palaeoarc-nordqua2023.is/registration
- QRA 60th Anniversary Annual Discussion Meeting. Changing Resolutions in Quaternary Science, Manchester, 4-7 January 2024: https://www.qra.org.uk/event/qra-60th-anniversary-annual-discussion-meeting/
- NGWM36, Gothenburg, 10-12 January 2024 https://www.ngwm2024.se
- 52nd Arctic Workshop, UMass Amherst, 13-16 March 2024.
As ever, you will find updates on upcoming meetings and news via the NORDQUA webpages: https://nordqua.org/events/
Best wishes,
Your NORDQUA Secretariat: Anna Hughes, Ívar Örn Benediktsson, Henry Patton, Daniel Wiberg and Aloïs Revéret