International Paleolimnology Association (IPA)

Obituary: Ted Brown

Mike Hughes — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 22:24:15 +0000

With sadness we report the death of Seward (Ted) Brown. Ted was Emeritus Professor at Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario and a pioneer of paleolimnological research.

He died peacefully at his home north of Kingston on Friday evening, June 18, 2010 at the age of 92, surrounded by close friends.

Ted is widely recognized for his seminal work on the study of fossil pigments in lake sediments.

His affiliation with the limnological and paleolimnological community, and with Queen’s University, has been a long one. After being born and raised in Nova Scotia, and following five years of decorated military service in the World War II, Ted went to Queen’s University to take his bachelor’s and master’s degree, working on the Lake Opinicon region. In 1954 he was accepted to work on a doctoral thesis with G. Evelyn Hutchinson at Yale University, to develop new approaches in the new field of “paleolimnology”. He returned to Queen’s University in 1959 as an assistant professor and the Director of the Queen’s University Biology Station.

Ted retired from teaching and active research in the late 1980s, but maintained a keen interest in paleolimnology, and was genuinely pleased with our field’s tremendous advancements. The last scientific conference that he attended was the 8th International Paleolimnology Symposium, held at Queen’s University in August 2000, where he was the guest of honour. He maintained an interest in paleolimnology throughout his later years and took a keen interest in the lives of his colleagues.

A short summary of his career, which was part of a special session dedicated to his retirement at the International Paleolimnology Symposium, held in Austria in the 1980s, and written by John Smol, was published as part of the proceedings from that conference: Smol, J.P. 1986. A biographical sketch of Seward R. (Ted) Brown. Hydrobiologia 143: 9-11 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00026638).
Download PDF with permission from Springer

12th International Paleolimnology Symposium

Mike Hughes — Fri, 07 May 2010 09:35:21 +0000

We are pleased to announce that the 12th International Paleolimnology Symposium will be held from the 20th to the 24th of August 2012, in Glasgow, UK. The symposium lead organisers are Helen Bennion (UCL) and Andy Henderson (University of Glasgow).

11th Symposium Awards

Mike Hughes — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 21:11:42 +0000

At the 11th International Symposium in Guadalajara the IPA honoured Herb Wright, Dan Livingstone, Walt Dean and Frank Oldfield for their lifetime contributions to palaeolimnology. The text of their talks given on receipt of the award will be published in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Paleolimnology.

The winners of the student prizes were Frederike Verbruggen (best oral presentation) and Alexandra Rouillard (best poster presentation). Both received Springer book tokens for $250.00.

11th Symposium postponed until December 2009

Mike Hughes — Tue, 12 May 2009 20:26:19 +0000

The organizing committee of the 11th International Paleolimnology Symposium, in agreement with the IPA board members, has taken the decision of postponing the symposium until 15-18th December 2009. This decision was made taking in consideration the Influenza alert in Mexico which has lead to different levels of travel restrictions by some countries. We are sorry for the inconveniences that this could cause, but we are sure this is the best option in order to guarantee both the health of each one of the attendees as well as the academic level of the meeting. More news on the symposium website in due course.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Mike Hughes — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 11:47:40 +0000

Nominations are requested for the IPA’s “Lifetime Achievement Award”. This award is designed to honour one of our senior colleagues for their career contribution to palaeolimnology.

Please send nominations by email with a paragraph of justification for the nomination to Rick Battarbee or any member of the IPA Executive Committee.

Please note you need to be a registered member of the IPA for your nomination to qualify.

Become a member »

Student prizes in Guadalajara

Mike Hughes — Tue, 27 May 2008 09:29:48 +0000

The publishing company Springer, who publish the Journal of Paleolimnology, have agreed to sponsor a book award for the best student oral and poster presentations at the 11th IPA Symposium in Guadalajara, Mexico. They will also arrange for a certificate to be presented to the two winning students.

Diatoms on Flickr

Mike Hughes — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 08:45:50 +0000

Dr Anson Mackay, a diatomist at UCL-ECRC, has set up a diatom group on Flickr. Flickr is one of the world’s most popular online photo management and sharing applications. It is used by millions of people to organise and show their digital photographs and images (and just this week, videos), both professionally and for personal interest. Anson has been using the group to upload images of diatoms to get advice from other experts on nomentclature and taxonomy.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/diatoms/

If you are already registered with Flickr just login, visit the link above and click the » Join this group? link.

11th International Paleolimnology Symposium - Mexico

Mike Hughes — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 10:27:30 +0000

We are pleased to confirm that the 11th International Paleolimnology Symposium will be held from the 23rd to the 26th of June 2009, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. We encourage the scientific community to submit presentations related to all fields of paleolimnology.

Student Prize

Visit the website for more details.

Pollution of Lakes and Rivers - New Edition

Mike Hughes — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 10:07:18 +0000

Blackwell Publishing have brought out a new edition of John Smol’s Pollution of Lakes and Rivers: A Paleoenvironmental Perspective.

This book addresses many of our present-day water quality problems from an international perspective, covering critical issues such as acidification, eutrophication, land-use changes, pollution by metals and other contaminants, climatic change, and biodiversity losses.

It demonstrates how paleolimnological approaches can be used to interpret the physical, chemical, and biological information stored in lake and river sediments, and how this information is integral to identifying key environmental stressors and setting targets for mitigation purposes.

This new edition includes over 250 additional references and a new chapter on recent climatic change and its effects on water quality and quantity. This comprehensive, up-to-date volume provides essential insights into a multi-disciplinary science aimed at tackling some of the most urgent environmental problems of modern times.

Order Online from Blackwell

Uraguay Shallow Lakes Congress 2008

Mike Hughes — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 10:56:14 +0000

Dear Colleagues,

The SHALLOW LAKES CONGRESS 2008 will be held in Punta del Este, Uruguay. If we receive enough abstracts, there will be a special session on paleolimnology.

For abstract submission as well as general info on congress location, please visit the website:
http://www.shallowlakes2008.org

The deadline for abstract submission and registration is 31st March 2008.

I would like to encourage those working on paleolimnology of shallow lakes to come and show your work, and enjoy the congress!

We look forward to welcoming you in Uruguay.

On behalf of the Organising Committee.

Felipe Garcia-Rodriguez