ECR Webinar on Emerging Areas of Research in Quaternary Science: A Report

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nging climates of the Quaternary. The next lecture was by Dr. Gayatri Kathayat, from the Xi’an Jiaotong University, China, who critically examined the recently defined ‘Meghalayan Age’ in her lecture titled ‘The ‘4.2 ka BP Event’ in the Indian subcontinent?’. Dr. Sushant S. Naik, from the CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography (CSIR-NIO), Dona Paula, Goa, spoke on the ‘Role of the oceans in glacial/interglacial variations in atmospheric carbon dioxide: An objective synthesis of proxy records’. The penultimate lecture was presented by Dr. Midhun M., from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and the Cochin University of Science and Technology, Cochin, on the topic entitled ‘Coherent Variability in Sahel and Indian Summer Monsoon rainfall recorded in oxygen isotopes of rain/speleothem’. The final lecture was delivered by Dr. Santosh K. Shah, from the Birbal Sahni Institute of Paleosciences, Lucknow, on the topic titled ‘Introduction to dendrochronology and its application in climate research in the Himalayas’. On an average, over 250 viewers attended the lectures, ~80 % of which were students and ECRs. Participants represented various regions of India and the series drew in an international crowd, with participants from diverse countries such as Sweden, Nigeria, the United Kingdom, the United States, Switzerland, Brazil, Pakistan, the Philippines, Israel, and Taiwan. Overall, the series received tremendous support and an overwhelmingly positive feedback. Since the presentations and ensuing discussions were recorded, and these are freely available to view and review on the YouTube channel of the Association of Quaternary Researchers (www.youtube.com/channel/ UC0—5r6xYc5FFTgYV-Pmu-A) for further outreach and engagement with those who missed the sessions. At the end of the lecture series, a special interaction was organised, along with the ECR team of the International Quaternary Union (INQUA), to brief the participants, especially the ECRs and students of Quaternary research, about the organisation and opportunities available at INQUA. This session included five short presentations from members of the INQUA ECR team (Dr. Francesca Ferrario,Universitàdell’Insubria, Italy;Dr. Nivedita Mehrotra, Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, India; Dr. Annie Lau, University of Queensland, Australia;Dr. Martin Seeliger, Goethe University, Germany, and Dr. Guido Stefano Mariani, Universitàdegli Studi di Cagliari, Italy) which outlined various facets of INQUA - its structure and organisation, the various funding opportunities and commissions for all members of the Quaternary fraternity, as well as details on possible avenues for publication. With this, it was also agreed that there would be continued cooperation and coordination between the ECR teams of AOQR and INQUA in organising and managing future activities and training programs. The success of AOQR’s ECR Webinar series has resulted in more such planned webinar talks by the ECR team, especially aimed at, and by, students of Quaternary Sciences in India.

DOI: 10.1007/s12594-