ISLR18 Conference: Impacts of sea-level rise from past to present

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In 2018, the INQUA conference for early-career researchers (ECR) was held from Sunday 26 to Wednesday 29 August at Utrecht University, the Netherlands. This conference was the first meeting directly co-sponsored in a joint effort by INQUA and PAGES, with the title 'ISLR18: Impacts of sea-level rise from past to present'. This event brought together more than 70 ECR delegates from 23 countries, to showcase worldwide research in a broad range of disciplines working with sea-level change.
 
ISLR18 official conference photo.

The organisation of the conference was led by a local committee of ECRs: Aimée Slangen (NIOZ, Utrecht University), Kay Koster (Geological Survey of the Netherlands), Bas de Boer (IMAU, Utrecht University), Robert Barnett (University of Exeter), Xavier Benito (National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center) and Eduardo Alarcón (UCV), and included renowned academics from the Netherlands, INQUA, and PAGES.

Members of INQUA and PAGES involved in the ISLR18 conference. From left to right: Allan Ashworth (INQUA), Marie-France Loutre (PAGES), Thijs van Kolfschoten (INQUA), Eduardo Alarcón (INQUA), Freek Buschers (INQUA).

The 'ISLR18' meeting started with an ice-breaker in the Botanical Gardens at Utrecht University. The main event included two days of oral and poster presentations by ECRs and invited keynote lectures in four different sessions: 'Past sea-level changes', 'Recent and future sea-level changes', 'Mitigation, adaptation and coastal impacts' and 'Submerged landscapes'. Two extra activities included a one-day field trip to the Rhine delta and Holland coastal plain, and a successful public event on ‘Science and Society’. The public event attracted over 140 attendees from the scientific community, which facilitated a wonderful opportunity to showcase the consequences of sea-level rise for the Netherlands and elsewhere in the world, and how these changes are managed.

Official photo of the field trip to the Rhine delta and Holland coastal plain, part of the ISLR18 Conference.

The conference 'ISLR18: Impacts of sea level rise from past to present' was an international collaboration by INQUA and PAGES, with support from Utrecht University, and cooperation from TNO - Geological Survey of the Netherlands, NIOZ, TU Delft, NESSC, Deltares, and the University of Leiden. Photos and details of the event can be found on the webpage: www.islr18.org.