News
Geological Sciences are top scorers in the QS World University Rankings
According to the newly published international QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024, Charles University is now among the best schools in the global comparison in the fields of Geology, Geophysics, and Earth Sciences, as the only university in the Czech Republic. This is a great success stemming from a long-lasting effort to strive for the highest quality of research at an international level.
Invitation to the PhD defence of Sadegh Adineh
We invite all those who are interested, to the public defence of PhD thesis by Sadegh Adineh, "Structural, petrological, and geochronological analysis of salt diapirs and their caprocks: implications for growth dynamics of salt diapirs in Iran" (advisor dr. Závada), which will be held on March, 27th 2023 at 3:00 pm in the room Petrologické praktikum, 2nd floor, room number 203. Download the invitation here.
Invitation to the PhD defence of Marta Herenio Kerkhoff
We invite all those who are interested, to the public defence of PhD thesis by Marta Herenio Kerkhoff, "Tracing Microendolithic Ichnocenoses: A paleoecological and taphonomic approach over the Phanerozoic" (advisor K. Holcová), which will be held on March, 26th 2023 at 11:00 am in the seminar room Chlupáčova pracovna (CH). Download the invitation here.
Invitation to the PhD defence of Jana Čepičková
We invite all those who are interested, to the public defence of PhD thesis by Jana Čepičková, "Cenomanian vegetation of the Bohemian Cretaceous Basin " (advisor J. Kvaček), which will be held on March, 26th 2023 at 13:30 am in the seminar room Chlupáčova pracovna (CH). Download the invitation here.
Successful postdoc stay of young scientist at the Institute of Geology and Palaeontology
During the postdoc stay at the Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, young Chinese palaeoentomologist Dr. Hui Jiang studied various aspects of the evolution of mid-Cretaceous cicadas from amber from Myanmar. She published the results in the prestigious journal Nature Communications. She and her co-authors interpreted the sounds that cicadas could make 100 million years ago and found that they were underground insects. Download the article here.
Invitation to the PhD defence of Jakub Rantuch
We cordially invite all those interested to the public defence of Jakub Rantuch's dissertation thesis "Palaeoecological aspects and evolution of the Late Cretaceous oyster assemblages", which will take place on 12 March 2024 at 13:00 in The office of Professor Chlupáč (lecture hall), Albertov 6, P19A. Download the invitation here.
Invitation to the PhD defence of Vít Koutecký
We cordially invite all interested persons to the public defence of Vít Koutecký's dissertation thesis "Systematické zhodnocení nálezů fosilních dřev z oblasti oherského riftu se zaměřením na vulkanická tělesa Českého středohoří a Doupovských hor", which will take place on 12 March 2024 at 11:00 in The office of Professor Chlupáč (lecture hall), Albertov 6, P19A. Download the invitation here.
XXIII International Conference of Young Geologists
The next edition of the conference of young geologists will take place this year in Herlany, Slovakia, one of the co-organizers is Prof. Faryad from the Institute of Petrology and Structural Geology, Faculty of Science, Charles University. Faculty of Science will host the 2025 edition. All interested parties are cordially invited, more information here.
23. 11. 2023 – GeoRaman 2022 - Special Issue in the Journal of Raman Spectroscopy
This newly published special issue in the Journal of Raman Spectroscopy contains research papers based on the topics presented at the international conference GeoRaman 2022, for researchers focusing on applications of Raman spectroscopy in the geosciences. GeoRaman 2022 was organized by the workers of Institute of Geochemistry, Mineralogy and Mineral Resources at Charles University in September 2022. Guest editors for this special issue are Adam Culka and Jan Jehlička. The front cover of the special issue features an exotic organic mineral containing copper: chanabayaite (photo by Filip Košek). The issue contains 17 articles, 9 of which are Open Access, and is available here.
Seminar: Giant Impacts and the Formation of Ore Deposits
We cordially invite all those interested to the Geology Section seminar with the lecture "Giant Impacts and the Formation of Ore Deposits", which will be given by Prof. Hartwig E. Frimmel (University of Würzburg, Germany) on Friday, 3 November 2023 at 13:00 in the Mineralogical Auditorium of the Faculty of Science, Albertov 6.
Seminar topic: Some of the largest impact sites known on Earth overlap in space with exceptional concentrations of ore deposits. This has led to speculations on a potential addition of extraterrestrial metal compounds to the Earth’s crust on an economic scale. Using the three largest impact structures as reference, the likely controls of large impacts on metallogeny will be discussed, and it will be shown that metal endowment is strongly controlled by the regional geological make-up of the crust prior to impact.
Invitation to the seminar can be downloaded here.
New research by our paleontologists published in Nature
Our colleagues Petr Kraft, Valéria Vaškaninová, and Oldřich Fatka (Institute of Geology and Paleontology) together with colleagues from other institutions published a research paper in Nature. Exceptionally preserved fossil trilobite Bohemolichas was studied using cutting-edge imaging methods at the European Synchrotron facility in Grenoble, allowing to portray the trilobite’s guts in 3D and to fill a fundamental gap in our understanding of trilobite ecology and their role in Palaeozoic ecosystems. The paper is open access and can be downloaded here.
A new course by Dr. Catherine Annen
All those interested in magmatic processes, especially Master's students, are cordially invited to a short course by Dr. Catherine Annen (Institute of Geophysics of the CAS) "Magma chambers, dykes, and volcanic eruptions", which will take place in the winter semester 2023/2024. Detailed information can be found here.
Invitation to the PhD defence of Alda Maria Domingues Vieira
We invite all those who are interested to the public defence of PhD thesis by Alda Maria Domingues Vieira "Mercury dynamics in soil systems: A comprehensive study on natural and anthropogenic sources using elemental and isotopic analysis" (supervisor M. Vaňková), which will be held on September, 19th 2023 at 10:00 in the lecture room Ložiskové sbírky (LS).
Seminar: Speculations on the Paleozoic legacy of Gondwana amalgamation
We cordially invite all those interested to the Geology Section seminar with the lecture "Speculations on the Paleozoic legacy of Gondwana amalgamation", which will be given by Prof. Brendan Murphy (St. Francis Xavier University, Canada) on Tuesday, 10 October 2023 at 15:00 in the Mineralogical Auditorium of the Faculty of Science, Albertov 6. The lecture will also be available to watch online on GoogleMeet (meet.google.com/hqc-mjbt-bty). Invitation to the seminar can be downloaded here.
Seminar Diamond: a mineral of superlatives
SGA Student Chapter Prague cordially invites all interested to a seminar "Diamond: a mineral of superlatives", which will be held on June, 2–3 2023 at our Department. The seminar will be focused on the physico-chemical properties, genesis, age, occurrences and exploration of diamond, with the demonstration of specimens. The seminar will be given by Dr. Tom Stephan, Vice Director of the German Gemmological Association, and by Stefan Müller, M.Sc., research gemologist at the DSEF German Gem Lab. More information here.
Valéria Vaškaninová received the European Marie Skłodowska-Curie Award
Valéria Vaškaninová, a researcher at the Institute of Geology and Paleontology, received a prestigious MSCA grant from the European Union. The project is focused on evolution of basal jawed vertebrates (acanthothoracids) from the Lower Palaeozoic of the Prague Basin. The previously acquired large dataset obtained through cutting-edge data acquisition through synchrotron microtomography will maximise the informative potential and scientific value of the studied fossils. The subsequent analysis of virtually visualised 3D anatomical structures, ranging in scale from whole-body morphology down to histology with single-cell resolution, will provide a whole new approach to paleontology, where fossil material can readily substitute biological samples.
Invitation to the PhD defence of Kateřina Němečková
We invite all those who are interested to the public defence of PhD thesis by Kateřina Němečková "Detecting biomarkers of extremophiles in Martian analogues" (advisor J. Jehlička), which will be held on March, 20th 2023 at 10:00 in lecture room Ložiskové sbírky (LS).
Invitation to the PhD defence of Victory A. J. Jaques
We invite all those who are interested to the public defence of PhD thesis by Victory A. J. Jaques "Calcareous nanofossils assemblages for provenance analysis of European paintings: from the sample preparation to the assemblage comparison" (advisor K. Holcová), which will be held on March, 15th 2023 at 11:00 am in the seminar room Chlupáčova pracovna (CH).
Invitation to the PhD defence of Matěj Němec
We invite all those who are interested to the public defence of PhD thesis by Matěj Němec "Metallogeny of selected gold deposits of the Bohemian Massif" (advisor J. Zachariáš), which will be held on March, 2nd 2023 at 13:30 in lecture room Ložiskové sbírky (LS).
Geoscience seminars in the spring semester 2023
In the spring semester 2023, our Institutes will organize a number of seminars to discuss the hot topics across the broad range of geoscience displines, including talks delivered in English by foreign researchers. Programs of all seminars are provided here to download (Applied geology, Geology and Paleontology, Petrology and Structural geology, IGMMR) or can be checked at the Institutes´ websites. All those who are interested are welcome!
Invitation to the PhD defence of Reza Syahputra
We invite all those who are interested to the public defence of PhD thesis by Reza Syahputra " Mechanisms and time scales of formation of ribbon continents" (advisor J.Žák), which will be held on March, 2nd 2023 at 9:30 am in lecture room Velká paleontologická posluchárna (VP).
A minor planet named after Professor Ivo Chlupáč
A minor planet 1986UQ discovered by Z. Vávrová at the Kleť observatory in 1986 was newly named after Professor Ivo Chlupáč (formerly at the Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Charles University), a world-recognized stratigrapher and paleontologist, who established the Silurian–Devonian boundary stratotype at Klonk. The planet trajectory can be checked at catalina.lpl.arizona.edu.
SGA Student Chapter Prague celebrates a 20th anniversary
Student Chapter Prague of the Society for Geology Applied to Mineral Deposits (SGA) Student Chapter Prague – Society for geology applied to mineral deposits (cuni.cz) celebrates a 20th anniversary at our Department. On this special occassion, we invite all interested to a meeting that will be held on December, 7th 2022 in the Mineralogy lecture room (M) from 4:30 pm onwards, part of the programme will also be an invited talky by Ivan Mateo Espinel Pachon (University of Geneva) on "Controls on the redox evolution of arc magmas at continental margins: a melt inclusion approach“.
Autumn meeting of the Center for Geosphere Dynamics
The Center for Geosphere Dynamics (Center for Geosphere Dynamics | Faculty of Science, Charles University (cuni.cz)) organizes an autumn meeting to discuss newest research of the Center, with keynote talks of junior researchers. The meeting will be held on November, 24th 2022 from 2 pm onwards in lecture room Ložiskové sbírky (LS). See here for the program of the meeting. All interested are welcome!
Invitation to the PhD defence of Marine Jouvent
We invite all those who are interested to the public defence of PhD thesis by Marine Jouvent "Assembly of the Saxothuringian orogenic wedge: the Variscan P-T-t record of the metasediments of Erzgebirge, Bohemian Massif" (advisor O. Lexa) which will be held on October, 17th 2022 at 10:00 am in lecture room Petrologické praktikum (Pp).
Invitation to the PhD defence of Jan Jerman
We invite all those who are interested to the public defence of PhD thesis by Jan Jerman "Development and validation of a hypoplastic model for soft clays incorporating rate effects and strength anisotropy" (advisor D. Mašín) which will be held on October, 6th 2022 at 1:30 pm in lecture room Ložiskové sbírky (LS).
Invitation to the PhD defence of Petar Pongrac
We invite all those who are interested, to the public defence of PhD thesis by Petar Pongrac "Physics of the water weakening effect in deformation of quartz" (advisor P. Jeřábek) which will be held on September, 26th 2022 at 3 pm in lecture room Petrologické praktikum (Pp).
15. International Conference GeoRaman 2022, 29 August - 1 September 2022, Karolinum, UK
The 15th International Scientific Conference GeoRaman 2022 will be held from 29 August to 1 September at Karolinum, the historic building of Charles University. The GeoRaman conference series is a traditional gathering of top scientists focusing on the application of analytical method of Raman spectroscopy in the geosciences, planetary sciences and cultural heritage. Conference website: GeoRaman 2022 Conference (cuni.cz).
The conference venue is returning to Prague after 20 years. This edition, important for the community also in view of the pause caused by the pandemic, is organized by the staff of the Institute of Geochemistry, Mineralogy and Mineral Resources (main organizer Mgr. Adam Culka, Ph.D.).
Among other things, the long-awaited results of the Mars 2020 (NASA) mission will be presented. The rover Perseverance that is currently searching for traces of life on Mars, for the first time includes Raman spectroscopy (it even includes two Raman spectrometers) to search for microbial pigments and other organic matter in sediments on the Martian surface.
The conference is held under the auspices of the Dean of the Faculty of Science Prof. RNDr. Jiří Zima, CSc. and with significant financial support of Charles University, Faculty of Science of Charles University, Geology Section Faculty of Science and Institute of Geochemistry, Mineralogy and Mineral Resources.
11. 7. 2022 A new paper on a dramatic changeover in the phosphorus cycle during Devonian
Petr Kraft (Institute of Geology and Paleontology) together with Michal Mergl of the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen proposed a new hypothesis explaining a dramatic changeover in the phosphorus cycle during Devonian towards modern marine ecosystems. The hypothesis was published in Trends in Ecology and Evolution, one of the highest-ranked journals in Science (IF = 20.589). See the article at publisher´s website https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2022.03.009. Congratulations!
13. 5. 2022 Our colleagues among the top scientists in Earth and Environmental Sciences
According to newest release published at research.com, several of our colleagues ranked among the top scientists in Earth and Environmental Sciences in the Czech Republic (Martin Mihaljevič, Vojtěch Ettler, Ondrej Lexa a František Hrouda). In Earth Sciences, we won first two positions and also three out of seven in total. More info at https://research.com/scientists-rankings/earth-science/cz and https://research.com/scientists-rankings/environmental-sciences/cz
Workshop on mineral resources statement
A one-day workshop "Practices for Mineral Resources Statement and Study Cases" will be delivered by Dr. Cristian Quinones (AsGeoMin Chile) on May, 3rd 2022 (9-18h) in Ložiskové sbírky (1st floor, no. 120). All interested are welcome, please contact Jiří Zachariáš (jiri.zacharias@natur.cuni.cz) for registration. Detailed information to download here and here.
UNCE Virtual Student Conference
We are pleased to announce another meeting of the University center of excellence (UNCE) that will be held online on April, 21st at 2pm. A keynote talk will be given by Prof. Mike Petronis (New Mexico Highlands University) on "Structural, Rock Magnetic, and Geophysical Imaging to Better Understand Magma Emplacement and Feeder Conduit Geometries Beneath Monogenetic Volcanoes". Link for the meeting is available at organizers (unce.conference@gmail.com).
11. 4. 2022 Gemmological course by Dr. Tom Stephan
The SGA Student Chapter Prague organizes a short course by dr. Tom Stephan (German Gemmological Association) devoted to tourmaline as a gemstone and gemstone deposits of Eastern Africa. The course will be held from May, 7th to 9th 2022 in the Mineralogy Lecture Room. Further details can be downloaded here. All interested are welcome!
26. 2. 2022 – Help for Ukraine
In response to the unjustifiable war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, Charles University has launched a website www.ukraine.cuni.cz, which will serve as a central information hub for helping Ukraine, Ukrainian students and scholars from the University and all Faculties.
28. 1. 2022 – Six new open calls for Ph.D. STARS projects in Geology
Six new Ph.D. STARS projects have been announced in Geology, with deadline for application March, 13th 2022. The projects are open to international applicants, the call is thus strongly competitive, and cover a broad range of research topics in tectonics, geophysics, and engineering geology. For more info, check at Become a Star at Science in Prague (stars-natur.cz)
21. 01. 2022 – Three new specialized courses
For the spring semester, we are launching three new specialized courses. Two lectures are focused on volcanic and plutonic processes associated with mountain-forming processes and Earth magnetism. The topic of the field and laboratory course is the application of rock magnetic methods in geology. Prof. Mike Petronis from New Mexico Highlands University, our Fulbright guest in the summer, will participate in two courses. Course details are available in the leaflet here.
Seminar of the Center for Geosphere Dynamics
A yearly meeting of the university center of excellence (UNCE) Center for Geosphere Dynamics (cgd.natur.cuni.cz) with talks given by junior researchers will be held on November 25th 2021 at 3 pm in the Ložiskové sbírky room, Albertov 6 (program is available here).
12. 11. 2021 – Geologists in the Academic Senate!
Jiří Bruthans (Institute of Hydrogeology, Engineering Geology and Applied Geophysics) and Martin Mazuch (Institute of Geology and Paleontology) were elected to the Academic Senate of the Faculty of Science of Charles University as representatives of the Geology section and the Institute for Environmental Studies. More information about the election results.
9. 11. 2021 – Annual meeting of The Micropalaeontological Society in Prague
The 2021 Annual meeting of The Micropalaeontological Society, organized by Professor Katarína Holcová and her research group, will be held at the Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague on November 18th to 19th. Unfortunately, given the covid-19 restrictions, the meeting will be online only. More information and conference program can be found at http://web.natur.cuni.cz/ugp/tms2021
30. 10. 2021 – Extinction of organisms in Živa journal
Živa was established in 1853 by Jan Evangelista Purkyně as a science-oriented periodical journal, in which the founder of Czech geology, Jan Krejčí, contributed extensively. The latest monothematic issue of Živa summarizes the findings in the field of "Extinction of organisms that accompany the life on Earth from the very beginning", to which a number of authors from the Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Faculty of Science, Charles University contributed. Živa is published by the Czech Academy of Sciences.
27. 9. 2021 – Course "Global dynamics and supercontinent cycle" by prof. R. Damian Nance
Prof. R. Damian Nance (Ohio University, USA) will again visit our department and will deliver his course "Global dynamics and supercontinent cycle". The course will be organized as six lectures starting off from October, 6th (9:00 am, lecture room G1). The course will be taught in English and is thus also suitable for foreign students, who may enroll via Student Information System (SIS, code MG420P07, 4 credits).
13. 9. 2021 – New book on metallurgical slags
A new book "Metallurgical Slags: Environmental Geochemistry and Resource Potential" edited by Nadine M. Piatak (USGS) and our colleague Vojtěch Ettler from the Institute of Geochemistry, Mineralogy, and Mineral Resources has been published by the Royal Society of Chemistry (https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/ebook/978-1-78801-887-6). Vojtěch (co-)authored four of nine chapters in the book.
11. 8. 2021 – Interview with Prof. Jan Jehlička in Forum magazine
The university magazine Forum published a great interview with Professor Jan Jehlička from the Institute of Geochemistry, Mineralogy and Mineral Resources. Jan is a world-leading expert in organic geochemistry and is particularly interested in the use of Raman spectrometry to search for traces of life in rocks not only on Earth but also on Mars, and in 2020 he received the distinguished Donatio Universitatis Carolinae award. Read the interview here.
25. 6. 2021 – K. Holcová and D. Mašín promoted to full professor
Katarína Holcová and David Mašín were promoted to a full professor position at a ceremony in Carolinum, historical building of the Charles University in Prague. Katarína is a micropaleontologist working mainly on Foraminifera and their use as a proxy for paleoenvironmental reconstructions of Mesozoic and Cenozoic marine realms, David is a specialist in engineering geology and mathematical modeling. Congratulations!
23. 6. 2021 – Silver medal of the Faculty of Science for O. Fejfar and M. Mihaljevič
Our colleagues Oldřich Fejfar and Martin Mihaljevič were awarded by the Silver medal of the Faculty of Science for their outstanding contribution to Earth Sciences in the fields of paleontology and environmental geochemistry, respectively. Congratulations!
14. 6. 2021 – Vojtěch Janoušek promoted to a full professor
Vojtěch Janoušek of the Czech geological survey, Prague, and Institute of Petrology and Structural Geology, was promoted to a full professor on June, 5th 2021. Vojtěch has long been working on igneous petrology, geochemistry, and statistical analysis and processing of geochemical data. He teaches various igneous petrology classes and a specialized course on geochemical data processing. Congratulations!
27. 5. 2021 – SGA Student Chapter Prague
SGA is a student society which associates students and other people interested in deposit geology and mineralogy all over the world. We organize international and domestic excursions to mineralogically valuable sites. We do geological excursions all over the world. We organize lectures and seminars with interesting guests. The members of the association have an opportunity to meet colleagues from foreign countries and gain valuable experience, which they will then apply while studying or working. Come with us to meet a lot of interesting people and get to places you would not normally visit. More information at https://sga.cuni.cz/
11. 5. 2021 – SÚRAO Summer School
Those interested in the geological aspects of radioactive waste disposal, especially students, can apply for the 4th year of the SÚRAO Summer School. The main topic will be the selection of suitable localities in the rock environment of the Bohemian Massif. More information at https://www.surao.cz/letni-skola-surao-probehne-i-letos/.
29. 4. 2021 – Professor's lecture by Martin Košťák
Martin Košťák, who recently celebrated his 50th anniversary, delivered a great professor's lecture at the Scientific Council of the Charles University on 29 April. The proposal for his appointment as professor went smoothly and was submitted to the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports. Congratulations!
13. 4. 2021 – Mass spectrometer type „ICP-MS“
The installation of a new inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) was completed in the Laboratories of the Geological Institutes. The Thermo Scientific spectrometer can analyze solutions and solid rock samples at the trace to ultratrace level. Inductively coupled Ar-plasma allows ionization, subsequent separation in a quadrupole mass separator, and finally detection in a semiconductor multiplier of most elements of the periodic table from Li to U. Those interested in using the laboratory of mass spectrometry may contact doc. L. Strnad lgu@natur.cuni.cz.
13. 4. 2021 – Joint SGA–UNCE virtual student conference
A virtual conference of graduate students associated with the Center for Geosphere Dynamics and the SGA Student Chapter Prague will be held on April 15th, 2021. The meeting is open for a wide public and will start on ZOOM from 9:00 am (Meeting ID: 824 8818 1216, Key: 0TMizN).
17. 3. 2021 – New paper in Communications Earth & Environment (Nature)
New paper in Communications Earth & Environment (Nature group), published new research by a team of the Czech Geological Survey in collaboration with Ondrej Lexa. The paper postulates a new model for trans-lithospheric diapirism to explain an intriguing assemblage of high-pressure (HP) rocks with ultrapotassic plutons and low-grade metamorphic complexes that are found in many collisional orogens, including the Variscan belt. The article is open-access, available at https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-021-00122-w
4. 3. 2021 – New high-tech instruments installed!
New high-end laboratory instruments have been successfully installed to aid our research and teaching activities. Laboratory of Imaging Methods acquired a digital 4K microscope Keyence VHX-7000 allowing high-resolution 3D imaging with a magnification of up to 200. Laboratory of Rock Magnetism is newly equipped with the AGICO JR-6A magnetometer, LDA5 demagnetizer, and a PAM1 magnetization unit, allowing paleomagnetic and anisotropy of magnetic remanence measurements.
19. 2. 2021 – New paper in Communications Biology (Nature)
New fascinating research was published in Communications Biology (Nature Group), led by Martin Košťák with colleagues from Germany, Slovakia, and Hungary. The study describes Oligocene cephalopod Necroteuthis hungarica (ca. 30 Ma) and demonstrates how some species were able to survive catastrophic events as well as global climatic changes in an anoxic deep-sea environment over long periods of geologic time. The article is open-access, available at https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-021-01714-0
8. 2. 2021 – High scientific production of the Center for Geosphere Dynamics despite the COVID-19 pandemic
Despite the covid-19 restrictions, the researchers of the Center for Geosphere Dynamics were highly productive in the past year. A total of 59 papers have been published. Papers published in the first and second quartile journals according to Web of Knowledge accounted for 90% of the total. The numbers also include 13 papers in the D1 category and 5 papers in the Nature Index journals. More information can be found here.
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