CZECH IGCP NATIONAL COMMITTEE * SUMMARY REPORT * 1999

 

1. Chairpersons of the Czech IGCP National Committee

Chairman: Jan PASAVA, Czech Geological Survey

Secretary: Jindrich HLADIL, Institute of Geology, Academy of Sciences CR

Date of submission of Report: December 15th, 1999

 

2. Members of the Czech IGCP National Committee:

Vladimir CERMAK, Oldrich FATKA, Olga HODANOVA; Petr JAKES, Petr SULOVSKY, Vladimir SIBRAVA, Miroslav STEMPROK, and Karel ZACEK.

 

3. Number and title of projects in which the Czech Republic has participated:

 

A/ Projects with project leaders from the Czech Republic:

 

Project #405 - Anthropogenic Impact on Weathering Processes

Project Leaders: P. Sulovsky and J. Zeman

Czech Representatives: P. Sulovsky and J. Zeman

Activities of the Czech WG have successfully continued. In January, 1999, Czech representatives have attended the meeting of the international co-ordination group of the IGCP 405 which was organized within the framework of the Mineralogical Society Meeting (Aberdeen, Scotland). Work on the compilation of the Final Report is in advanced stage and this document will be released at the Final Meeting of the Project at the occasion of the 31st IGC (Brazil, 2000) where IGCP 405 holds its own symposium. Czech WG has organized a Summer School in Environmental Geochemistry which was attended by 29 participants (Brno, September 9-19,1999). Similar event is planned for 2000. A database including 6500 references related to various aspects of the Project activities was offered through the Project home page. Czech WG is also actively involved in the preparation of a research proposal within the 5th Framework - a meeting of potential coordinators will take place in Aberdeen, Scotland in January 2000.

 

Project #428 - Climate and Boreholes

Project Leaders: V. Cermak, H.N. Pollack and C. Clauser

Czech Representatives: V. Cermak and J. Safanda

1999 was the second year of the project. Czech WG has found that five-year data series from an experimental hole clearly confirm the present characteristic warming rate of 0.027 K/yr, which is in good agreement with the meteorological data and with the results obtained from an extensive inversion programme to extract the recent climate signal from the borehole temperature logs recorded on the territory of the Czech Republic.

Further studies of the ground surface temperature history based on the inversion of borehole data showed that there exists a strong geographical pattern of regions where the warming rate has been particularly intense, indicating thus a potential impact of human activities. The highest amount of recent warming (last 30 years) of 0.03-0.04 K/yr was obtained for the industrial regions of the Sudety and Ostrava coal basins, while the lowest warming of less then 0.01K/yr corresponds to the south-western and southern slopes of the Bohemian massif, areas generally forested and less populated. These results have been published in the following paper:

Czech participants have attended the following international events: (1)Workshop "Past Climate Change inferred from the Analyses of the Underground Temperature Field", Sinaia (Romania), March 14-17, 1999. Attendance of 25 participants from 10 countries. Abstracts were published as a special issue of the Romanian Journal of Geophysics. The meeting was successful in promoting the project in Romania and got valuable support from the Romanian side. (2) IGCP428 participation in the MC02 Symposium "Detection and Attribution of Climate Change" completed with the Discussion Group Meeting organized as part of the 22nd IUGG General Assembly at Birmingham, UK, July 18-30, 1999, the major project activity of this year. Symposium itself took two days, general attendance was 60-80 people, and from the IGCP participants about 25-30 people participated. The program covered a broad spectrum of methods, data and regions. Discussion group meeting itself specially focused on the IGCP activities; 26 colleagues attended it from 14 countries. All key IGCP 428 researches were present.

List of publications: Bodri, L. - Cermak, V., Climate changes of the last millennium inferred from borehole temperatures: regional patterns of climate changes in the Czech Republic - Part III., Global and Planetary Change, 21, 1999, No.4, p.225-235./ Cermak, V. - Safanda, J. - Kresl, M., Present-day (climate) warming rate - evidence from the underground (paper in preparation)./ Majorowicz, J. (Canada) - Safanda, J. (Czech Rep.) - Harris, R.N. (USA) - Skinner, W.R.(Canada), Large ground temperature changes of the last three centuries inferred from borehole temperatures in South Canadian prairies. Global & Planet. Change, 20, 1999, pp. 227-241.

 

Project #429 - Organics in Major Environmental Issues

Project Leaders: J. Pasava and J. Jenik

Czech Representative: B. Kribek

1999 was the second year of the Project. The activity of the IGCP 429 WG was concentrated on the following five topics: (a) Weathering of Carboniferous organic matter was studied in spoil tips of coal mines in the Plzen Basin 1 to 112 years old. It has been found that amount of oxidative products ("humic acids") gradually increases with the length of weathering. The increasing amount of humic acids correlates with the increasing sorption capacity of the deposited substrates. In spoil tips older than 90 years, the ion exchange capacity and other agrochemical characteristics indicate the development of stabilized soil profile (Kribek, 1999). (b) The study of behavior of selected trace elements in Alpine soils developed in the upper part of the Hauptdolomite (Zeefeld area, Tyrol, Austria) have shown that the mobility of chemical elements differs according to amount and maturity of humus in A horizon. Remarkable enrichment in Hg in raw humus layer (A0) in some of the cambic podzols (20 000% relative to the Hg/Zr ratio in parent black shale) can be explained as the result of in-situ mining and retorting of black shales (Kribek et al., 1999a). (c) The study of Silurian graptolitic black shales in the region of the Carnic Alp (Austria) has shown that some of the facies can be considered as metal-rich black shales and that they can represent a potential environmental hazard especially in areas where carbonate lithology is missing (Pasava and Schoenlaub, 1999). (d) The interaction between uranium and bitumens and radiation-induced changes in bitumen structure and chemical composition has been studied in the Pribram uranium deposit. It has been shown that bitumens efficiently immobilize uranium and other natural radionuclides in hydrothermal solutions. The results indicate that bitumens may be effectively used as a sealing material of high-grade radioactive wastes stored in underground repository sides (Kribek et al., 1999b). (e) The study of organic matter in tin deposits in the eastern part of the Dachang tin district (southern China) confirmed that organic matter played important role in the precipitation of ores. (Pasava et al., 1999).

Two Czech scientists have actively participated in the IGCP 429 Annual International Meeting organized within the framework of the SGA-IAGOD Conference (August 22-25, 1999, London). GEOCHIM 99 - a postgraduate training course on Geochemical Exploration Methods and their Environmental Applications was successfully organized by the Czech Geological Survey and IGCP 429 under the auspices of the Ministry of the Environment, Czech Republic and the Czech IGCP National Committee in Prague and Dolni Rozinka from September 6 to September 20, 1999. The Course was financially sponsored by the Czech Commission for UNESCO, Czech Geological Survey, IGCP 429 and the Division of Earth Sciences (UNESCO/Paris).Twelve scientists from Albania, Argentina, Brazil, China, Jordan, Tunisia, Republic of Congo and Romania were trained both theoretically and practically in the geochemical exploration methods and their environmental applications Director of the Course is Dr. Jan Pasava. Contribution to the Academy of Science, Paris and Elf Aquitaine virtual colloquium "Prospects of science for 2000 and beyond" was made, on behalf of the Czech IGCP 429 WG (Kribek and Landais, 1999) by Dr. Kribek.

List of publications: Kribek B. (1999): Weathering of organic matter in tips of bituminous coal mines, Plzen Basin, Czech Republic. – Abstracts of the 31st International geological congress, Rio de Janeiro, August 6 – 17, 2000 (in print)./ Kribek B. – Landais P. (1999): Organic Matter in ore deposits: From the genesis to the environmental issues. – in Jablon C. (ed): Prospects of science for 2000 and beyond. Int. Colloq., Academy of Science, Paris (in print)./ Kribek B. – Pasava J. – Lobitzer H. (1999a): The behavior of selected trace elements in Alpine soils developed on black shales in the upper part of the Hauptdolomite in the Seefeld Area, Tyrol, Austria. – Abhandlungen der geologischen Bundesanstalt, 56, Wien (in print)./ Kribek B. - Zak, K. – Jehlicka J. – Prokes S. – Kominek J. (1999b): Bitumens in the Late Variscan hydrothermal vein-type uranium deposit of Pribram.- In: Stanley et al. (eds.): Mineral Deposits: Processes to Processing. Proceedings of the 5th biennial SGA meeting and the 10th quadrennial IAGOD meeting, London, UK, p. 239 –242 . Balkema, Rotterdam-Brookfield./ Pasava, J. – Kribek, B. – Dobes, P. – Vavrin, I. – Zak, K. (1999): The role of black shales in the formation of tin-polymetallic deposits in the eastern part of the Dachang tin field, South China. – In: Stanley et al. (eds.): Mineral Deposits: Processes to Processing. Proceedings of the 5th biennial SGA meeting and the 10th quadrennial IAGOD meeting, London, UK, p. 263 –266 . Balkema, Rotterdam-Brookfield. /Pasava, J. – Kribek, B. (eds.) (1999): Geochemical prospecting methods and their environmental applications. – UNESCO/IGCP 429 postgraduate training course textbook, pp. 131. Czech Geological Survey, Prague./ Pasava, J. - H.P. Schoenlaub (1999): Stratigraphy, geochemistry and origin of Silurian graptolitic shales of the Carnic Alps (Austria). Abh. Geol. B.A., Band 56/1, 317-324.

 

B/ Projects with active working groups in the Czech Republic:

 

Project #369 - Comparative Evolution of Peritethyan Rift Basins, O.E.T.

Subproject: Magmatism and Rift-Basins Evolutions

Project Leaders: W. Cavazza, A. Robertson and P. Ziegler

Czech Correspondent: J. Ulrych

Czech Working Group have concentrated on the preparation of a volume of contributions which resulted from the International Conference "Magmatism and Rift Basin Evolution"(subproject 2a), held at Liblice, Czech Republic in September 1998.

 

Project #373 - Correlation, Anatomy and Magmatic-Hydrothermal Evolution

of Ore-Bearing Felsic Igneous Systems in Eurasia

Project Leaders: R. Seltmann, R.I. Grauch and A. Kremenetsky

Czech Representative: M. Stemprok

Activities of the Czech WG have successfully continued. The studies were focused on the role of lamprophyres in the genesis of Variscan granite batholiths of the Bohemian Massif in Central Europe. The comparison two large granite bodies - the Krusne hory-Erzgebirge and the Central Bohemian batholiths showed that they are accompanied by lamprophyres in their bimodal dyke suite.The Krusne hory-Erzgebirge batholith is tin(tungsten)-bearing whereas the Central Bohemian batholith hosts the gold mineralization of quartz and antimony style. It is concluded that lamprophyres do not show a unique association with Au mineralization in the Bohemian Massif but they do mark the pathways by which melts and fluids could reach regions in the upper crust mineralized during the Variscan tectonic cycle. Czech representative took and active part in the IGCP 373 International Meeting" Ore-bearing granitic systems: anatomy and magmatic-hydrothermal evolution" within the framework of the 5th Biennial SGA Meeting and the 10th Quadrennial IAGOD meeting in London, 22 - 25 August,1999 and also in the business meeting held jointly with the IAGOD Working Group on Tin and Tungsten. Another member of the Czech IGCP 373 WG actively participated in the Hutton Symposium on the Origin of Granites which was held at the University of Clermont-Ferrand from September 19 to September 25, 1999. During the field trip to the French Central Massif samples of P-rich granitoids were taken for the purpose of a comparative study with those of the Bohemian Massif. Close cooperation with International Association on the Genesis of Ore Deposits (IAGOD) the Working Group on Tin and Tungsten (WGTT) has continued.

List of publications: K. Breiter - J. Fryda - L. Raimbault - S. Scharbert (1999): Phosphorus-rich granites - a specific feature of European Variscan belt. In: B.Barbain (ed), The Origin of Granites and Related Rocks, 204, Document of BRGM no. 290./ F.V.Holub - M.Stemprok(1999): Variscan lamprophyres and granitoid-related mineralizations: Comparison of the Krusne hory-Erzgebirge and Central Bohemian batholiths. Mineral Deposits: Processes to Processing,C.J.Stanley et al. (eds), A.A.Balkema, Rotterdam/Brookfield, 1999,365 - 368.

 

Project #384 - Impact and Extraterrestrial Spherules

Project Leaders: C.H. Detre, A. Bevan, B.P. Glass, K. Jakabska, Z. Ouyang,

E. Papp, A. Raukas and G. Udubasa

Czech Representative: R. Skala

This project was suspended by a decision of the IGCP Scientific Board in February 1999.

 

Project #386 - Response of the Ocean/Atmosphere System to Past Global Changes

Project Leaders: H. Strauss, , L.R. Kump, D.M. Banerjee and Z. Sawlowicz

Czech Representatives: J. Hladikova and J. Hladil

Successful activites of the Czech WG have continued. Analyses of C and O isotopes from well-preserved calcite of brachiopods improved the previous results about trends in marine paleoenvironment. Middle to Late Silurian trends in d13 C are increasing from fairly negative values to considerable positive values. The Devonian ratios fluctuate to smaller extent (above 2), but Emsian/Eifelian shows again a depression. However, the d13 C values 'do not directly copy' global sea level changes. Sea level from Wenlock to Pridoli dropped but Eifelian/Givetian trend is clearly rising. With no doubts, a depression occurred during Pragian-Eifelian times. There is an inverted coupling of the d13 C and height of sea level during Silurian, but 'high d13 C and highstands' are typical for Devonian. Strong positive anomaly in the d18 O is explained by partial isolation of the deep Barrandian basin water, which was caused by open-sea island barriers. Czech IGCP 386 WG has strongly supported the realization of the project "Silurian-Devonian Scientific Drilling at the Klonk, Barrandian". This project was possible due to the agreement between the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (a project managed from Forschungs Zenter Juelich, U. Mann) and the Institute of Geology, Academy of Sciences. This drilling project was largely supported by the IGCP #386 community. Exchange of data and experience continued as international cooperation in the field. This cooperation attracted people from several research institutions in the Czech Republic, Germany and USA. Concentration of finances and knowledge was effective.

List of publications: Hladikova, J. - Hladil, J.- Jackova, I. (1999): Evolution of Silurian and Devonian sedimentary environments in Prague basin using isotopic compositions of carbon and oxygen in brachiopod shells (Central Bohemia, Barrandian area). - Abstracts and Program of the 3rd International Symposium on Applied Isotope Geochemistry (AIG-3), September 21-25, 2 pp., Orleans./ Hladikova, J. - Hladil, J. - Jackova, I. (1999): Evolution of Silurian and Devonian sedimentary environments in Prague basin using isotopic compositions of carbon and oxygen in brachiopod shells (Central Bohemia, Barrandian area). - Published by Tria Co. Olbramovice for the Institute of Geology ASCR and 3rd International Symposium on Applied Isotope Geochemistry (AIG-3), September 21-25, Orleans (hosted by BRGM). 2 pages of A2 format.

 

Project # 410 - The Great Ordovician Biodiversification Events

Project Leaders: B. D. Webby, M. L. Droser and F. Paris

Czech Representative O. Fatka

The activity of Czech participants of the IGCP 410 was focused on the organization of the 99´s International Meeting of the Project 410 which was held in association with the 8th I.S.O.S. (International Symposium on Ordovician System) - in Prague, Czech Republic from June 21 through June 25, 1999. The symposium was sponsored by IGCP 410 and included series of workshop discussions focusing on the establishment of workable databases, and the programs of work undertaken by the seven regional teams and the other groups. Two pre-symposium excursions (Germany and Poland - 15 participants) and one post-symposium excursion (Bohemia - Barrandian area - 65 participants) were organized. Nearly 140 presentations were given by more than 160 participants from 25 countries during four days of technical sessions. Participants from the following countries attended the symposium: Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Ireland, Morocco, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portorico, Russia, Saudia Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, U.S.A.

List of publications: Excursion guides - Dzik, J., Linnemann, U., Heuse, T. (eds.): Excursion guide Poland and Germany, 13th - 20th June 1999, VIIIth I.S.O.S. Zapadoceske muzeum v Plzni, pp. 1-69. Plzen./ Kraft, J., Kraft, P., Fatka, O. (eds.): Excursion guide Barrandian, 27th June - 1st July 1999, VIIIth I.S.O.S. Zapadoceske muzeum v Plzni, pp. 1-60. Plzen. / Symposium volume - Kraft, P. and Fatka, O. (eds.): Quo vadis Ordovician? - Acta Universitatis Carolinae - Geologica, vol. 43 (1-2), pp. 1-534. Praha. (includes 144 contributions in the form of short abstracts provided by 230 authors).

The following twelve Czech contributions were a part of the Conference Volume: Brabcova, Z. (1999): Ordovician conulariids of the Prague Basin (Czech Republic). In: Kraft, P. and Fatka, O. (eds.): Quo vadis Ordovician? Acta Universitatis Carolinae - Geologica, 43(1-2): 433-434. Praha./ Budil, P. (1999): A review of the stratigraphic distribution of the family Dalmanitidae Vodges, 1880 in the Ordovician of the Prague Basin (Barrandian, central Bohemia). In: Quo Ordov. ... A. Univ. Carol. 43(1-2): 369-371. Praha./ Budil, P. (1999): Some comments on the genus Ormathops Delo from the Bohemian Ordovician. In: Quo Ordov. ... A. Univ. Carol. 43(1-2): 373-376. Praha./ Brocke, R. and Fatka, O. (1999): Acritarch assemblages at the "Tremadocian" - "Arenigian" boundary. In: Quo Ordov. ... A. Univ. Carol. 43(1-2): 245-247. Praha./ Paris, F., Verniers, J., Achab, A., Albani, R., Ancilenta, A., Asselin, E., Chen, X., Fatka, O., Grahn, Y., Molyneux, S.G., Nolvak, J., Samuelson, J., Sennikov, N.V., Soufiane, A., Wang, X., Winchester-Seeto, T. (1999): Correlation of Ordovician regional chitinozoan biozonationa. Quo Ordov. ... A. Univ. Carol. , 43(1-2): 291-294. Praha./ Fatka, O., Pek, I. (1999): Ordovician agnostid trilobites of the Prague Basin (Barrandian area, Czech Republic). Quo Ordov. ... A. Univ. Carol. , 43(1-2): 381-384. Praha./ Horny, R. (1999): Gastropod, paragastropod and tergomyan biostratigraphy of the Ordovician of Bohemia. Quo Ordov. ... A. Univ. Carol. , 43(1-2): 397-400. Praha./ Kraft, P., Lehnert, O. and Fryda, J. (1999): Titerina, a living fossil in the Ordovician: A young protoconodont (?) and the oldest chaetognath animal. Quo Ordov. ... A. Univ. Carol. , 43(1-2): 451-454. Praha./ Kraft, J. and Kraft P., (1999): Graptolite biostratigraphy of the Lower and Middle Ordovician of Bohemia. Quo Ordov. ... A. Univ. Carol. , 43(1-2): 33-36. Praha./ Marek, J. (1999): Ordovician cephalopods of the Prague Basin (Barrandian area, Czech Republic): a review. Quo Ordov. ... A. Univ. Carol. , 43(1-2): 413-416. Praha./ Mikulas, R. (1999): Ordovician of the Barrandian area: development of ichnoassemblages. Quo Ordov. ... A. Univ. Carol. , 43(1-2): 155-158. Praha./ Slavickova, J. (1999): Family Illaenidae Hawle et Corda, 1847 in the Ordovician of the Prague Basin (Trilobita, Czech Republic). Quo Ordov. ... A. Univ. Carol. , 43(1-2): 361-364. Praha.

 

Project #421 - North Gondwanan Mid-Palaeozoic Biodynamics

Project Leaders: R. Feist and J. A. Talent

Czech Representatives: J. Hladil and J. Kriz

Activities of the Czech WG have resulted in the results described in the following text. The "African" character of marine benthic fauna in the Barrandian area contrasts with the abundance of plant spores, which are connected to Ardenne-Rhenish-Moravian assemblages. These assemblages correspond to warm/temperate climatic belt of southern latitudes. Their presence indicates a significant land barrier, which was placed close to Laurussia, sharply limiting the transversal dispersal of the Ibermaghian marine organisms toward the northwest and being responsible for massive overlap of the Ardenne-Rhenish-Moravian spores toward the south-southeast. These faunal-floral relationships constrain any overestimating of the Early/Middle Devonian distances between the north-Gondwanan and south-Laurussian margins. Palaeogeographic model with moderate transversal distances of several hundreds of kilometers corresponds to palaeomagnetically derived latitudes for Lower/Middle Devonian.

List of publications: Hladil, J. - Bek, J. (1999): Distances between the Early/Middle Devonian Gondwana and Laurussia: Faunal and Spore Dispersals as Compared with Paleomagnetic Data on Paleolatitudes. - EGRSE (Exploration Geophysics, Remote Sensing and Environment - Journal of the Czech Association of Applied Geophysicists), p. 29-33, and Color Print Enclosure No. 5, ISSN 1211-359X. Brno.

 

Project #442 - Raw materials of the Neolithic/Aeneolithic polished stone artefacts:

their migration paths in Europe Raw Materials of Neolithic Artefacts'

Project Leaders: D. Hovorka (Slovak Republic)

Czech Representatives: A. Prichystal

This is a new IGCP Project approved in February 1999. The Czech WG has been constituted and the following scientific results have resulted from its activities: (a) comprehensive review of raw materials used for polished stone artefacts on the territory of the Czech Republic was finished and submitted to the Krystalinikum journal, vol. 26 (2000). (b) Two other monographs were also finished. The first one covers the documents about digging of the Neolithic raw materials (A. Prichystal) and the second one summarizes the findings and types of these artefacts on the territory of Bohemia (V. Srein, M. Stastny, B. Sreinova). Major results were discussed at the 1st IGCP 442 Workshop held between June 21-23, 1999 in Bratislava, Slovak Republic. (c) A special study was devoted to the exploitation of stone raw material by People of Moravian Decorative Ceramics. This contribution was presented at the IGCP 442 International Meeting Lengyel '99 in Veszprem, Hungary. (d) Another study concentrated on rare raw materials used for flaking and knapping techniques (A. Prichystal). The major outcomes of this study were reported at the VIII th International Symposium on Flint in Bochum, Germany. Czech participants have taken an active part in the organization of both 99 international meetings (Slovakia and Hungary).

List of publications: Prichystal, A. (1999): Unusual raw materials chipped during prehistory in the Bohemian

Massif (Central Europe). - VIIIth International Flint Symposium, Abstracts, 71-72. Deutsches Bergbau-Museum Bochum./ Prichystal, A. (1999): Lithic raw materials used by the people with Moravian Painted Ware (Lengyel cultural complex) in Moravia (Czech Republic). - Lengyel´99 - IGCP 442, Abstract book, 46-50. Veszprem./ Prichystal, A. (1999): Survey of raw materials quarried for Neolithic polished artefacts in the territory of the Czech Republic. - Newsletter-2 of IGCP/UNESCO 442. Bratislava./ Srein, V. - Stastny, M.- Sreinova, B. (1999): Revision of the minerals of some artifacts from Bohemia. - Newsletter-2 of IGCP/UNESCO 442. Bratislava.

 

4.IGCP meetings held in the Czech Republic in 1999

 

Project #405 - Summer School in Environmental Geochemistry Brno, September 9-19,1999. Attended by 29 participants.

Project #410 -Eight International Symposium on the Ordovician System Prague, June 21-25, 1999. Organized by the Czech IGCP 410 WG.

Project #429 -"Organics in Major Environmental Issues" - Meeting of the Czech WG at the occasion of the GEOCHIM 99 - a postgraduate training course on Geochemical Exploration Methods and their Environmental Applications ( Dolni Rozinka - September 15, 1999).

 

5.IGCP meetings planned for 2000

 

Project #405 - Summer School in Environmental Geochemistry - Brno, September 2000.

Project #429 -GEOCHIM 2000, UNESCO/IGCP 429 postgraduate training course, Dolni Rozinka, September 6 – 20, 2000.

 

6. Other relevant information

 

The Czech IGCP National Committee has organized the Regional Scientific Meeting of IGCP Representatives of the European Countries. The meeting took place in the hotel EXPO in Prague between June 7-9, 1999. Representatives of 15 countries attended the meeting (Austria, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom). The meeting was started by the opening addresses of Zdenek Venera - Director of the Department of Geology, Ministry of the Environment, Czech Republic, Vladislav Babuska - the former IGCP Secretary (UNESCO), representing W. Eder - Director, Division of Earth Sciences (UNESCO), Olga Hodanova - Representative of the Czech Commission for UNESCO, Milos Ruzicka - Director of the Czech Geological Survey and Jan Pasava - Chairman, Czech IGCP National Committee. After the official opening, Jinrich Hladil, Secretary of the Czech IGCP National Committee has invited leaders of the IGCP 405, 428 and 429 - projects co-ordinated from the Czech Republic, who presented brief scientific reports. Representatives of the Czech MAB and IHP National Committees took part in this meeting and introduced their activities related to IGCP (e.g. IGCP 429 which has IGCP and MAB co-leaders). Than, the short summary reports on IGCP activities were presented in alphabetical order of countries by individual national representatives. They focused on update of the IGCP National Committees Summary Reports.

Important outcomes of the Meeting: The national representatives of 15 European countries strongly supported the following concerns over recent uncertainties at UNESCO, presented by the UK representative: *Although listed as one of UNESCO's inter-Governmental programmes together with IHP, IOC, MAB and MOST, it differs from these four bodies in having a "grass roots" tradition and in operating in responsive mode. One result of this is that it is vulnerable to the UNESCO budget: this is subject to variations in response to in-house pressures and bargaining and so it is subject to poaching of its budget by initiatives taken elsewhere within UNESCO./ *In the light of the above, IGCP is subject to an unpredictable and seriously unstable budget. The IGCP's Scientific Board awards seed money to Projects in January, but budgets in UNESCO are never known until June. This situation is not understood by people outside the UNESCO system, and it seriously undermines the confidence of all geoscientists involved in IGCP Projects. There is evidence that it is undermining the excellent reputation of IGCP./ *The duties of the post of IGCP Secretary (UNESCO Grade 5 appointment), secure for over 27 years, have been added to the burdens of

the current Director of the Earth Science Division, and a downgraded assistant post (at "grade 1 or 2") substituted. Even this replacement is not scheduled until the spring of 2000, almost a year after the retirement of the recent Secretary, and so further disrupting the work of the Secretariat. Whilst not wishing to tell another organisation how to conduct its internal business, we are concerned that the lack of information over a long period about the staff replacement gave the impression that UNESCO does not give IGCP support a high priority. It is now evident that these two threats to the IGCP (uncertain budgets and the Secretariat post) cannot be influenced using 'normal' channels. Action is required at the ambassadorial level. Specifically, it will be necessary for national delegations to join together and develop a strong and coherent case for presentation at the biennial General Conference of UNESCO in November 1999.

Further on, the participants agreed and recommended the following : * that the fundamental science should not disappear from IGCP Projects,/ * that better communication based on personal links should be established between IGCP national committees and national committees for other UNESCO programmes (e.g. MAB, IHP, IOC, MOST) in individual countries,/ * that all new IGCP Project proposals should be listed at the UNESCO web site well before their evaluation procedure in order to keep scientific community informed in advance,/ * that IGCP Secretariat should promote a more extensive use of the Internet and encourage the publication in electronic format of the major final products of IGCP projects.

The Czech IGCP National Committee was also one of organizers of the GEOCHIM 99 - a postgraduate training course on Geochemical Exploration Methods and their Environmental Applications. This certificated course took part in Prague and Dolni Rozinka between September 7-20, 1999 and 12 scientists representing 8 developing countries participated in this event.

In order to promote IGCP activities in the Czech Republic the Committee has also continued in seeking funds for the IGCP National Committee special foundation established in 1996. Generous donations which enabled to release eight grants were kindly provided by the following organizations: Severoceske doly, a.s. (SD a.s., Chomutov) - a major sponsor in 1999 GeoTec-GS, a.s. (Praha), Stavebni geologie - GEOTECHNIKA a.s. (Praha). The Czech IGCP National Committee highly appreciates their concern.