Sixth International Symposium of IGCP608 was successfully and fruitfully held in Khon Kaen, Thailand

The Sixth International Meeting of IGCP608 was successfully and fruitfully held in a very warm and friendly atmosphere, in Charoen Thani Hotel, Khon Kaen Province, Thailand on 15-16 November 2018 !!(photo 1-6)

This meeting as the last official international meeting of our project, was kindly hosted with much effort by the Organizing Committee of the 6th IGCP608, consisting of Dr. Adichat Surinkum, Director of CCOP (Co-Chairman), Mr. Naramase Teerarungsigul, Ms. Orn-Uma Summart, and several staff members of Department of Mineral Resources (DMR), Thailand, as well as the director general and deputy director general of DMR as supervisors.

More than 140 participants from 11 nations including Thailand, presented 5 keynotes, 27 oral and 14 posters in two days oral sessions and a poster session. Valuable discussions and information changes were actively done during those sessions as well as also coffee breaks and other opportunities.

The symposium itself was dedicated to the 10th Anniversary of the Sirindhorn Museum which is a well-known dinosaur museum situated near dinosaur bone beds bearing a giant sauropod Phuwiangosaurus sirindhornae, the firstly found and described dinosaur in Thailand.

In the first day evening of the symposium, the welcome dinner was held outdoor beside the swimming pool on the 4th floor of the hotel. During the dinner an excellent cultural programme of Thai Dancing was provided by young girls and boys of a local dancing team in Khon Kaen province.

During the pre-symposium three-days field excursion, more than 65 persons including guides and staffs took part and observed the Early to Late Cretaceous non-marine sedimentary deposits, Khorat Group in northeastern Thailand. On Day 1, we firstly visited Dinosaur Excavation Pit no. 3 at Phu Wiang National Park (St. 1) and the Phu Wiang Fossil Research Center and Dinosaur Museum (St. 2: Ph7) in Khon Kaen Province, for observing marvelous dinosaur bone bed sites of the Early Cretaceous Sao Khua Formation. In the afternoon, the non-marine stratigraphic transition from the Phra Wihan to the overlying Sao Khua formations was observed along the road cut section about 70 km NE of Sts. 1 and 2. Two stops of Day 2 are represented by a possibly Upper Cretaceous Phu Thok Formation of very thick eolian cross-bedded sand deposits (St. 5) and a dinosaur footprint site of Lower Cretaceous Khok Kruat Formation (St. 6: Ph8), both of which are situated near the Mekon River bordering Laos. On Day 3, after the sightseeing to a big temple (pagoda) called Phra That Phanom (St. 7) near the Mekon River, we visited two stops: Early Cretaceous fluvial sandstone and conglomerate succession of the Phu Phan Formation in the Phu Pha Yol National Park (St. 8) and the Sirindhorn Museum of Kalasin Province (St. 9: Ph9 and 10). This museum has been organized by the Department of Mineral Resources as the largest natural history museum in Thailand and outdoor geologic and sightseeing facilities concerned with Cretaceous dinosaur and ecosystems, as well as a large research center of dinosaur and related paleontology and geology.

Anyway, the two big dinosaur museum, Phu Wiang Fossil Research Center and Dinosaur Museum, and Sirindhorn Museum were the remarkable highlights of the excursion. Especially, both museums and regions are in action toward national geoparks related to well-studied Cretaceous non-marine sedimentary successions abundantly with a variety of dinosaur, crocodile, turtles, shark, fish and freshwater molluscs. We could realize that the Cretaceous Khorat Group have well investigated paleontologically, and their results are utilized for earth science education and public awareness.

Selected photos will be seen on PHOTOS page.

The Proceedings (abstracts)(Ph1) and Field Guidebook(Ph2) can be uploaded here.

Photos


1. Cover page of the Proceedings of IGCP608 6th Symposium 2018


2. Cover page of the Field Guidebook of IGCP608 6th Symposium 2018


3. Group Photo at the opening of the Symposium, Charoen Thani Hotel (15 Nov.


4. Welcome address by the governor of Khon Kaen Province in the opening of the Symposium (15 Nov.)


5. Conference Room of the Charoen Thani Hotel (16 Nov.


6. Commemorative photo in front of a signboard of IGCP608 at the symposium reception (16 Nov.)


7. Group photo taken at Phu Wiang Dinosaur Museum (St. 2) (Day 1, 12 Nov. of Pre-symposium Excursion


8. Dinosaur Footprint Site at Bao Lao Had, Uten District, Nakhon Phanom Province (St. 6) (Day 2, 13 Nov.)


9. Group photo taken at Phu Kum Khao Dinosaur Site of Sirindhorn Museum (St. 9) on Day 3 (Day 3, 14 Nov.)


10. Group photo taken at Exhibition Hall of Sirindhorn Museum (St. 9) (Day 3, 14 Nov.