Thousands gather for international geochemistry conference
Organized by a University of Hawai‘i (UH) at Mānoa-led committee, the Goldschmidt Conference will draw to Honolulu more than 2,500 international scientists and students with a focus on geochemistry–a discipline that addresses chemical processes within and on Earth.
This is the annual joint meeting of the Geochemical Society and European Association of Geochemistry, and will be held July 10-15 at the Hawai‘i Convention Center, in person and remotely.
Presenters will share the latest discoveries spanning a wide range of Earth, ocean, environmental and planetary topics, including active volcanism, tropical ecosystem health, freshwater resources, climate change impacts on atmospheric and ocean chemistry, Earth’s interior composition, and more.
The local organizing committee was led by longtime UH Mānoa earth sciences professor Ken Rubin, and included UH Mānoa faculty from the Departments of Earth Sciences and Oceanography, as well as the Hawai‘i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology.
“I have been working with partners in the state tourism industry and the societies since 2014 to bring this conference to Hawai‘i, including postponing our 2020 plans due to the pandemic,” said Rubin. “With the Goldschmidt Conference finally coming to town, I am excited that Hawai‘i researchers can share their globally important work in a premier conference setting and that indigenous science speakers are part of the program.”
“I am so excited and proud that Hawai‘i is host to this prestigious international meeting of geochemistry,” said Garrett Apuzen-Ito, Earth Sciences department chair in the UH Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST). “This is an incredible opportunity to showcase our state to these world experts and highlight how so many of the world’s natural processes are manifest here in Hawai‘i and the surrounding Pacific environment.”
Hawai‘i, Indigenous culture and science
The conference also includes an innovative group of sessions on the intersectionality between Indigenous culture and science (Geology through a cultural lens–Diverse perspectives on the natural world), where community thought leaders from Hawai‘i and elsewhere will discuss environmental processes from both scientific and cultural perspectives via presentations by local and other experts on societal concerns and creative solutions. High school and college science instructors and students were invited to participate for free in this program through the generous support of SOEST and other donors, centered on the Papakū Makawalu houses of knowledge.
Additionally, field excursions led by faculty and graduate students of the Department of Earth Sciences will offer meeting participants an opportunity to witness the effects of the powerful and enduring volcanic and environmental processes that have shaped the Hawaiian islands.
All are invited to follow the meeting on Twitter, @goldschmidt2022.
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