RESULTS OF THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ARCTIC MARGINS
(Anchorage Alaska, September 2-4, 1992)
The 1992 International Conference on Arctic Margins (ICAM) was held during September 2-4, in Anchorage, Alaska. The conference featured six workshops, five invited symposia, eleven general oral sessions, twelve poster sessions and five geological field trips. The meeting was hosted by the Alaska Geological Society (AGS) and sponsored by the U.S. Minerals Management Service, AGS, National Science Foundation, Arco Alaska, Amerada Hess, BP Alaska, Chevron, Mobil, Phillips, Shell Canada, Texaco, Union Texas, and Unocal. This was the first of what will be a regular meeting convened every few years in a different northern city--the 1994 ICAM will be in Magadan, Russia. The theme of the first meeting and underlying focus of all subsequent meetings is two fold--(1) understanding the Arctic and (2) international cooperation in the study of Arctic geosciences. The short meeting in Anchorage went a long way toward achieving those goals. The success of this first meeting was due almost entirely to the worldwide desire of Arctic researchers to compare results and work together in understanding the Arctic.
Over four hundred scientists from twelve countries, attended the conference. One hundred ninety eight technical presentations were made; over ninety by U.S. scientists, forty from Russia, thirty two from Canada, twenty three from Scandinavian countries, eight from Europe and six from Australia. ICAM Featured Speakers included Ashton F. Embry and Michael P. Cecile of the Geological Survey of Canada, Calgary, Igor S. Gramberg and Michael K. Kos'ko of VNIIOkeangeologia, St. Petersburg, Edward Shipilov of NIIMorgeophysica, Murmansk, Kazuya Fujita from Michigan State University, and Michael Churkin Jr., an Independent Geologist from Moscow and Yuba City, California. In addition to these eminent guests, we had the pleasure to see presentations by many other well known Arctic geoscience researchers. But, many of the Russian scientists were not well known in the west yet. In fact, for many this was their first scientific presentation outside of the territory of the former Soviet Union. For most, it was their first trip to the United States. Housing our Russian guests was accomplished by Anchorage volunteer host families, most of whom are in some way involved in geology or have an interest in Russian language. Some very close friendships came out of this arrangement and many scientific ties were established.
The program consisted of
Symposia:
Cretaceous Dinosaurs and Associated Terrestrial and Near-shore Records: Implications and Challenges
Reconstruction and Paleogeography of the Arctic: I and II
Geology and Resource Potential of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Regional Terrane Correlations
General oral sessions:
Resource Potential I: Minerals
Resource Potential II: Hydrocarbons
Stratigraphy
Biostratigraphy
Paleoclimate,
Quaternary and Environmental Geology and Permafrost,
Arctic Marine Geology, and
Regional Geophysics and Tectonics I, II, III, and IV;
Poster sessions covering the above general session topics.
Workshops:
The Future of Arctic Paleontology: Challenges, Cooperation and Problem Solving led by Roland Gangloff of the University of Alaska and Phillip Currie of the Royal Tyrell Museum, Calgary,
Pre-Carboniferous Stratigraphy, led by Julie Dumoulin of the U.S. Geological Survey and James Clough of the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys
Evolution of the Canada Basin: Models and Constraints, led by Lawrence Lawver of the University of Texas and Shiri Srivastava of the Geological Survey of Canada,
Proposals for Cooperative Alliances between Science, Industry, and Governments, led by Mike Churkin, Igor S. Gramberg, and William Patton of the U.S. Geological Survey.
In addition we had two special meetings of the Ad Hoc Planning Group for International Cooperation in Canada Basin Tectonic Studies, which consisted of the Canada Basin: Models and Constraints workshop participants and the Magnetic Anomaly Mapping in the Arctic Subcommittee of International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy Working Group V-9, led by Lawrence Lawver and Ralph von Frese of Ohio State University.
An abstract volume containing over 250 abstracts was published in limited supply and given to all participants. The 1992 ICAM Proceedings was published in 1994 as OCS Study MMS 94-0040 and is available free of charge from the MMS Alaska office.
For more information contact:
Dennis Thurston
Minerals Management Service
3801 Centerpoint Drive, Suite 500
Anchorage, Alaska 99503
Email: dennis.thurston@boem.gov
Special Thanks to BOEM, Alaska Region for Hosting this Site