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Every April 22, we celebrate Earth Day!

Earth Day is celebrated on April 22 every year. The day marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. Several agencies and governments organize special events to spread awareness among masses about climate change and global warming. The day inspires us to act towards the protection of the environment and focus on the need for conservation.

The first Earth Day was celebrated on April 22 in 1970. It became a topic of discussion after more than 20 million Americans took to the streets to protest against environmental ignorance by the government. Since then, it has been an annual event.

The theme of Earth Day 2021 is to ‘Restore Our Earth’. It focuses on adopting natural processes and emerging eco-friendly technologies that can restore ecosystems.

“Earth Day is symbolic of all that we are aiming to do to make this world a better place for future generations. We should celebrate this every day. Every day is Earth Day,” Amit Banka of Wenaturalists said.

Earth Day is recognized as the largest civic event in the world. The Geological Society of Africa encourages all the members and Earth Scientists to celebrate Earth Day. More activities can be found at https://www.earthday.org/

Text modified from https://www.indiatvnews.com/science/earth-day-2021-date-history-significance-why-it-is-celebrated-on-22-april-699550

Photo used is from https://www.almanac.com/content/earth-day-date-activities-history

Solubility of Metals in Melt/Fluid Systems (IGC36)

Invitation to the IGC36

Prof. Hassan Helmy invites colleagues and scholars to submit their abstracts to session 28.5 “Solubility of Metals in Melt/Fluid Systems”.

The session is convened by Anna Vymazalová, Hassan Helmy

Session short summary:

This symposium welcomes contributions that enhance our understanding of metal solubility, speciation, and transport in geologically-relevant fluids (aqueous or non-aqueous) and melts (silicate, sulfide, carbonate) in ore-forming environments.

Submission is from: https://www.36igc.org/abstract-submission

Funding opportunity to attend IGC36th in New Delhi, India, in March 2020

Establishment of the 35^th International Geological Congress (35^th IGC) Legacy Fund and offer of financial support to attend the 36^th IGC

Background to the 35IGC Legacy Fund

Following a directive from the IUGS concerning all International Geological Congress events, one of the goals of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) of the 35^th International Geological Congress (35^th IGC) held in Cape Town in August 2016, was to establish a Legacy Fund with surplus funds generated by the 35^th IGC. The purpose of the Fund is to support student attendance of appropriate international and national congresses, as well as various legacy and research projects being undertaken by the southern African earth science community. With the surplus funds from the 35^th IGC now audited and available, the 35IGC Legacy Fund has been formally established.

Funding policy

Following preliminary discussions on the establishment of the 35IGC Legacy Fund, the proposed mandate for the Fund is to provide financial assistance for inter alia,

Student attendance of local and international earth science congresses and particularly IGCs;
Geoheritage projects mooted or developed as a consequence of 35th IGC;
Publication of guidebooks, textbooks or other material that will assist in the communication and education of society with regard to earth science matters;
Geotourism initiatives preferably in partnership with government and local tourism agencies, and
Selected research, development and innovation projects in the earth science disciplines.

Application for financial support from the 35IGC Legacy Fund to attend the 36^th IGC

One of the main mandates of the Legacy Fund is the support of young southern African earth science students wishing to attend future International Geological Congresses to present the results of their research. With the planning of the 36th IGC in India well advanced the 35IGC Legacy Fund would like to provide financial support for deserving students to attend the event.

This notice therefore serves as an official invitation to full-time, post graduate students in the earth sciences, registered at South African universities, to apply to the 35IGC Legacy Fund for financial assistance to attend the 36th IGC in India in 2020. To apply for financial assistance, the following conditions will apply:

Applicants must be registered full-time for a post graduate degree in earth sciences at a South African university in 2019 and at the time of the 36th IG Proof of University registration will be required;
Applicants must be under the age of 35 at the time of application;
A letter of support from the university supervisor is required;
Financial support will cover the cost of a return air ticket to India, the conference registration fee and reasonable accommodation cost for the duration of the congress;
Proof of submission and acceptance of a presentation or poster by the Organising Committee of the 36^th IGC must be provided;
The research results presented in the abstract should focus on aspects of African geology;
Financial support from 36^th IGC or other sources to cover travel, registration costs and accommodation is not acceptable and will result in the cancellation of the application to the 35IGC Legacy Fund. Sources of financial support to cover 36^th IGC costs must be declared, and the costs covered by such funding should be stated in the application.
In the case of a multi-author abstract the applicant must be the presenter of the paper (oral or poster) at 36^th

As only limited funds are available, compliance with the above conditions does not guarantee acceptance of the application. All provisionally successful applications will be reviewed and evaluated by the Management Committee/Board of the Legacy Fund and their decision is final.

Applications must be made on the prescribed form available as an attachment to this notice and submitted to Ms Ndivhuwo Mukosi at 35IGCLegacy@geoscience.org.za before 31 May 2019 (deadline extended to end of June).

The following supporting documents must be submitted with each application:

Copy of the abstract submitted to the Organising Committee of the 36^th Attach proof of acceptance by Organising Committee if already available.
Budget indicating allocation of funds requested for airfare, congress registration and accommodation.
Supervisor support letter also stating proof of university registration, age and whether registration will continue through to 2020.
Short CV (100 words max.)

All successful applicants will be required to provide proof of being in possession of a valid passport and visa to attend the 36^th IGC in India.

N.B deadline for submissions of abstract to 36th IGC is 31 August 2019.

Other important key dates of 36th IGC are available at http://36igc.org/

Application can be found at:

http://gsafr.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/35IGCLegacyFundFinAppl36thIGCUpdated.pdf

GSAf June Newsletter

Hommage de la Société Géologique d’Afrique au Professeur El Hassan Sayouty de l’université Hassan II de Casablanca. Maroc

By Prof. Y. DRIOUCH, Vice President of GSAf

Professeur El Hassan Sayouty a perdu la vie suite au crash de l’Avion d’Ethiopian Airlines qui le conduisait d’Addis Abeba à Nairobi pour participer, en tant que président du « Social and Environmental Leadership Task Force » du groupe de travail AMREC lié aux activités des groupes UNFC-AMREC. Cette réunion devait se tenir au cours de la 4^ème session de la commission des nations unis sur l’environnement (UNEA) prévue du 11 au 15 mars 2019.

Ce groupe de travail inclut aussi des experts géologues dont des membres du conseil de la société géologique d’Afrique (GSAf) dont il était plus qu’un collaborateur, mais un ami. Décrit comme un homme exceptionnel doté du sens de l’écoute et du partage, il était très soucieux du développement humain en Afrique.

Ci-dessous quelques extraits de ce qu’en ont dit, spontanément, des membres du conseil de la GSAf dans des e-mails partagés en interne suite à cette triste nouvelle :

L’actuel président de la GSAf, Prof. Gbenga Okunlola, a écrit :

“I lost a good friend and academic, Prof Sayouty, Moroccan and nuclear physicist but working closely with us on the expert group of the AMREC /PARC project that GSAf is also very much involved in. He was extremely enthusiastic about the CAG 28 in Morocco. We were together in Dakar, Senegal in November 2018 at one of the working group meetings. In fact, he encouraged me to book and stay in the hotel we both stayed in and we were next door neighbours, seeing each other and interacting closely everyday throughout the duration of the meeting that dovetailed into the OAGS meeting. It is to me a personal loss and a loss to the geoscience and the entire science community in Africa.”

L’ex président de la GSAf, Prof. Aberra Mogessie.

“I am very sad about the death of Prof. El Hassan Sayouty from Morocco, who was a very nice and friendly colleague who I worked with in the AMREC Group.”

Par ailleurs Mr Saddiqi Omar, géologue et Doyen de la faculté des Sciences Ain Chock de l’Université de Casablanca, a rendu un émouvant hommage au Prof. Sayoury en disant notamment(extrait de http://article19.ma/accueil/archives/109193):

« Le défunt « a toujours été une fierté pour la Faculté des sciences parce qu’il était connu au plan mondial dans le domaine de la physique nucléaire. Il travaillait beaucoup avec l’Agence internationale de l’énergie atomique (AIEA). Il participait souvent à des réunions internationales. Il honorait ainsi les enseignants et l’université marocaine dans ce domaine ». « Prof. Sayouty a perdu la vie alors qu’il était en mission et représentait l’Université et le royaume du Maroc à une importante réunion, la 4^ème session de la commission de l’ONU sur l’environnement prévue à Nairobi au Kenya du 11 au 15 mars. »

Charlotte Griffiths, Chief of Section, Sustainable Energy Division. United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, a écrit à propos du Dr Sayouti:

« Professor Sayouty was going to Nairobi to participate in the Fourth United Nations Environmental Assembly (UNEA). He was one of the organizers and speakers at the session on “Mining and the environment: The African framework to address impacts through innovative solutions”. This session, organized jointly by the African Union and UNECE, showcases the development of UNFC-AMREC as a comprehensive system for social and environmentally sound resource management in Africa. An exceptional man with a contemporary vision of human development that overflowed with passion and philosophy, Professor Sayouty will be sorely missed. We offer our sincere condolences to his family, friends and colleagues. »

Please leave your memories and photos of Professor Sayouty here: www.weremember.com/hassan-sayouty/4w2h/memories .

Toute la communauté universitaire marocaine est endeuillée par cette disparition. La communauté des Géologues avec laquelle Prof. Sayouty, travaillait sur des thématiques liées à l’énergie et à l’environnement, tient aussi à rendre hommage à ce grand homme de la science et de la société.

Nous nous associons à ses collègues et amis pour présenter nos sincères condoléances à sa famille, à ses collègues du département de physique, de la faculté des sciences Ain Chock et de toute l’Université de Casablanca.

Que son âme repose en paix.

Nos pensées vont aussi à plusieurs universitaires de différents pays (Nigeria, Togo, Éthiopie, Kenya,…) qui ont perdu la vie dans cet accident.

Ci-dessous un extrait du parcours du Professeur El Hassan Sayouti

Né le 11 Novembre 1996 à Tafraout. Maroc ;
Après un baccalauréat obtenu à Casablanca, il suivi des études de physique puis de physique atomique et nucléaire à l’université Claude-Bernard de Lyon (France) où il a obtenu son doctorat de 3^ème cycle en 1984 ;
Doctorat d’État en 1990 à l’Université de Casablanca où il était enseignant chercheur depuis 1985 après avoir travaillé dans l’office national de l’Électricité en tant qu’Ingénieur ;
Il a occupé plusieurs fonctions au sein de sa faculté dont principalement :
- Responsables de plusieurs projets de recherche internationaux,
- Directeur de laboratoire
- Chef du département de physique ;
Coordinateur du réseau « Analyse nucléaire et environnement »
Il a aussi été expert auprès de :
- la Commission Nationale d’Accréditation et d’Evaluation (CNAE)
- L’agence internationale de l’énergie atomique
- Des commissions d’experts des Nations Unis.
Il a aussi été le directeur de recherches, durant plus de trente ans de loyaux services à l’enseignement et à la recherche, d’un nombre considérable d’étudiants de Master et de Doctorat.

Ses étudiants comme ses collègues en sont, à jamais, orphelins.

March Newsletter

March 2019 newsletter

Previous newsletters are at: http://gsafr.org/newsletter/

Meteorites and impact craters in the Arab World

Eberhard Klitzsch (1933 – 2018)

By:

Sospeter Muhongo and Thomas Schlüter

Eberhard Klitzsch was born on 18 August 1933 as son of a forest warden in Remda, Thuringia, in central Germany. After attending school at various places in the former GDR, but finally achieving the obligatory Abitur certificate, he enrolled for geology at Jena University in 1951. But he had to flee to West Berlin due to his distribution in public of anti-government leaflets against the East German regime. He enrolled again for geology at the newly, in 1948 founded FU-Berlin, where he completed his diploma in geology/palaeontology in 1957, and only one year later was conferred with a doctorate for a thesis on the stratigraphy of the Middle Devonian along the Dill basin.

But before finalising his doctorate he was already employed just after his diploma by the US Geological Survey as an engineering geologist, and worked for one year for the Survey and then from 1958 to 1967 as a field geologist for the German petroleum exploration company DEA in Libya and neighbouring regions. Subsequently he returned to West-Berlin, was now habilitated at the TU-Berlin, and became full professor at the same university in the applied geological disciplines of hydrogeology, petroleum geology and photogeology in 1970.

His biggest merit was surely initiating and the subsequent development of the special research unit SFB 69 (“Sonderforschungsbereich”) Geoscientific problems in arid and semi-arid regions of Africa”, established in 1981, whose spokesman and representative he was till 1995. Major research topics of this unit included the analysis of the geological structures in the Sahara and its southern neighbouring regions, under special consideration of their water and mineral resources. In Cairo (Egypt) he came soon into contact and worked successfully together with the eminent Egyptian geologist Rushdi Said (1920-2013), the Harvard-educated Director of the Geological Survey of Egypt, who had published various books on the geology of Egypt and was in charge for fieldwork and mapping of large parts of the Egyptian desert.

Over the years, more than 200 geoscientists were working for the SFB, participating from all universities of Berlin and various universities in Africa. Altogether more than 120 doctoral dissertations were produced, among them 33 from African research students. Additionally, some theses for habilitation were also supervised by Eberhard Klitzsch, thus enabling the candidates to qualify for the status of Privatdozent, which is a prerequisite to become full professor. The results of his research and his co-workers were summarized in a book entitled: Nordost-Afrika: Strukturen und Ressourcen (Northeast Africa: Structures and Resources), published by Eberhard Klitzsch and Ulf Thorweihe in 1999.

Eberhard Klitzsch had originally planned to transfer the human and physical resources of the SFB into an international institute of African geosciences located in Berlin, but after re-unification of the two German states in 1990 all the potentially needed funds for this task had largely to be provided for the reconstruction and maintenance of the Humboldt-University in the eastern part of Berlin, which in the context of integration of its previous infrastructure into the federal education model of Germany had now completely to be restructured. What had remained of the former SFB was transferred into a research subject now called International Geosystem Analysis (GEOSYS), which was largely based at the Technical University of Berlin. The data and material achieved over the active years of the SFB will still be evaluated by generations of geoscientists in future years.

After becoming Professor emeritus in 1998 at the TU-Berlin, Eberhard Klitzsch was still a highly demanded expert for consultancy in various German and foreign government institutions on geoscientific problems in many parts of the world. He was welcomed in many geoscience institutions all over the world and travelled for instance to Oman, India and Paraguay. His personal interest concentrated still in the exploration of new petroleum fields, but supported also colleagues in totally different subjects, for instance in palaeontology.

Fig. 1: Frontispiece of Eberhard Klitzsch`s autobiographic book Geologie ist nichts für Feiglinge (“Geology is nothing for cowards”), published in Berlin in 2012 (he in the centre),

Eberhard Klitzsch received various awards for his geoscientific achievements, among these several honorary doctorates and in 1988 the highest civilian order of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Bundesverdienstkreuz am Bande. In 2012 he published his autobiography, in which he less about his scientific merits reported, but detailed all his adventures in the deserts of Libya, Egypt, Sudan and other arid or semi-arid countries described. Sometimes imprisoned, hijacked or surviving in an airplane crash, he never lost his mood and interest in the respective areas despite what had happened. Over the final years of his life he became increasingly fragile, but still participated actively in different scientific meetings. He died in Berlin on 20 September 2018.