Conveners:

Peter Marchev
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Geological Institute

Réka Lukács
MTA-ELTE Vulcanology Research Group, Budapest, Hungary

Large explosive volcanic eruptions, in particular supereruptions, are one of the most devastating natural events on Earth that can produce global catastrophic effects. Although very rare, their volcanic products (pyroclastic flows and ash falls) can cover continent-sized areas. The large amounts of released volcanic gases can enter the stratosphere, causing significant climate changes such as decrease of the average temperature. Several epochs of the Cenozoic geological evolution of the Carpatho-Balkan region are characterized by elevated volcanic activity, including large explosive volcanic events. The aim of this session is to provide the newest information about the largest Cenozoic volcanic eruptions in the region. Papers highlighting precise geochronology, climate influence and/or environmental impact of the eruptions are particularly welcome.

Conveners:

Neven Georgiev
Sofia University, Bulgaria

Jan Pleuger
Freie Universität Berlin

Kalin Naydenov
Geological Institute, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences

More than thirty years ago (1989), the controversy over the geological evolution of the Rhodopes provoked two consecutive scientific conferences: Geologica Rhodopica 1 (Smolyan, Bulgaria) and Geologica Rhodopica 2 (Thessaloniki, Greece). These two events acted as triggers of vast modern interdisciplinary studies over the entire Rhodopes and the adjacent areas. For the last thirty years, our knowledge on the overall geology and geodynamic evolution of the Rhodopes (s.l.) has considerably grown and the pioneering interpretations on the geology of the area have been further developed.

Geologica Rhodopica-Updated is a Special Session dedicated to Three Decades of Modern Geological Studies on the Pre-Alpine and Alpine geology of the “Rhodope Massif”. The session covers specialized or interdisciplinary topics, including studies focused on structure, metamorphic history and the age of the main tectonic, metamorphic, magmatic, basin and ore formation events that have been recorded in the rocks of the Rhodope area and adjacent mountain ranges.

The special session is dedicated to the three big researchers of the Rhodope geology Luc-Emmanuel Ricou, Zivko Ivanov and Jean-Pierre Brun.

Conveners:

Franz Neubauer
Paris-Lodron-University of Salzburg, Austria

Yongjiang Liu
College of Marine Geosciences, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China

Namik Aysal
Istanbul University, Engineering Faculty, Turkey

Ianko Gerdjikov
Faculty of Geology and Geography, Sofia University

Many pre-Alpine basement units like ophiolites, magmatic arcs and passive margins of various ages ranging between Neoproterozoic to Triassic times are incoroporated within the Alpine-Himalayan mountain belt. Increasingly available dating results indicate that some of these units can be easily correlated along strike, other units not. Common sense exists that all these units were formed by spreading and consumption of the Prototethys and Paleotethys oceans and related back-arc basins; however, no consistent model exists. Consequently, we call for contributions shedding new light on the development of metamorphic and unmetamorphic basement units between the Alps and Iran.

Conveners:

Franz Neubauer
Paris-Lodron-University of Salzburg, Austria

Shuyun Cao
China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, China

The Permian to Triassic paleogeography and geodynamic evolution of the Alpine-Mediterranean mountain bear a number of unresolved questions and contrasting tectonic models, which are in debate since the benchmark papers of Celâl Şengör. In southeastern Europe, some of the questions are: Which units belong to the Cimmerian microcontinent? Which ophiolites represent the Paleotethys Ocean? What is the Permian to Triassic paleogeography based on sedimentary successions, and how the sedimentary paleogeography is compatible with Permian and Triassic granite belts? Is there an influence of mantle plume tectonics on the western Paleotethys as recent textbook models suggest. We call, therefore, for contributions from all field of geosciences, which shed new details on the Permian to Triassic paleogeography and tectonics of the Alpine-Mediterranean mountain belts and hope that some of these questions can be resolved.

Conveners:

Albrecht von Quadt
ETH Zurich, Institute of Geochemisty and Petrology, Switzerland

Vladica Cvetković
University of Belgrade – Faculty of Mining and Geology, Belgrade, Serbia

István Márton
Dundee Precious Metals, Sofia, Bulgaria and Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj, Romania

Geologic field relationships combined with spatially resolved geochemistry and U-Pb geochronology of zircons allow the quantification of magmatic and tectonic processes leading to ore formation, typically lasting a few hundred thousand years or less. The application of whole rock and mineral chemistry can be used as an exploration vector in various magmatic-hydrothermal systems of the Carpathian-Balkan region, which have different geologic, tectonic and geodynamic history.

We invite authors to send their contributions that address magmatism and related mineralization of the Tethyan realm. By this approach of encompassing all magmatic processes from pre-Cretaceous time to almost present day, we want to gather a large number of specialists in magmatic petrology and economic geology of the entire Carpathian-Balkan region under a single session, because we all use the same tools and the same argumentation. All submitted contributions in full text can be published after a peer-review procedure in a special volume of Geologica Balcanica or Geologica Carpathica.

Confirmed invited speakers:

Tim Ireland
FQM

Urs Schaltegger,
Geneva University, Switzerland

Conveners:

Atanas Hikov
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Geological Institute

Panagiotis Voudouris
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece

Jan Cempírek
Masaryk University, Czech Republic

Rossitsa Vassileva
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Geological Institute

The development of modern society and newly emerging technologies result in a growing demand for rare and trace elements, which have been defined as critical raw materials. The prognoses foresee increasing consumption and importance of these critical raw materials, especially for the transition to a carbon-neutral future. Green elements that play an important role in emission reduction include lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper, vanadium, zinc, niobium, platinum group elements, rare earth elements and many others. New high-tech products require in-depth knowledge of mineral resources and investigation of new and unconventional raw materials and resources. We invite authors to present their results on the mineralogy and geochemistry of critical elements in magmatic, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks, pegmatites, altered rocks and ore deposits, coals, ancient and modern deep-see polymetallic nodules, waste materials and other potential new raw materials. There is a possibility all submitted contributions to be published in a special volume of Geologica Balcanica or Geologica Carpathica.

Conveners:

Robert Moritz
University of Geneva, Switzerland

Ilkay Kusçu
Muğla Sitki Kocman University, Turkiye

Hadi Shafaii Moghadam
Damghan University, Iran

The Central Tethyan orogenic belt has been the subject of abundant studies in the past years, which have provided a wealth of new pieces of information about the Tethyan segment extending from Turkey through the Caucasus to the Iranian tectonic zones. This session is devoted to the geodynamic, magmatic and metallogenic evolution of the Anatolian, Caucasian and Iranian belts. It aims at unveiling the complex regional geological evolution during the convergence and collision of the Arabian, African, Eurasian and other Gondwana-derived terranes related to the closure of different branches of the Neotethys during Mesozoic and Cenozoic times. Participants will have the opportunity to present recent findings and on-going research on a variety of themes, including (1) the geodynamic and orogenic evolution, with successive subduction, collision and post-collision events; (2) the diversity of magmatic products and belts during this complex tectonic evolution; and (3) ore forming processes and timing from local scale ore deposit studies to regional scale metallogenic settings and evolutions.

Session format: keynote talks, oral presentations and posters.

Conveners:

Marko Holma
Muon Solutions Oy, Finland

Elena Kozlovskaya
Mining Engineering and Mineral Processing research group Oulu Mining School, Finland

This Special Session will include invited and contributed abstracts presenting current and future research directions in novel applied geophysics methods. The applications include (but are not limited to) mineral exploration, hydrogeology, soil and rock characterization, mining and geoenergy. All types of abstracts focusing on up-to-date versions of their parent methods are welcomed. We expect contributions describing advantages in conventional geophysical techniques, such as seismic, magnetic, electric and electromagnetic, potential fields, radiometric methods, or newer ones such as X-ray computed tomography, muography, LiDAR or satellite-based remote sensing. The focus can be on reviews, case studies or evaluations of prospects of these methods and techniques, as long as the emphasis is on novelty or fresh ideas. We do not set geographical restrictions for case studies, but results and future project plans related to the Carpathian-Balkan region gain priority lane for talks.

Conveners:

Eleonora Balkanska
Sofia University Department of Geology and Paleontology

Alexandre Kounov
Department of Environmental Sciences, Basel University, Switzerland

Maria Ovtcharova
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Geneva, Switzerland

Description: This session will highlight the advantages of the geochronological and thermochronological methods for solving geological problems related to mineral resources, tectonics, magmatism, metamorphism, etc. Conventional techniques have been applied to new minerals and new techniques have been developed to date minerals, rocks and processes with increased precision, which has led to broadening of the applications of these methods. We welcome presentations that demonstrate the development or application of novel geo-thermochronology techniques in the Carpathian-Balkan region or elsewhere and contribute to understanding of regional geology and global geological processes.

Confirmed invited speakers:

Takahiro Tagami,
Kyoto University, Japan

Richard Spikings,
Geneva University, Switzerland

Conveners:

Zlatka Milakovska
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Geological Institute

Georgi Zhelezov
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, National Institute of Geophysics, Geodesy and Geography

Understanding the geochemical processes controlling the behavior, transport, and fate of inorganics (e.g., metals, metalloids, radionuclides, mineral dusts, salts, and nutrients), organics (e.g., petroleum hydrocarbons, persistent organic pollutants, volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds, and pesticides), and atmospheric particulate matter in surface waters , i.e. river and sea basins, can help to predict their impacts on soils, groundwater, and biota. Hazardous Substances (HSs) pollution could cause severe damage to the ecosystems and could have direct effects on the health of the human population. On the other hand, in transnational river basins, the contamination propagation is often a transboundary problem and requires harmonized methods of analyses and data evaluation. In this session, we invite scientist and stakeholders from operational and monitoring institutions to present data on the chemical status of river basins (including sediments and soil), as well as such focused on harmonized sampling, analyses and assessment techniques, in line with the WFD and EU legislation.

Confirmed invited speaker:

Gyozo Jordan ,
Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Budapest, Hungary