Comparative planetology: Exploring other worlds by exploring Earth

Dear colleagues,

These are exciting times for planetary science in Canada and around the world. One of the recent growth areas in Canadian planetary science have been the fields of comparative planetology and astrobiology, driven to a large extent by the Canadian Space Agency’s (CSA) Canadian Analogue Research Network (CARN) program.

On behalf of the organizing committee for “Québec 2008” and my co-chairs Neil Banerjee and Richard Soare, I would like to invite you to participate in a one-day Special Session on “Comparative planetology: Exploring other worlds by exploring Earth”. Full details can be found here: http://quebec2008.net/index.cfm?WEB_LANG=EN&SECTION=template/descActivite.cf m&id=56. We seek contributions from those working in the fields of geobiology and astrobiology, comparative planetary geology, cosmochemistry (meteorites). Submissions dealing with exploration-related activities are also welcome!

Québec 2008 – to be held May 26-28th 2008 – represents the annual meeting for the Geological Association of Canada, the Mineralogical Association of Canada, the Society of Economic Geologists, and the Society for Geology Applied to Mineral Deposits. As such, this will be one of the largest conferences of its kind to be held in Canada in recent years – during the year when Québec City will celebrate its 400th anniversary!

Abstract submission and registration details should be online on the Québec 2008 website by the beginning of December.

Please spread the word and mark your calendars!

Best Regards,

Dr. Gordon “Oz” Osinski
Assistant Professor
Depts. of Earth Sciences/Physics & Astronomy
University of Western Ontario