BGR Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe

International Quaternary Map of Europe 1:2.500.000 and Adjacent Areas

Review, digitisation and new edition

Under the umbrella of the Commission of the Geological Map of the World and supported by International Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA) BGR began to review, rework and digitise the paper map in order to build a geographic information system (GIS) of the Quaternary geology of Europe.
It is intended that Quaternary information will able to be retrieved, combined and used across political boundaries across all of the Europe continent (see also: Mapping Europe’s Quaternary: the International Quaternary Map of Europe and Adjacent Areas (IQUAME), Quaternary Perspecives, 28, June 2020). The IQUAME will also include off-shore evidence from the European Seas, partly based on data from the EMODnet Geology project (sea-floor information) https://www.emodnet.eu/en/geology.

Contents

The IQUAME 2500 GIS and map will contain information on:

  • age/stratigraphy
  • lithology and genesis of the Quaternary units

IQUAME Age CorrelationIQUAME Age Correlation Source: BGR

Among others, it will encompass:

  • the maximum extent of glaciations.
  • off-shore Quaternary geology.
  • permafrost boundaries.
  • active faults.
  • glaciogenic landforms.
  • Quaternary key localities/Palaeolithic sites.
  • glacial isostatic features.
  • impact craters.

IQUAME Semantic TransformationIQUAME Semantic Transformation

IQUAME GuidelinesIQUAME Guidelines

Working material

For each national participant a guidance package for the review is provided. This includes:

  1. Review guidelines, term/vocabulary list (INSPIRE and CGI-conformal), explanation of legend of the first editionformer.
  2. Digitised map units of the previous,1994 paper version for ArcGIS.
  3. A common topographic base map compiled from VMap0 with optimisations in the drainage pattern, from several participants
  4. Technical guidelines for data transformation
    and
    Excel spreadsheet.

Project coordination

Kristine Asch (BGR)

Scientific Advisory Board

  • Philip Gibbard, University of Cambridge (CAM)
  • Margot Böse, Freie Universität Berlin (FU Berlin)
  • Kim M. Cohen, Utrecht University (UU)
  • Mustapha Meghraoui, École et Observatoire des Sciences de la Terre (EOST, Strasbourg)

Participants

Numerous scientists from over thirty countries are involved in the project.

IQUAME ParticipantsIQUAME Participants

Planned Roadmap and Milestones

2011BernXVIII INQUA conference: Kick-off
2011Belgrade1st International IQUAME Workshop „Quaternary in the Dinarides“, MAEGS 17
2012Vienna2nd International IQUAME Workshop, Geologische Bundesanstalt
2013Paris3rd International IQUAME Workshop, CGMW
2014HannoverIQUAME „in-between“ technical Workshop, BGR
2015Paris4th International IQUAME Workshop, CGMW
2015ViennaEGU: Poster presentation at CGMW booth
2015NagoyaXIX INQUA conference: Poster presentation
2016Berlin5th International IQUAME Workshop (Harmonisation I, Preparation for the International Geological Congress), BGR
2016Cape Town35th IGC: CGMW Session „Quaternary of Europe/ IQUAME“
2017Berlin6th International IQUAME Workshop (Harmonisation II), BGR
2019Berlin7th International IQUAME Workshop (Harmonisation III and preparation for INQUA), BGR
2019DublinINQUA conference: IQUAME session and Consultation Workshop, Geological Survey of Ireland
2020on-lineInternational IQUAME meeting (review of status and contributions)
2021?New Delhi36th IGC: Presentation, consultation and review (IGC postponed from 3/2020 to 8/2021 due to COVID-19)
2020/2021on-line?International IQUAME Consulting and Review Workshop
2021Wrocław, PolandINQUA- SEQS: IQUAME presentation
2021/2022International IQUAME Consulting and Review Workshop
2022/2023International IQUAME Consulting and Review Workshop
2023RomeINQUA conference: IQUAME presentation
2024Busan37th IGC: Project and GIS map presentation

Last IQUAME Events

International Seminar and Workshop of the International Quaternary Map of Europe and Adjacent Areas

The first on-line workshop and seminar of the IQUAME project successfully took place on 14th December 2020. The meeting was organised by IQUAME coordinator Kristine Asch (BGR) and was opened by the INQUA International Union for Quaternary Research
[Link: https://www.inqua.org/] President Thijs van Kolfschoten and the President of the Commission of the Geological Map of the World [Link: https://ccgm.org/] Manuel Pubellier.

The agenda encompassed a leading lecture from Philip Gibbard, University Cambridge “A word about the Anthropocene”, a key note on Quaternary aspects of the Ausseer Land, Austria by Markus Fiebig, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, President section on European Quaternary Stratigraphy (SEQS) [Link: https://www.inqua-seqs.org/] of INQUA, an overview on a Geographic Database of European Terrestrial Quaternary Sites of stratigraphical importance (DATESTRA) by Pierluigi Pieruccini, University of Turin, Secretary General SEQS, and several high quality presentations by members of the IQUAME community on aspects of the Quaternary mapping within their countries or regions. The international meeting was attended by 30 participants from 16 mainly European countries.


Agenda

1. Welcome and Introduction - Kristine Asch, Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR)
2. Welcome address -Thijs van Kolfschoten, President INQUA, Leiden University
3. Welcome address - Manuel Pubellier, President Commission of the Geological Map of the World (CGMW)
4. Keynote: Quaternary incision, landscape development and Stratigraphy in the Ausseer Land, Austria - Markus Fiebig, University of Natural Resources and Life sciences, Vienna; INQUA section on European Quaternary Stratigraphy)
5. Roundtable.- All
6. The International Quaternary Map of Europe and Adjacent Areas: Status and challenges - Kristine Asch & Alexander Müller (BGR)
7. Presentations by participants and related projects:

a)Abrupt climate changes – Evidences from Quaternary sedimentological sequences in Croatia – ACCENT - Lidija Galovic, Geological Survey of Croatia, Zagreb
b)A word about the Anthropocene - Phil Gibbard
c)SEQS-DATESTRA: a Geographic Database of European Terrestrial Quaternary Sites with stratigraphic importance, INQUA-SACCOM 1612F - Pierluigi Pieruccini, University of Turin, INQUA section on European Quaternary Stratigraphy)
d)Poland International Quaternary Map of Europe 1 : 2 500 000 - a Polish part - Leszek Marks, Geological Survey of Poland, Warsaw
e)Quaternary Map of the Middle East - Marzieh Straby, Geological Survey of Iran, Vice-president CGMW Subcommission of the Middle East

8. A Challenge: Data harmonisation on-line (discussion)
9. IQUAME: next steps, next meeting
10. Any other business

INQUA: IQUAME Session and International IQUAME Consulting Workshop at the Geological Survey of Ireland (GSI)

In 2019, during the 20th INQUA Congress in Dublin, both a conference session dedicated to IQUAME and an international consulting workshop were held.

a)IQUAME scientific session ‘Quaternary data without frontiers: the International Quaternary Map of Europe 1 : 2,5 Million’ (convenors: Asch, K. & Gibbard, P.):
A landmark keynote given by Christian Schlüchter was setting the context, followed by with presentations from several IQUAME participants to present new research and mapping results of the Quaternary of their country.
b)International IQUAME Consulting Workshop at the Geological Survey of Ireland (GSI)

The workshop was dedicated to the consultation of scientists outside the IQUAME community on the map contents and database as well as to and classification and portrayal issues. The event was kindly and generously supported by the Geological Survey of Ireland (host: Michael Sheehy). During the event, progress of the project, classification issues and the latest mapping results of the participating project participants were presented, discussed and further developed. Furthermore, it was decided to extend the project name from ‘1 : 2.5 Million International Quaternary Map of Europe’ to ‘1 : 2.5 Million International Quaternary Map of Europe and Adjacent Areas’, since the area covered by the project also includes areas bordering Europe.

Participants of the IQUAME Consulting Workshop at the Geological Survey of Ireland (29.07.2019)Participants of the IQUAME Consulting Workshop at the Geological Survey of Ireland (29.07.2019) Source: BGR



7th International IQUAME Workshop in Berlin

Topics: Harmonisation of semantic and geometric features on the Quaternary Geology of Europe across polictical boundaries, Vocabularies and a map key to describe and present the Quaternary geological units, preparations for the IQUAME session, workshop and presentation at the 20th INQUA Congress.

Participants of the International IQUAME-Workshop at BGR, Berlin, 14th-16th January 2019Participants of the International IQUAME-Workshop at BGR, Berlin, 14th-16th January 2019



IQUAME Partners:

Geological Surveys in Europe and neighbouring countries, scientists from universities and research institutes, CGMW Subcommission Middle East, CGMW Subcommission Northern Eurasia.


Umbrella:


Commission of the Geological Map of the World (CGMW)





INQUA – Section on European Quaternary Stratigraphy





INQUA - International Union for Quaternary Research






Contact

    
Dr. Kristine Asch
Phone: +49-(0)511-643-3324

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