DRI hosts the XVI INQUA Congress in Reno:
A changing Earth offers clues about the future

(Photo by John Doherty)

DRI President Stephen G. Wells, right, opens the XVI INQUA Congress at the Reno Hilton, July 23-30. DRI was the official host and President Wells was chair of the congress. Some 1,100 of the world’s top scientists attended, representing a broad spectrum of disciplines including geology, geomorphology, geophysics, archaeology, anthropology, climatology and atmospheric sciences. INQUA, the acronym for the International Union for Quaternary Research, focuses on the factors influencing conditions on the Earth’s surface during the last two million years—the Quaternary Period—including the advent of humanity in the most recent part of that period. This year’s theme was “Shaping the Earth: A Quaternary Perspective.”

Also on the stage with President Wells, from left, DRI Research Professor Nick Lancaster, congress secretary general; Sir Nicholas Shackleton, University of Cambridge, UK, professor and INQUA president; and Roger Kreidberg, DRI science support editor. The XVI Congress was the first time since 1968 that the Europe-based INQUA has held its quadrennial meeting in North America. More than half of the registered participants came from countries outside the United States. The 2007 meeting will be held in Cairn, Australia.