JOIN US IN A GEOSCIENCE PARADISE : A VOYAGE THROUGH EARTH HISTORY IN THE KINGDOM OF MOROCCO

International Dyke Conference (IDC 8) The Eighth International Dyke Conference (IDC8) will concentrate on mafic dyke swarms and related igneous associations, e.g., sills, kimberlites, syenites, carbonatites, volcanics, etc., with a special emphasis on paleogeographic reconstruction based on geological comparison and paleomagnetic studies. The IDC8 continues the every-five-year tradition started in Toronto, Canada in 1985 by Prof. Henry C. Halls (University of Toronto). Subsequent IDCs were held in Australia (1990), Israel (1995), South Africa (2001), Finland (2006), India (2010), and China (2016). Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs 8) The Large Igneous Provinces conference series was launched in 2007 in Novosibirsk, Siberia, Russia by Prof. Alexander Borisenko and colleagues, and continued in 2009 – Novosibirsk, Russia; 2011 – Irkutsk, Russia; 2013 - Hanoi, Vietnam; 2015 – Irkutsk, Russia; 2017 - Chengdu, China- Tomsk,Russia ; 2019. The early conferences (2007-2015) were focused on the LIP record of Asia, but the Tomsk and the current focus is more global. The Eighth LIPs conference will again cover all aspects of this rapidly expanding field. Rodinia 2023 The Rodinia conference series began in the form of Tectonics Special Research Centre symposia (1998-2005) that morphed into dedicated Rodinia conferences in Edinburgh, Scotland (2009); Moscow, Russia (2013); and Townsville, Australia (2017). The planned Rodinia meeting herein will continue this tradition and join forces with the other conference series noted above. West African Craton’s magmatic and tectonic legacy, 2 Ga to present The last decade has revealed West African craton as a key witness to long-term magmatic and tectonic processes, occupying important locations within ancient supercontinents. Consolidated in the Eburnian tectonic event of ca. 2.0 Ga, the craton was long thought to be devoid of significant igneous and tectonic activity until Pan-African orogenesis 1500 million years later. However, numerous ca. 1.7-1.4 Ga mafic dyke swarms have now been dated by U-Pb on zircon and baddeleyite, both in northern and southern regions of the craton; these swarms may be related to protracted breakup of the Nuna supercontinent. In addition, craton-wide ca. 0.9-Ga mafic magmatism could be related to the Rodinia supercontinent cycle. Lacking direct records of late Mesoproterozoic (“Grenvillian”) orogenesis, West African craton has typically been relegated to the outer periphery of Rodinia reconstructions, but recent documentation of Mesoproterozoic detrital zircons within autochthonous cover strata suggests some proximity to Rodinia-forming orogens. Within the post-Rodinia era, West African craton’s margins were all reworked by the ca. 0.6-0.5-Ga Pan-African orogeny, coeval with multiple episodes of glaciation and the widespread Ouarzazate (Peri-Iapetus Magmatic Province) LIP. The Pan-African interval can be viewed either as a culmination of Pannotia supercontinent amalgamation, or a subsidiary step toward eventual Pangea assembly at ca. 0.3 Ga. Northern regions of the craton are directly affected by that Hercynian orogenesis. Breakup of Pangea is spectacularly documented by Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP) magmatism and rift-related sedimentation at ca. 0.2 Ga. At present, post-Alpine subduction has migrated westward to the Strait of Gibraltar, perhaps initiating subduction within the Atlantic realm that will close interior oceans en route to the next future supercontinent. In celebration of all these diverse geological records, spectacular rock exposure, fascinating culture, and friendly people, we invite you to join us in the “Geological Paradise” of Morocco in 2023!