Category: Events

On Wed April 26, with Ondřej Mottl we guided a workshop on how to use the new R-package called R-Ratepol to calculate rate of compositional change of your fossil pollen record. Our audience was mostly from the African Pollen Database community but equally useful for those around Latin America.

During almost two hours, we went through the basics of calculating rate of change and how R-Ratepol works. Check out the recording here: LINK

We prepared material that you can easily follow to do it yourself here: LINK

If you interested in more or have question, please check the R-Ratepol website and our publication led by Ondřej Mottl here (send us a direct message if you wish to receive the pdf).

The 14th International Palynological Congress and 10th International Organisation of Palaeobotany Conference will take place in Salvador, capital of Bahia State, Brazil, from 23-28 October 2016. The main theme is “Palaeobotany and Palynology: towards new frontiers”. There will be a session proposed by the PAGES’ LandCover k working group called: “Pollen-based Holocene land-cover reconstructions for climate modelling.”

For more information on the sessions and the venue go to:
http://www.ipciopcbrazil.com/sessions/

 

PAGES’ LandCover6k working group is conducting a workshop, titled “Pollen-based reconstructions of past land-cover change in Latin America” from 29-31 October 2016 in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil. The workshop consists of lectures and practical classes during which we will introduce the techniques necessary for quantitative land cover reconstruction. Registration deadline: until free places are filled. Check the following website for more information:
https://www.uni-goettingen.de/en/541023.html

 

Date & Place: 20 -24 July 2016 in Brasilia, Brazil

Under the Researcher Links scheme offered within the Newton Fund, the British Council. Researcher Links scheme we will be holding a workshop on the above theme in Brasilia on 20 – 24 July, 2016. The workshop is being coordinated by Prof. Carlos Saito (University of Brasilia) and Dr. Bronwen Whitney (Northumbria University Newcastle), and will have contributions from other leading researchers from the UK and Brazil. We are now inviting Early Career Researchers (defined as having up to10 years post-PhD research experience) from the UK or Brazil to apply to attend this workshop. All travel and accommodation expenses will be covered by the Newton Researcher Links programme.

Workshop themes include:

1. climate change and water security;
2. hydrology and flood pulse;
3. tourism and environmental impacts;
4. invasive species and impacts on biodiversity;
5. modelling climate-landscape dynamics;
6. socioenvironmental conflicts;
7. the role of environmental education.

Follow the following link to apply as soon as possible! Deadline is 26th of May! LINK: Newton Fund Researcher Links Workshop

Date: 23-28 October 2016

You still have a chance to submit your abstract! A new deadline was set for the 22nd of May. Please follow the following link for more information: http://pastglobalchanges.org/calendar/all-events/127-pages/1573-14th-international-palynological-congress

TIP!:
Submit your abstract to the LandCover6k session at http://www.ipciopcbrazil.com/
SS23 – Pollen-based Holocene land-cover reconstructions for climate modelling – PAGES LandCover6k. Organizers: Marie-José Gaillard, Sonia Fontana, Ralph Fyfe, Konrad Gajewski, Ulrika Herschuh, Anupama Krishnamurthy, Anne-Marie Lézine, Rob Marchant, Jack Williams & Qinghai Xu

University of Reading | 5th-9th September 2016

This 5 day residential event at the University of Reading aims to bring together young researchers from the palaeo­observational and climate­ modelling communities and show how their skills can complement each other.

The conference will provide participants with the ability to use modelling tools and palaeo-observations to understand the dynamics of past climate changes. Participants will also present their own work through oral and poster presentations and will have a chance to network with their peers at social events.

For more information check the website: INQUA ECR 2016

An abstract for a poster was accepted for the European conference of Tropical Ecology, this year in Göttingen, Germany.
Title: OVERVIEW OF QUATERNARY POLLEN RECORDS IN CENTRAL AND SOUTH
AMERICA, CARIBBEAN AND MEXICO
Authors: Suzette G.A. Flantua, Henry Hooghiemstra, Eric C. Grimm, Hermann Behling, Mark B. Bush, Catalina González-Arango, William D. Gosling, Marie-Pierre Ledru, Socorro Lozano-García, Antonio Maldonado, Aldo R. Prieto, Valentí Rull, John Van Boxel.

Abstract: For over a decade the general impression of research on past and present pollen– vegetation relationships has been incomplete in most of the Neotropics. Continentalscale synoptic studies often missed out on the vast majority of potentially available studies and data. Here we present an inventory of palaeoecological research in Central and South America, Caribbean and México, in terms of pollen records and modern rain samples. With a set of maps, we show that there are over 1400 cores and sections with palaeoecological data and more than 4800 modern samples. Some biomes and regions have a relatively high research density while the scarcity at others offer opportunities for future research. An increasing number of records are sustained by geochronological control points for age modelling, and multi-proxy studies are taking the lead over single proxy publications. This compilation of research shows the numerous innovative topics currently being explored to increase our understanding of palaeoenvironmental settings and modern vegetation-pollen relationships. To impulse divulgation and collaboration, we present the newly developed website and interactive map interface, where this inventory and corresponding reference database is publically available. Researchers and students are invited to pinpoint their new studies and publications, making interactive use of this platform for increased detectability and awareness on available publications.

More info on the event can be found at: http://gtoe-2016.de/

The goal of PAGES’ new LandCover6k Working Group is to achieve Holocene landcover
and land-use reconstructions that can be used to evaluate and improve the scenarios
of anthropogenic land-cover change (ALCC ) by Klein Goldewijk et al. (2011; HYDE) and Kaplan et al. (2009; KK) for the purpose of climate modeling studies (Gaillard et al.
2015). LandCover6k focuses on the last 6000 calendar years, i.e. the period in the Holocene when anthropogenic deforestation occurred in most continents, but it will also cover older periods in regions where significant human impact on vegetation occurred earlier.

Check for more information: PAGES Magazine Vol. 23, No.23, pp. 81, December 2015.
Check the website: www.pages-igbp.org/ini/wg/landcover6k/

From the 23rd of November to the 4th of December 2015, a workshop was held at San Rafael, Mendoza, Argentina. This workshop was designed for postgraduate students and young scientists based in Latin-American institutions, undertaking research in palaeoecology, with emphasis on microfossil analysis: e.g. pollen, charcoal, plant macrofossil remains, ostracods, diatoms, other. It aimed to provide (1) an outline of the principles, methods and applications of selected proxies; (2) an overview of methods and software use for data analyses; and (3) an overview of spatial and evolutionary responses of organisms to different Quaternary driving forces, providing insight into general questions of species survival, spread and biodiversity.

Participants presented a poster related to their research projects, including an abstract which is published online in http://www.uni-goettingen.de/en/488293.html

The workshop report from this event has been published in the PAGES Magazine of December 2015. http://www.pages-igbp.org/

The full program of activities, including abstract presentations can be viewed at:

http://www.uni-goettingen.de/en/413062.html

The PAGES LandCover6k group will have a session at the International Palynological Congress in Brasil in October 2016 called:

SS23 – Pollen-based Holocene land-cover reconstructions for climate modelling.

Organizers: Marie-José Gaillard, Sonia Fontana, Ralph Fyfe, Konrad Gajewski, Ulrika Herschuh, Anupama Krishnamurthy, Anne-Marie Lézine, Rob Marchant, Jack Williams & Qinghai Xu.

You can submit an abstract on your research at http://www.ipciopcbrazil.com/sessions/
SESSION DESCRIPTION

Adequate incorporation of land cover in global and regional climate models is still one of the major priorities in the climate modeling community. The scenarios of past ALCC, e.g. HYDE (Klein Goldewijk et al. 2011), KK (Kaplan et al. 2009) used as descriptions of ALCC in climate modelling, show very large differences (Gaillard et al. 2010). LandCover6k is a PAGES working group that addresses land-cover change during the last ca. 10000 cal. years across the globe for the purpose of climate modelling studies (http://www.pages-igbp.org/ini/wg/landcover6k/intro). LandCover6k brings together palaeoecologists, historians, archaeologists, and modelers to explore and provide new information about ALCC and create products suitable to study land-use change as one of the human-induced climate forcings. This session invites contributions on pollen-based reconstructions of past land-cover characteristics useful for climate modelling (in conjunction with archaeological and historical data if available) at the regional to global spatial scales.

Date: Dec 11-13 2015

Location: AGU Fall Meeting 2015, San Francisco, USA

Objectives:
– Bring members of the Neotoma Community together to meet & socialize
– Showcase & review database, analysis and visualization developments
– Learn about current Community activities
– Get Community feedback on development priorities, policy & governance.
– Establish priorities and outline next steps.