A Brief History of the IAL |
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The idea to form the International Association of Limnogeology came from discussions among four limnogeologists, E. Gierlowski-Kordesch, Lluis Cabrera, Nanna Noe-Nygaard, and Isabel Cojan at the Pennsylvania State University in State College, PA in 1993. After ten years of U.N.-mandated International Geological Correlation Program initiatives to organize scientists around the globe interested in ancient lakes, as spearheaded by the late Kerry R. Kelts, (namely IGCP 219 Comparative Lacustrine Sedimentology in Space and Time (1984-1989) and IGCP 324 Global Paleoenvironmental Archives in Lacustrine Systems (1990-1995)), this group of lake scientists decided to continue communicating and collaborating under a new umbrella - the International Association of Limnogeology. The goal of the association was to have an international conference every four years in a different country for networking purposes and the dissemination of data, to sponsor field seminars every year or so to interesting field areas, and to set-up a listserver so the membership could stay informed of other meetings with lake theme sessions. The first International Limnogeology Congress was held in Copenhagen, Denmark in August 1995 under the direction of Dr. Nanna Noe-Nygaard. At this congress, the International Association of Limnogeology (IAL) began to recruit members. Because of the many scientists from developing countries, it was decided that no dues were necessary. All communication was done by email so no budget was needed; the listserver was free of charge through university computer networks. The proceedings of this conference were published in the journal Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology free of charge. The second International Limnogeology Congress was held in Plouzane, France (Brittany) in May 1999 under the direction of Dr. Jean-Jacques Tiercelin. This conference attracted 150 scientists from 18 countries. The proceedings from this conference were published in the journals Sedimentary Geology and the Journal of Paleolimnology. At this conference, the IAL awarded its first W.H. Bradley Medal to Kerry R. Kelts for his extensive contributions to research in limnogeology and his service to the lake community. Papers from this conference were published in Sedimentary Geology. The third International Limnogeology Congress (ILIC 3) was held in Tucson, Arizona in March/April 2003 under the direction of Dr. Andrew Cohen. Over 270 poster presentations were exhibited during the meeting and three field trips were sponsored. The second W.H. Bradley Medal was awarded to Tom Johnson (USA). The community of lake scientists has grown globally and the IAL is the medium by which these scientists communicate and collaborate. In order to encourage more students and scientists from third world countries to participate in these meetings and seminars, the IAL now wishes to support their travel through monetary donations, hence the need for tax-free status and incorporation. Incorporation occurred in 2003. The fourth International Limnogeology Congress (ILIC 4) was held in Barcelona, Spain under the direction of Dr. Lluis Cabrera in July 2007. This congress was the largest ever with 359 submitted abstracts from scientists of 35 countries. The third W.H. Bradley medal was awarded to Mike Talbot (Norway). Five pre- and post-meeting field trips took participants to lacustrine rocks that ranged in age from the Paleozoic through the Mesozoic. The field trip guide was published by the Geological Society of Spain. Papers from the meeting were published in special issues of Sedimentary Geology and Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. The fifth International Limnogeology Congress (ILIC5) will be held in Constance, Germany along the shores of Lake Constance in August/September 2011. Dr. Antje Schwalb is the chair of the organizing committee. This conference will also sponsor field trips and hopefully publish proceedings. A board of directors is required for the incorporation of the association. The present members of the Board of Directors are:
At its first board meeting in March 2003, it was decided to have 15 board members. If you are interested in joining the board, please submit your intentions to the president at least six months prior to an ILIC meeting. The International Limnogeology Congress (ILIC) is held every four years. The IAL Field Seminars are encouraged to be run independently by limnogeologists wishing to show off their field area and encouraging discussion on various lake issues. The charge for these field trips is at cost and there is no profit for the association. For example, in June of 2001, G.P. Cavinato of Rome, Italy ran a field seminar to the ancient lake sediments in the Apennines of Italy. A field trip guide was published with this trip. In October 2002, Alan Carroll of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and H. Paul Buchheim of Loma Linda University ran a field trip to Wyoming to visit Eocene-aged lake sediments. In August, 2006, Isabel Israde Alcantara and Victor Hugo Garduno Monroy (Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolas de Hidalgo) led a field seminar based in Morelia Mexico to study the Cenozoic lake basins associated the Mexican volcanic belt. Anyone can lead an IAL field seminar; please contact any IAL Board Member for proposals. |