Author: Benjamin Thebaudeau

IQUA’s 2015 Spring Meeting was held on Saturday 25th April at the Department of Geography, NUIM. The meeting was open to all and consisted of short (20 mins) presentations on new and ongoing Quaternary research. The meeting was followed by the IQUA AGM. See the meeting programme.

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IQUA’s 2014 Autumn Symposium took place on Friday November 28th in the Geological Society of Ireland’s Lecture Theatre, Beggar’s Bush, Dublin 4. The symposium theme was, “Lakes: Reflections of our past”, and featured a range of speakers from Ireland and the UK covering different aspects of lacustrine research.

The line-up included Prof. Michael O’Connell (NUIG – Lake sediment archives); Prof. Phil Jordan (University of Ulster – Modern: lake eutrophication trends and recovery); Dr. Aaron Potito (NUIG – Biological proxies: chironomids); and Dr. Micheline Sheehy-Skeffington (NUIG – Turloughs). Keynote lectures will be delivered by Prof. Chris Caseldine (University of Exeter – Growing importance of Quaternary science) and Dr. Cathy Delaney (Manchester Metropolitan University – Glaciolacustrine sediments and landforms).

The full symposia schedule is also available for download in pdf.

Below you can find the details of IQUA’s successful 2014 Field Meeting, “Quaternary & Culture in Limerick”, which took place from Friday 19th to Sunday 21st September. You can also click on the Field Meeting poster to the right to open and save a pdf with event details.

To see individual site locations please go to the OSI Mapviewer and under ‘Search’ by ‘Co-ordinates’ and ‘Zoom to’.

Friday 19th

At Greenhills Hotel Limerick IR 554628, 658280

19.30 – Overview of geology and geomorphology of Limerick/Shannon Estuary Region – Margaret Browne.
20.00 – Tidal Embankments on the Shannon Estuary – Michael Collins (Office of Public Works).

Staurday 20th

10.00 – Mungret limestone quarry & Irish Cement

12.00 – Grange Stone Circle – Rose Cleary & James O’Driscoll (UCC).

Take Route R512 in the direction of Ballyneety IR 563221, 640457

13.00 – Lunch at Reardons (Holycross) on R512 at junction with L1412 IR 563305, 639646.

14.30 – Lough Gur – Rose Cleary & James O’Driscoll (UCC) (Archaeology); Richard Langford & Tara Foley (Hydrogeology); Catherine Dalton (MIC) (Palaeolimnology) IR 564661, 641483.

Evening Free.

Sunday 21st

09.30 – Mooghaun Late Bronze Age Hill fort, Dromoland Co. Clare – Karen Molloy (NUIG).

Take the N18/M18 north towards Galway. Take exit 11 and follow signs to Newmarket-on-Fergus on the R458. Take the first left before Newmarket on Fergus. Continue along for c.2km to Parking area on left hand side of road. IR Grid: 540733, 670287.

11.30 – Lunch at Crottys Pub, Market Square Kilrush IR 499554, 655128

13.00 – Scattery Island (weather permitting) – Various Guides

Meet at Scattery Island Ferries, Kilrush Marina. IR 497146, 652368.

17.00 approx. – Return to Kilrush Marina

IQUA’s Annual Spring Meeting (2014) took place on Saturday 29th March. The Meeting was free to all and was held in the School of the Human Environment, University College Cork. IQUA’s AGM followed, during which we discussed and decided to undertake a bid to host INQUA in 2019 and a joint field trip with the QRA in 2015, as well as plans for 2014’s Field Meeting and Autumn Symposium.

Here is a summary of the fascinating programme at 2014’s Spring Meeting: Peter Woodman asked whether there was life before MIS3, Margaret Browne looked at Mediterranean sea surface temperatures during the Younger Dryas. Staying marine – Mark Coughlan investigated Palaeo-archives on north-west Europ’s shelf seas and Andrea Waitz looked at Coastal peat deposits. Donna Hawthorne examined Fire and vegetation history in the Galtee Mountains and Alwyne McGeever investigated Bog pines in Ireland. Benjamin Gearey and Nora Bermingham took a closer look at Palaeoclimate from a peatland perspective while Susan Lyons studied Plant remains. Mick Corcoran examined Signs of medieval land use in Ireland and Joanna Nolan looked at a Children’s burial ground in Co Mayo.

IQUA thanks the conference organizer, Dr. Ben Gearey of UCC, for all his work towards a very sucessful Spring Meeting.

IQUA also congratulates the winner of the Best Postgraduate Presentation Prize of €100, Alwyne McGeever for her presentation on Bog pines in Ireland.

For more details, see the Meeting Timetable.

IQUA’s 2013 Autumn Symposium took place on Friday November 29 from 9.30am in the Geological Society of Ireland’s Lecture Theatre, Beggar’s Bush, Dublin 4. The symposium theme this year was “Dating the Quaternary” and featured a range of speakers from Ireland and the UK who covered the latest developments and challenges in Quaternary dating. The keynote speaker was Prof. James Scourse, who spoke on “Annually-resolved records of marine climate change from the longest-lived animals on earth”.

Other speakers included Dr. Graeme Swindles, Dr. Gill Plunkett, Prof. Colin Ballantyne, Beatrice Kelly, Dr. Evelyn Keaveney, Dr. Maarten Blaauw, Dr. Matt Telfer and Prof. Ron Pinhasi. See the conference poster and programme.

IQUA thanks Gill Scott of the National University of Ireland, Maynooth, for her lead in organizing this year’s Autumn Symposium.