Geoscientists to meet in Austin, Texas, to discuss groundwater, petroleum, and Texas geology

Geoscientists from the south-central U.S. and beyond will convene in Austin, Texas, USA, on 4-5 April to celebrate GSA's 125th Anniversary and discuss new science, expand on existing science, and explore the unique geologic and historic features of the region. Topics discussed include water sustainability and groundwater management, petroleum potential in the Gulf of Mexico, engaging the next generation of geoscientists, and climate change and human impacts on Earth's landscapes.

Each day of the meeting will feature special keynote talks, beginning Wednesday evening, 3 April, with Cliff Frohlich, Associate Director of and Senior Research Scientist at the Institute of Geophysics at The University of Texas at Austin, speaking on "Texas Earthquakes: Natural and/or Man Made?"

Thursday morning's keynote, "The Ophiolite Enigma Resolved," will be delivered by John Dewey, a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and a Fellow of the Royal Society of London. Thursday afternoon's keynote by Derek C. Briggs of Yale University and the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History will cover the preservation and evolutionary significance of fossil biotas with a talk titled "The Limits of Fossilization." Briggs will also present the Friday keynote, "The Silurian Herefordshire Fauna—Soft–Bodied Fossils in Volcanic Ash."

Friday's events include the start of the popular HydroDays Workshop, which will run through 7 April, in the surrounding karst areas of Texas. Karst researchers, educators, students, policy makers, cavers, and karst lovers of all persuasions are invited.

More information:
www.geosociety.org/Sections/sc/2013mtg/

Provided by Geological Society of America