Fourth IOC/WESTPAC International Workshop on the Fluvial Sediment Supply to the South China Sea, Bangkok, Thailand, 14–16 December 2011

FIRST CIRCULAR: Call for Abstracts

Description:

As the largest marginal sea in the western Pacific, the South China Sea receives approximately 570 million tons of fluvial sediments annually through numerous rivers in adjacent continents and islands, including both world largest rivers (e.g., Pearl, Red, and Mekong), small mountainous rivers (e.g., rivers in middle Vietnam, southwestern Taiwan, and Luzon), and Gulf of Thailand (the Gulf receives sediments from several large rivers e.g., Chaopraya, Maeklong, and Bangpakong). The river-borne terrigenous sediments have formed high sedimentation-rate deposits mostly on shelves of the South China Sea, and have recorded detailed climatic and environmental changes occurring in land source regions both naturally and anthropogenically.

To further understand how human activities affect sediment discharge and develop scenarios of future changes, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission Sub- Commission for the Western Pacific (WESTPAC) initiated the project “Fluvial Sediment Supply to the South China Sea: Anthropogenic and Natural Aspects (FluSed)” at its 7th Session in May 2008 (Phase I, May 2008-May 2010), and then decided to extend the project at its 8th Session in May 2010 (Phase II, May 2010-May 2012). The project aims to: (i) investigate fluvial sediment discharge to the South China Sea; (ii) determine source and transport of sediments in the South China Sea during the geological past, and (iii) predict the future sediment discharge. In its first phase of implementation, workshops and joint sampling provided a platform for scientists surrounding the South China Sea and in other regions to share their scientific knowledge, address data gaps and stimulate new ideas on the study of the fluvial sediment discharge. The first (27-28 November 2008) and second (26-28 November 2009) workshops were held in Tongji University at Shanghai, and the third workshop (17-20 November 2010) was held in Quezon City, Philippines. The fourth workshop is planned to be held in Bangkok, Thailand.

Call for Abstracts:

The Fourth Workshop welcomes presentations that deal with fluvial sediment records both on land and in the South China Sea. Sub-topics may cover weathering and erosion in river drainage basins, paleoclimate and detrital and chemical fluxes from land to sea, sea level changes and sequence stratigraphy in shelf and slope regions, deep-water sedimentation, and source-to-sink linkages and effects of human activities on sediment discharge.

Venue:

Department of Marine Science, Chulalongkorn University, Phyathai Road, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand.

Schedule:

13 December 2011: Registration (19:00-20:00 meeting of Project Steering Group)
14–15 December 2011: Scientific program (the program sessions will consist of several 30- minutes keynote speeches plus 20-minutes oral presentations to be announced at a later stage)
16 December 2011: Field excursion (Sichang Island)

Important Dates:

30 October 2011: Deadline for travel grant application
10 November 2011: Notification of travel grants
10 November 2011: Deadline for abstract submission (30 October 2011 if applying for a travel grant)
20 November 2011: Deadline for Workshop/Field excursion registration

For more information, please download the First Circular for the Fourth IOC/WESTPAC International Workshop on the Fluvial Sediment Supply to the South China Sea, Bangkok, Thailand, 14–16 December 2011 and the Registration Form.